Berlin's colorful graffiti, a look at past and present

By Stevie Emilia

BERLIN (JP): When you get off a tram, train or bus in Berlin, just look around. You will see graffiti all over the station or bus stop.

That's not all. Just venture further and you will find graffiti also add color to houses, cafes, shopping centers and even government offices. There is graffiti on everything, as long as it has walls.

Some graffiti are done well, sprayed nicely and carefully with a sense of art. But some are really annoying, such as graffiti depicting a gang's name in big letters and awful colors.

But some people here do appreciate graffiti as another form of modern art.

"I like some graffiti, but not all of them. I like those seen on the Wall, they are artistic and have historic value," said Schiller, a Berlin resident.

He was referring to the graffiti-adorned Berlin Wall, which is now considered the largest open-air gallery in the world by some Berlin artists.

Taking a trip along the Wall, one can see that most graffiti on the Wall, painted after the opening up of the border on the eastern side in November 1989, is strong reminiscence of the city's history.

A famous line from United States former president John F. Kennedy, Ich bin ein Berliner (I'm a Berlin resident), on a visit to the city in August 1963 to show solidarity with Berlin residents, is one of the graffiti that attracted many tourists.

Another famous graffiti, the brotherly embrace and kiss between former Soviet political leader Leonid Brezhnev and former East German Communist ruler Erich Honecker, is still there, untouched by vandals or souvenir hunters.

There are also graffiti conveying grief, such as one reading My friends are dying behind you, which still arouses occasional bursts of bitterness among Berliners.

While some people might enjoy the presence of graffiti, there are others completely against such art.

Some politicians have renewed their pledges to wipe graffiti off the facades of Berlin's buildings -- excluding those on the Wall, saying that it is unworthy for the capital of a united Germany.

They even agreed to spend DM8 million (US$4.52 million) to erase the graffiti. But after that, building owners themselves would be responsible to maintain their buildings free of graffiti.

"We have to take joint action against the slobs and the scribblers," said Berlin's governing mayor, Eberhard Diepgen, in a statement released throughout the city. The campaign is scheduled to begin this month.

There have been smaller cleanup campaigns in the past, mostly at the city's major tourist attractions, such as the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Kurfrstendamm, Brandenburg Gate in the main Unter den Linden boulevard and the central Alexanderplatz square.

But previous cleanup campaigns, in which the police were asked to keep a watchful eye out for offenders, did not do much.

"Once the graffiti are cleaned up, it appears again the next day. It's impossible to guard every wall to prevent graffiti," said Anna, a university student.

But she agreed with the plan to clean graffiti off buildings.

"Graffiti on the Wall is fine with me, but not those on the city's buildings," said Anna, whose parents spend around 30 marks per month to remove graffiti from the walls of their home.

Art

Graffitists, however, refuse to take all the blame for the widespread graffiti in the city.

"I consider my graffiti a work of art, while those who merely spray walls are vandals," said Leo Wilmer, a 21-year-old art student, who started doing graffiti six years ago.

He said he only painted graffiti on empty buildings in order to wipe out the spooky atmosphere of the buildings.

"I mostly use bright colors, such as red, yellow and blue," said Wilmer.

He can finish a graffiti piece in two days at the most.

One of his works is found in Tacheles (literally means speak clearly), old house ruins in the former eastern part of the city.

The ruins, said to belong to Jewish families before WWII broke out, have become a perfect hangout for students, graffitists and tourists.

"During the war, people, mostly youths, considered this place the right place to express their freedom because the place has no owners. Some of them expressed it with graffiti," said Ursula, a guide.

From the outside, the ruins may look scary. But once you step inside, you find that almost every wall of the remaining buildings are covered in graffiti, designs small and big.

Even though not all graffiti in Tacheles have a sense of art, or are carefully done, somehow they do represent freedom of expression.

Some graffiti are simply funny, depicting cartoon characters, while some are scary, like those featuring skeletons, or tortured men and women.

"Tacheles is a free place, anyone can express what they like here," said Ursula.

And lots of people wander around the ruins, admiring the graffiti, take pictures, while others enjoy coffee or surf the Internet in a small cafe inside the ruins.

But Berlin's rapid development may take its toll, including on Tacheles.

"I'm afraid this place won't be here long. Sooner or later it will have to give way to development," Ursula said.