Representatives of East and West Berlin revealing each other. Photo Credit: Christopher Platis
Though toppled over twenty years ago, the Berlin Wall still shapes the city through its creation of a street art stronghold that stands tall today. Berlin’s not-for-profit urban artists speak the creative, free spirit of the city’s people by coloring the otherwise monotonous metropolis with everything from spray paint cans to anti-political posters. Intricate graffiti murals down any given alley provide insight into how these once-oppressed people have moved forward from their past, provided you know what you’re looking for.
Opposition to gentrificationPhoto Credit: Chris Platis
Wall-era Graffiti Takes Shape
Berlin street art, in its most primitive form, started getting sprayed in the early 1960’s in correlation with the construction of the Berlin Wall. On both sides (communist-controlled east and the democratic west) citizens rallied against the dividing line that split the city and seemingly the entire world. Political tags promoting peace started appearing on the democratic west side of the Wall as the people were provoked to voice their opinion. Through the years, the art has shifted from simple throw-ups (short messages) portraying cries for equality to amazingly provocative artwork.
Some of the faces that transformed the largest remaining segment of the Berlin Wall into the popular West Side Gallery Photo Credit: Christopher Platis
After the Fall of the Wall
With the colossal inhibitor–formally known as the Berlin Wall–removed from the equation, civilians and artists alike worked fast in expressing their freedom from suppression. Meaningful murals depicting the newfound freedoms of a typical Berliner quickly decorated the once-dreary city streets. Real estate around the Wall sold for dirt cheap, giving the international artist a new home and the city of Berlin a new, creative tenant. The world’s best in the game were eager to spray worthy walls as infamous artists, such as Blu, Banksy and El Bocho, flocked to Berlin to illustrate their depiction of the city during its progressive transition.
After a period of historic oppression, the positively liberal trend that plows forward today is voiced and displayed through the creative artists who live, breathe and decorate Berlin. The street art scene is forever expanding with the city. Designed by the people, beautifully unpolished and permanently unfinished, Berlin’s street art tells the tale of a city moving forward.
"Where shall we go now?", a native street artist asks his fellow citizens before entrance to the Kunsthaus street art warehouse in central Berlin. Photo Credit: Christopher Platis
