問我 Who Am I ?

By Sebastian Smee GLOBE STAFF SEPTEMBER 25, 2015

Where, oh where, is the wall label?

That’s the thing about public art, isn’t it? You never know where to look to
have it all explained to you.

But that’s also what makes it great. No one controls it; nothing can be wedged
between you and the art.

You can see the giant black­and­white pasting by French artist JR on the side
of the former John Hancock tower in your lunch hour. You can see it from
your car. Or you can see it, as I first did, from the other side of the BU bridge
as you cycle along the Charles.

Once completed, the huge mural will occupy window space between the 44th
and 50th floors of the building, and will be 150 feet wide and 86 feet tall.
JR, a street artist and impresario who, like Banksy, is determined to maintain
his anonymity, has been pasting giant black­and­white photographs on walls
all over the world for years now. His various visually arresting, socially
minded projects have made him a global celebrity.