THE BERLIN WALL
- The Berlin Wall was a 'barrier' constructed by the German Democratic Republic. Construction began on 13th August 1961 and completely cut off - by land - West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin.
- Although the Eastern Bloc claimed that the Wall was erected to protect it's population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people"in building a socialist state in East Germany, even referring to the wall as the "Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart" implying that neighbouring West Germany had not been fully de-nazified. In practice, the wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked Germany and the Communist Eastern Bloc during the post-world war II period.
- Whereas the GDR authorities referred to the wall as the "Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart", the West Berlin government sometimes referred to it as the "Wall of shame" a term coined by Mayor Willy Brandt who condemned the Wall's restriction on 'Freedom of Movement".
- Both the Berlin Wall and the ' Inner German Border' or IGB which was separate and much longer came to symbolise the "Iron Curtain" that separated Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War.
- Up until 1952 when East German leaders met the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in Moscow, the lines between East Germany and the Western occupied zones could be easily crossed in most places. During the meeting a suggestion to "Introduce a system of passes for visits of West Berlin residents to the territory of East Berlin - so as to stop - the free movement of Western agents" was made by Stalin's foreign minister. Stalin agreed calling the situation "intolerable".
- Stalin advised the East Germans to build up their border defences, telling them that "The demarcation line between East and West Germany should be considered a border - and not just any border, but a dangerous one... The Germans will guard the line of defence with their lives".
- The first concrete elements and large blocks of the Berlin Wall were put it place on 17th August with soldiers stood in front with orders to short anyone who attempted to defect, with a huge 'no mans land' cleared to provide a clear line of fire at killing refuges.
- The Berlin Wall had a huge impact on the city. Many families were spilt up with no way of being reunited, East Berliner's who were employed in the West were cut off from their jobs and West Berlin became an isolated exclave in a hostile land.
THE EAST SIDE GALLERY
- The East Side Gallery is an international memorial for freedom, which was founded following the successful merger of the two German artist's associations VBK and BBK.
- The gallery which is a 1.3km long section of the Berlin Wall consists of 105 paintings by artists from all over the world which tell the story of Berlin's and Germany's history. The wall was painted in 1990 on the east side of the Berlin Wall - one of the last remains of the Berlin Wall that is still in it's historical place - and is considered to be the largest and longest-lasting open air gallery in the world.
- After the Wall came down in 1989, hundreds of artists from all over the world gathered and transformed the east side of the wall that had been untouchable up until then.
- Using various artistic means, the artists commented on the political events that took place in 1989 and 1990. The paintings document a time of change and express the euphoria and great hopes for a better and different future that characterised the time when the wall came down.
EAST SIDE GALLERY ARTWORK ANALYSIS
Test The Rest by Birgit Kinder
Kinder's iconic memorial was inspired by the story of the "corner of suicides". Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, many motorist drove at full speed at the crossroads of Bernauer Strasse and Gartenstrasse towards the wall with the aim of committing suicide.
However, in Kinder's piece the Trabant is coming out of the shadows and into the light as it is shown to be coming through the wall without damage or starches, this is a symbol by Kinder of victory of freedom over oppression.
The license plate of the Trabant in the piece reads "Nov.9-89" which is a subtle reference made by Kinder to the falling of the Berlin Wall which occurred on this date.
My God, Help Me To Survive This Deadly Love by Dmitri Vrubel
Vrubel's piece which is sometimes referred to as the "Fraternal Kiss" depicts Soviet and East German Communist part chairman Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker in a fraternal embrace.
The piece itself is actually a reproduction by Vrubel of a photograph that captured the moment in 1979 during the 30th anniversary celebration of the foundation of the German Democratic Republic.
Despite the controversy and ridicule which arose in the west following the release of the photograph, the act between the two men was of socialist liberty, equality and fraternity meant to be a symbol of unity, of progress and of their future.
The kiss was essentially a means of sealing an arms deal between East Germany and the Society union, with the two dictators showing their support for one another.
EXPRESSION
ex·pres·sion
noun
1. The act of expressing, conveying or representing in words, art, music or movement; a manifestation: an expression of rural vales.
2. Something that expresses or communicates: Let this plaque serve as an expression of our esteem.
3. The manner in which one expresses oneself, especially in speaking, depicting or performing.
POLITICAL ART
As well as being the inspiration behind many of the artworks created for the Eastside Gallery, politics has also had a profound impact on Graphic Design with many designer's depicting current or historical events within their work to perhaps make a stand on the issue and/or convey the public's concern.
The three main categories which political falls into are; portrayal which aims to describe past, present or even future events and situations people find themselves in, promotion which portrays the ways and means to solve the problem presented and projection which takes disparate elements and recombines them in order to form a new image.
Jim Fitzpatrick's Che Guevara poster is considered to be one of the most reproduced, recycled, and ripped off images of the 20th Century and perhaps one of the most famous examples of political art.
Fitzpatrick's graphic image in which he has removed the original photograph's shadows and volume in order to create a stark graphic portrait has almost become it's own brand.
The aim of political art is to spread awareness of an current affair, I believe Fitzpatrick's Che Guevara poster was so successful in terms of a political image as he actively wanted his art to be disseminated and has admitted to deliberately designing it to "breed like rabbits"and therefore the image had become widely recognised around the world.
Another example of a piece of political art which similarly to Fitzpatrick's Che Guevara poster can be recognised worldwide is Shepard Fairey's Obama "hope" poster.
The stylised stencil portrait of Obama in solid red, beige and pastel and dark blue with the simple message of "progress", "hope" or "change" underneath was created for the 2008 presidential campaign and has since become iconic and one of the most widely recognised symbols of Obama's campaign message.
Fairey has used a similar technique to Fitzpatrick in terms of created a simplistic yet stark image which could be easily reproduced, Fairey famously producing the poster in just one day. Creating an image that could be easily reproduced means that there were many parodies of the poster and in turn the image became more and more recognisable.
No comments:
Post a Comment