East Side Gallery

A single piece of art is a beautiful reflection of the inner expression of an artist. But when a group of artists come together around a common cause it’s amazing how radically different reflections can create a beautiful mirage of imagination. Today we visited the East Side Gallery, which did just that.

This mile long stretch of the Berlin Wall was designated a couple days after the fall as a public art space for artists. In 1990, a group of 120 artists from 21 countries got together to paint beautiful expressions of their view of the world.

When we arrived, our initial reaction was that the paintings looked way to good to be there from 1990. After some quick research, our suspicions were confirmed. The wall had been redone in 2009 where the original wall was patched and the art work was repainted.

This change was immediately clear to Anthony who had been to this wall shortly after its opening in 1990. Each art piece was still beautiful and expressive but it wasn’t the original. In fact, only one artwork was still original. No one stopped to take pictures of this piece. The artwork wasn’t bright and colorful but instead was full of chips and cracks. Yet this was the piece that was unaltered and full of artists original reflection.

99% of people walk by thinking these are the original. They don’t think twice about the email addresses and websites stenciled in the bottom. They don’t see the small messages about the polar ice caps melting or election fraud added during the renovation. History doesn’t last forever. While it may be around to be seen in books or online, the physical attributes of great moments slip away day after day. Listening to Anthony pointing out the differences between the original gallery and this recreation goes to show a harsh truth: History slowly changes and the original reminders of our past slowly fade. Experience history while you can before it’s too late to notice the original vs the “renovation”.Read more