Other than the artwork, what I found interesting about this week’s readings were the terms artivist and photograffeur. I’m already familiar with what the term artivist refers to as I learned about it in another course, ETHN 3136-001: Chicana Feminism/Knowledge with Dr. Rebecca Avalos. One of several textbooks we read in that class introduced me to the term - only around then it was spelled as artivistas - when learning about artists such as Ester Hernández, Yolanda M. López, and Alma Garcia; all of whom used la Virgen to represent sociopolitical transformation within Chicana/Mexicana culture. However, I wasn’t familiar with the term photograffeur. Its definition is simple enough to understand, but I’m curious as to what qualifies an artist to be considered that. Would taking photos of graffiti be enough to be considered? Or would that align more with art appropriation? 

Now focusing on JR and his artwork: similar to Chip Thomas, his work reminded me of Chicano/Mexicano muralism. However, the biggest distinction between JR, Chip Thomas, and Mexican muralism is that JR is known for showcasing his work illegally. For example, he covered the entire surface of the Israeli West Bank Barrier. A feat which I have to admit is badass. Nonetheless, I found it conflicting that JR called himself an unpolitical artist (or at the very least his work wasn’t). Perhaps I misinterpreted what was said but it seemed like he stated this several times throughout the readings. If this is true, then I disagree with his evaluation.