graffiti, history, and a wall

Yesterday I went to Lesser Town in Prague to visit the John Lennon Peace Wall. You know John Lennon right? From The Beatles? "Yellow Submarine"? "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"? The John Lennon wall is a place in Prague where they commemorate his strong lyrics and activist role for peace.

Normally I wouldn't just copy and paste something from the internet, but I'm in a time crunch today, so here is a brief history on the wall:

Prior to 1989 when communism ruled, western pop songs were banned by Communist authorities, and especially John Lennon´s songs, because it was praising freedom that didn’t exist [ in Czech Republic ].

When John Lennon was murdered in 1980 he became a sort of hero to some of the young and his picture was painted on this wall, [….] along with graffiti defying the authorities. Don’t forget that back then the Czech people had few opportunities to express their feelings with their lack of freedom. By doing this, those young activists risked prison for what authorities called “subversive activities against the state.”

But the threat of prison couldn’t keep people from slipping there at night to scrawl graffiti first in the form of Beatles lyrics and odes to Lennon, then they came to paint their own feelings and dreams on the wall.

The Communist police tried repeatedly to whitewash over the portrait and messages of peace but they could never manage to keep the wall clean. On the second day it was again full of poems and flowers with paintings of Lennon. Even the installation of surveillance cameras and the posting of an overnight guard couldn’t stop the opinions from being expressed.

[….] It used to be covered in anti-Communist graffiti, now it is covered in messages of love and peace. The original portrait of Lennon is long lost under the layers of new paints but if you look hard enough you can still find tributes to Lennon [….].

The Lennon Wall represented not only a memorial to John Lennon and his ideas for peace, but also a monument to free speech and the non-violent rebellion of Czech youth against the regime [….]

source: ( http://www.prague.net/john-lennon-wall )

This is the approach up to the wall. I didn't think the wall itself would be this long. At first there were a lot of people, but after just a few minutes people began to leave. 

I brought a marker with me and decided to write my name on the wall.

I couldn't believe it - there was a Greek flag!! 

I think it would be interesting to go back to the John Lennon Wall every week or so and see how the graffiti has changed. It's interesting how back home in the USA graffiti is seen as something "unpleasant" or a signature of gangs, but on this wall the graffiti is seen as a protest and honored for its outspoken nature against a government in the wrong. 

 This wall reminds me of the Freedom Expression Tunnel we have back at North Carolina State University. Students paint graffiti on the entire tunnel: ceiling, walls, floors, and handrails.  

This tunnel and the John Lennon Wall are both respected forms of protest. In my three years at State, I have never painted or written anything in the Freedom Expression Tunnel, but I wrote my name on a wall that I was only around for 20 minutes in Prague. I am eager to go back to the John Lennon Wall and paint/draw something. 

I'm happy that I left my own mark in support of the meaning behind this wall with my own pen "Nicole Fall 2012." Now I am one of the many who will eventually become part of all of the layers of history on the wall. 

All you need is love (and a good wall for graffiti!) !