How Do You Get Permission From People to Make Art?

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How do you approach a community or an individual and get permission from them to make art involving them? I imagine that most of these people, they may not be familiar with you in your work. So how do you actually get that trust on make it so that they understand what you're doing? The secret is very simple. I just say, helloirisay, monsieur, and then we shake hands.

Art can move us in deep, meaningful ways. A beautiful song, a good book, or a great film can change our perspectives and attitudes toward ideas, and sometimes people. Where does that magic come from–and how can we channel it when we’re creating? JR is an artist famed for his enormous black and white portraits that tell stories and adorn surfaces from the Louvre to the favelas of Brazil. His ambitious projects, like a recent massive mural outside a supermax prison in California or the boy who peers curiously over the wall at the Mexico–United States border, put a deeply human face to things we might have only read in the news while also highlighting and celebrating the connections between us humans. In this episode, JR talks about the importance of joy in his art-making process, speaks to the value of community and curiosity, and shares how his unique working style developed over the years.