East Side Gallery

         During Fall Break, I was lucky enough to explore places that I had never been before. One of these places happened to be Berlin, Germany. While I got to experience many fun things while I was in Berlin, the most thought-inducing experience was viewing the East Side Gallery. The East Side Gallery is the longest part of the Berlin Wall that is still standing. On the East Side of the wall, artists have been commissioned to paint pictures on different parts of the wall. The pictures varied in their subject matter. Some were dark and shocking, remembering the days of communism, while others sang messages of peace and freedom. Many of the pictures provoked discussion from the small group I was with about the specific meaning behind some of the pictures.

                Despite numerous signs next to the gallery telling people not to deface the pictures with graffiti, graffiti was everywhere on the gallery. While much of this graffiti was dumb, there were a couple bits of graffiti that provoked discussion, just like all of the paintings did. Despite being someone’s illicit scribbles on a piece of artwork, I found it interesting that some things that were not officially artwork could also provoke discussion.

           Perhaps because putting artwork on something once was (and arguably still is) such a powerful symbol to people makes not only the artwork, but the graffiti easier to impact and touch people. While putting provocative artwork in a museum is sure to set off a reaction, putting artwork in a much more “real” setting makes the message much more accessible to all people. The messages the various artists are trying to convey are open for viewing to anyone who wants to walk by the wall. Not only that, but someone who just knows a small bit about the history of the Berlin Wall can deduce the powerful messages artists were trying to communicate. 

                For me, I enjoy looking at art in museums. But often, my thoughts don’t go beyond, “Wow, that’s really pretty,” or, “Oooh, that’s cool looking.” While these pieces I’m viewing often have a message to convey, often, extensive background information is needed to “understand” what the artist is going for. While I have had some art history classes, and even have a close relative as an art history professor, a good portion of my reactions to art in museums are not particularly intense. 

            Maybe my love of the Wall artwork shows me to be simplistic when it comes to talking about art. The reason that I enjoyed it so much is that it was not only visually stunning, but had a message that I clearly (and easily) felt. After all, I’m the type of person who rarely likes reading poetry because I find it difficult to interpret. I like things to be straightforward.

          Yet, when someone is trying to use art to tell you about resisting tyranny and the importance of freedom, you cannot have a sly message that might go over some heads. If you don’t want history to repeat itself, you need to make what you’re saying powerful and obvious. And because of this, I view the East Side Gallery to be one of the most important collections of art I have ever gotten a chance to view.