In class today we talked about the meaning of expressing art on a nontraditional canvas, such as brick wall or cement building facade. We also spoke to the temporary nature of graffiti in that it is often painted over shortly after its completion. One place where this happens quite frequently is the Lennon Wall in Prague. After John Lennon's death in 1980, citizens supportive of his message began a graffiti project on a wall in the Diplomatic Quarter near Kampa Park (a rather touristy area where all of the embassies are). Because of his pacifist views, Lennon was a source of inspiration to many while they were stuck behind the Iron Curtain. Anyone who was caught tagging the wall risked jail if caught by the Communist police.
When I lived in Prague, many of the locals that I talked to did not really know about the wall. In fact, it seemed like most of the time us students were the ones most interested in the Wall. The government today, in typical Czech fashion, deals with the issue of graffiti as art vs. graffiti as vandalism very laxly. Local artists and tourists frequently tag the wall with different lyrics and iconic imagery without any interference, and then every once and a while city officials come and repaint the wall. This does not deter the artists from returning to restore the wall to its graffiti-ed glory, and it also transforms the wall into a dynamic exhibit. While it may not be the space of resistance that it was during Communist times, it definitely contributes to a rich graffiti subculture that can be found all over Europe.
Below are some pictures that I took of the Lennon Wall while I was there. We anxiously waited for the wall to be painted over while we were there, but unfortunately it never happened.
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