Fresh images left in Los Angeles by JR

JR's latest piece on Hunter and 7th in Los Angeles

Bansky is not the only European street artist running wild in Los Angeles these days. This month JR, a French street artist/photographer, brought his colossal images to the City of Angels. JR is best-known for the very large photographic images he pastes on the rooftops or sides of buildings, often in impoverished areas of the world.

JR’s recent work in Los Angeles marks the third installment of his expansive project The Wrinkles of the City. The first two were in Cartagena (Spain) and Shanghai in 2010.

In the Wrinkles of the City series, JR shoots 28mm black-and-white portraits of local residents. The portraits are supersized on a blotter and wallpapered onto buildings across the city. When asked about his choice of LA, JR responded, “This is a city where everything is about image… Where people have Botox and fight against aging, I can bring big wrinkles and hang them on the buildings of the city — in contrast to the big advertisements. Los Angeles’ definition of beauty is being transformed by these people this week.”

JR is slated to complete 20 pieces the next few weeks. So far these are the locations (in LA) of his completed work —

287 N Alameda St
808 E 3rd St
216 S Alameda St
944 E 4th St
2476 Hunter St
7769 Melrose Ave
8663 Venice Blvd
1305 Abbot Kinney Blvd

For more of JR’s work, see  “Wrinkles of the City” in Shanghai.

Outside the MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) in LA

by JR at 808 E 3rd St Los Angeles, CA 90013 (E. 3rd Street and Hewitt)

216 S Alameda St, LA

by JR at 7769 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles CA

(via the LA Weekly and Wooster Collective)