Graffiti On The Berlin Wall

Since the Second World War was over, there was almost nothing remaining that would resemble the unfortunate series of events that occurred in Europe, especially in Germany except for one icon. That is the great Berlin Wall, the beautiful, mesmerizing and colorful pieces of art that are seen today on the Berlin Wall are extremely significant to those who have lived through the world war or have had any experience from it in any way because it resembles and carries messages of hope, freedom and strength. This specific form of art that is known as “Graffiti” is simply writings or drawings on walls or any surface in public places, and this form of art is dated back to eras as old as Ancient Egypt. Graffiti is more than just abusing the urban landscape,

The wall was on the "death strip", which was a wide area along long concrete walls that had guard towers spread around. Differences between countries made it a perfect place for people to express their opinions, especially on their preferences and dislikes. In the 1980s, the wall was reconstructed and made fourteen feet tall. Having the graffiti on the wall became popular for artists from all over the world and a place where tourists would go and admire the artwork. The West Berlin side of the wall had artwork completely covering the wall, while the East Berlin side was kept blank; as people were not permitted to get close enough to the eastside of the wall to paint anything.

The Berlin Wall is believed to be at the moment the largest canvas in the world, since it was meant to cover a vast area (Taylor, 1989, p.72). Popular street artists claimed some of the pieces of graffiti present on the wall, while on the other hand there are pieces of art that nobody knows who made them, mainly because some parts of the wall were open to the public, and that also meant that the categories that were implemented in the graffiti were not

A reporter Jonathon Jones (2003) said in one of his articles that “The Wall froze time. It prevented Berlin from becoming a neat post-war city, kept it semi-ruined and shadowed by its past as well as present” (p. 3). On the other hand another journalist Sara Spiegel (2001) says in an article “All around the world in developing countries people have been struggling with their right of freedom of speech. Artists have turned to street art to gain their countries governments attentions”(p.