Street art in Berlin - Essay Example

Street art in Berlin Street art is any form of visual art created and strategically located in public spaces to pass specific messages. The various types of arts in the streets include graffiti, sticker arts, sculptures and wheat pasted posters among many others. The streets of Berlin have numerous forms of art. Arts in the streets of Berlin are an integral aspect of the city that provides a link between the modern day Berlin and the historical Berlin. Street arts in the city of Berlin serve various functions key among which is to communicate the history of both the country and of the city. Additionally, the arts offer a conducive media for the citizens to criticize the authority and communicate day-to-day problems facing the citizens. The nature of street arts in Berlin has changed over time based on the development of the country’s politics and economy among other features as the discussion below portrays. Berlin is UNESCO’s city of design a title it acquires owing to the size of the street arts industry (Manghani 41). Germans use arts to express their feelings and reactions to the developments in their societies. This was the case during the times of Berlin wall and remains the case today. The Berlin wall was awash with graffiti and layers of engagements that communicated diverse messages. Built by the German Democratic Republic of East Germany, the Berlin wall divided Germany in East and West. The wall resulted from a culmination of hatred and animosity by both ides of Germany. At the time, graffiti artists among other citizens took to the wall on both sides using the wall to criticize the erection of the wall with every artist striving to communicate specific messages. Such messages as “Death to tyrants”, “God Ble$$” and “Concrete makes you happy,” conveyed the opinions of the people regarding the separation of Germany into two. While street arts were illegal at the time, the graffiti artists among others enhanced the artistic criticism of the society at the time thereby contributing to the demolition of the wall. Germans did not like the wall since it split their country simply to serve political interests. West Germans used their side of the wall to express their disgust with the wall and so did the Eastern Germans. Streets arts, as exhibited on the Berlin wall, became an integral culture in Germany. In the 1970s, streets artists sought to make Berlin their Mecca. They devised new mechanisms of developing systematic graffiti with paint cans being among the most favorable. Key among the targeted platform for the streets artists were the communist property (Schürer 101). The defaced such property in a defiant attitude. The artists expressed their displeasure with the prevailing political developments while expressing their desired developments. The areas around the wall of Berlin consisted of dilapidated streets, abandoned buildings and piles of rubles, which the street artists took over splashing defiantly yet creative criticism of the society. Currently, street art remains rife in Berlin. The country is politically stable, and public criticism is minimal. Additionally, such arts as graffiti are illegal in the city. Despite such, the city continues to witness an increase in graffiti in other forms of streets arts as most of such artists strive to create an active street arts industry. The messages on such arts have changed drastically. The themes in most of such arts revolve around contemporary social, economic and political issues. Graffiti artists use various platforms including walls to criticize both the government and the society. Such issues as crime, social disparities, corruption and terrorism are common topics in contemporary street arts. Additionally, the artists have diversified their products by creating systematic exhibitions that help them sell their products thereby creating a viable industry. Streets arts in modern Berlin redecorate the city. The alley off Rosenthaler, for example, is a beautiful display of artwork from different artists such as Jimmy C and El Bocho among many others. The various artists use various types of arts including graffiti, stenciled pencils and paste-ups among others. The seamless integration of the various arts enhances the color of the otherwise dull walls. The growth of street arts in the contemporary Berlin has positioned the city strategically on the global map. Berlin continues to attract thousands of tourists who visit the city to study the arts. Street artists, on the other hand, are beginning to organize private exhibitions as a way of harmonizing the art in order to make it profitable (Wye and Ernst 33). The commercialization of street arts in modern Berlin has not only enhanced the growth of the art in the city but has also influenced the investigation of various thematic issues. Most artists currently adopt critical yet less radical and less defiant approach, unlike the case in the past when streets artists would develop abusive artifacts since they enjoyed anonymity on the walls in the streets. This way, street art has grown with its effects influencing the political, social and economic landscape in other countries. Street arts remain an integral aspect of the German culture. The growth of the culture throughout the history of the country continues to influence the cultures of other societies in other countries. As explained earlier, street arts was rife in Berlin as early as 1950s, and it played a role the growth of the country. As such, the art spread to different parts of the world. In such countries as the United States, street art developed rapidly as streets artists used public spaces to express their opinions (Wacławek 94). The same is the case in numerous other countries such. In Brazil for example, streets arts cover walls of buildings in streets and artists continue to use graffiti to communicate to both the political leadership and the rest of the society. The growth of streets art into an industry in Berlin influenced the development of several other companies. Streets artists just as any other artists enhanced creativity thereby devising new ways of growing their arts. Paint cans and stenciled arts were such developments. Numerous paint-manufacturing companies thus developed products that suited the demand of street artists. Such products as paint cans are common in different because of the growing demand for the product used in street arts. The mainstream media in every country currently infuses a form of art in the form of cartoons. Carton editorials trace their roots to street arts. Street arts play an important role in Berlin. The art does not only represent a vital culture of the city but also communicates the history of the city. Various exhibition centers and museums currently show works of various iconic street artists. Most of such works are old and date back to the wall (Zimmermann 76). They communicate public opinions at the time and the factors that enhanced both the construction and demolition of the walls. Furthermore, the exhibitions and museums continue to attract thousands of tourists to the city annually. This implies that the art is a source of revenue to hundreds of street artists. The developments in street arts portray the development in the country. In retrospect, street arts have remained an important culture in Berlin. The messages and types of arts have changed through time. At the time of the Berlin wall, street artists developed systematic messages most of which revolved around the political developments at the time. The theme in street arts has changed and so has the techniques. The art grew with Berlin serving as the Mecca of the art. Modern day artists have enhanced the growth of the art and adopted modern ways of ensuring that they derive financial benefits from the art. Through exhibitions, artists can save and sell their works. Despite such, the use of streets and walls is equally rife in the city. The artists use public places as media to communicate their opinions about the topics in public. Works cited Manghani, Sunil. Image Critique & the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Bristol, UK: Intellect, 2008. Print. Schürer, Ernst. The Berlin Wall: Representations and Perspectives. New York [u.a.: Lang, 1996. Print. Wacławek, Anna. Graffiti and Street Art. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2011. Print. Wye, Deborah, and Ernst L. Kirchner. Kirchner and the Berlin Street. New York: Museum of Modern Art, 2008. Print. Zimmermann, Sven. Berlin Street Art 2. Munich: Prestel, 2008. Print. Read More