Street Art in Berlin
Various Artists, incl. Mein Lieber and Alias
20th and 21st Centuries
Paint on Wall
Berlin, Germany
Berlin
is a city often seen as a champion spirit for those who seek to “rise out of
the ashes.” After World War II, the
Berlin Wall was constructed to separate the Communist East from the Liberated
West. The West, unsuppressed by the
Communist regime, quickly adorned their half of the barrier with images and
phrases that expressed latent ideas from subcultural groups. When the Wall was torn down in 1989, a new
form of expression was introduced to East Berlin. However, because the street artists from the
West were mainly immigrants and young anarchists, it was most commonly those
“outsiders” who felt most compelled to take part in graffiti painting.
Today,
street art in Berlin has become an accepted form of art, especially in the
East, where citizens feel the need to express their new-found freedom from
Communism and the underlying issues of society.
Although street art is diverse and hard to classify under one theme, it
can be said that the original graffiti artists are or feel, in some sense,
isolated from society. However, many
government officials seek to industrialize street art in order to increase
revenue; this encourages the public to participate in an art form traditionally
reserved for the marginal class. It is
claimed by many street artists that the involvement of the public will
de-classify street art as street art because the problems of society can only
be observed from the outskirts.
One
famous street artist from Berlin who embraces the reputation of the marginal
class goes by the alias Alias. His work
tends to avoid displaying the issues of society and instead confront the
effects of corruption. Alias’s art
presents youth and adolescents affected by isolation, violence, confusion, and
conflict. Bomb the World, one of Alias’s most famous paintings, features a
glum child sitting on a bomb with the fuse lit.
The bomb has the continents painted on it, as if the bomb is the
world. In this, Alias shows the emotions
of children affected by the destruction of the world.
Another
Berlin street artist reputed for his marginal analysis is Mein Lieber (translation-
My Dear). Mein Lieber’s artwork consists of simple smiley figures interacting and telling a story that reflects a
societal issue. For example, Mein
Lieber’s painting Sexism Go Home
identifies the issues of sexism. He does
this by exemplifying the crime, and showing the shame that should be associated
with it. The genius of Mein Lieber’s
work is that, in a simple image, he can portray the issue and suggest a
resolution.
Report by Benjamin Mills - 2015
Report by Benjamin Mills - 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment