Monday, September 7, 2009

It Has No Title



Okay, so these pictures I have scanned belong to "The Berlin Wall", a fascinating book by Hermann Waldenburg. They are all photos of different parts of the wall that divided the German capital in two for 27 years. Apparently it was only in the late 80's when they started to paint the wall, mainly in the western side of the city -since this area still offered ruins and decaying buildings, in contrast to the renewed, modernized parts of the city. Anyway, what I love about these pictures is their spontaneity, dynamism and their mutability. People would use new materials to cover old paintings of others and express new ideas, or modernize them. Every one was allowed to show approval or disapproval, experience art and leave their mark. Also, the various materials used impress me: brushes, hands, tape, paper, lipstick, chalk, etc. It's a cheap, simple and quick art to express precious and deep ideas. These two pictures are my favorite in the book. I like the bright colors, the reference to existing work and artists like Picasso or Andy Warhol, their significance, and the fact that they were done by unknown artists who were not seeking fame. 

1 comment:

Mar said...

oh, also you can see more of these in http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=263803