Prague’s graffiti-covered John Lennon Wall, a favourite photo spot for tourists and a symbol of Western culture under the former communist regime, was painted completely white on Tuesday, reported Reuters. The Wall had been a forum for anti-communist calls, love messages and hippie-style paintings even before Lennon’s death in 1980 when Prague was still the capital of communist Czechoslovakia
The Wall which had been the city’s symbol of artistic resistance against the communist regime had been “reimagined” and “vandalised” by a group of graffiti artists, stated The Atlantic.
The groups of art students known as the Prague Services have painted the entire graffiti-covered wall in white except for the words the, “Wall Is Over!”
Following the assassination of legendary Beatles musician John Lennon, the Wall had been painted over countless times.A group of anonymous students claiming to be from Prague art schools and calling themselves ‘Prague Services’ claimed responsibility for painting over the Wall on the 25th anniversary of the country’s ‘Velvet Revolution’ that shook off communist rule.
“Twenty-five years ago, one big totalitarian wall fell...Students of art schools are expressing their commemoration of (1989) and opening room for new messages of the current generation,” they said in a statement.
According to Reuters, before 1989, protest notes and the Western pop culture symbolism of the Wall were a thorn in the side for Communist authorities who often covered it in military-style green or grey paint.
Following the revolution, the spot became a gathering spot for tourists who often added their own messages and took pictures at the Wall.
The Associated Press reported that since the ‘Velvet Revolution’ the Wall has become an instrument for activism and calls by artists for world peace. The Sovereign Order of Malta, the owner of the Wall, has been deliberating over whether or not to take legal action against the students for “vandalising” such an important piece of art history.
The arts website muralguide.com states that in 1988, the Wall was a source of irritation for the communist regime of Gustáv Husák. The younger citizens of Czechoslovakia would write their grievances on the Wall which inadvertently led to a clash between hundreds of students and security police on the nearby Charles Bridge.
The movement these students followed was described ironically as ‘Lennonism’ with the Czechoslovakian authorities describing these people as alcoholics, mentally deranged, sociopathic, and agents of Western capitalism.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 21st, 2014.
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