Because it was so cold, Tracey and I decided to stay on the U2 to the end of the line at U Ruhleben. For much of the trip the train was packed, except may were obviously going to Olympia Stadion as once we left that station we were the only people in these two carriages 🙂
By the way – for the history buffs, Ruhleben was the site of a famous WWI internment camp ( http://bit.ly/1lQFUDF )
“The Pink Man” is a mural by the Italian street artist ‘Blu’. Painted in 2007, it is at the western end of the Oberbaum Bridge in Kreuzberg. The five storey tall monster is made from lots of smaller humans, one of which he appears to be about to eat.
I was looking for a large hourglass mural by the artist Blu, however I suspect it has since been replaced by these two (the hourglass seems to have been where the male figure is ) “Make Love not War” above the Magnet club at Oberbaumbrücke, is part of the AXE campaign ( http://bit.ly/1i50C16 ) which encourages people to stay in bed on May the 4th to promote world peace. ( I kid you not. http://bit.ly/1i50EGm ) Because of the proximity to the rail line it is a prime spot for street advertising.
Gendarmenmarket, Berlin. To the right is the French Cathedral and to the left the Berlin Concert hall or Konzerthaus. It is named after the cuirassier (cavalry) regiment Gens d’Armes, which had their stables at the square until 1773. ( http://bit.ly/1q0sCZw )
Peaceful scene on the Landwehr Canal, Berlin. For those of a historical bent, it was into this canal that Rosa Luxemburg‘s body was dumped after she was murdered by the Freikorps on 15 January 1919. “Freedom is always the freedom of the one who thinks differently” http://bit.ly/1pXT1an
Alias is a street artist who moved from Hamburg to berlin where he has achieved quite a reputation for his stencil work. In particular he places his work with relevance, in this case the boy sitting appears behind bars. I have another photo where the same boy seems to be waiting in a doorway ( http://bit.ly/1i4zNFX )
In the Stolpersteine in the footpaths outside many buildings in Berlin are such simple but poignant stories. This collection of four is outside a building in Danzigerstrase, Prenzlauer. The information relates to a Jewish family that lived in the adjacent house. Arthur Wolfberg, born 1897 (by inference the father), Herta Wolfberg born 1899 (by inference the mother, Helga Wolfberg born 1924 (daughter?) and Gunter Wolfberg born 1925 (son?). All deported 3 February 1943, all murdered in Auschwitz. http://bit.ly/1miyZ8Z
My search for significant street art in Berlin took me to Cuvrystrasse in Kreuzberg. I was looking for a two part mural by the Italian artist Blu. One depicting an unmasking my two figures making East and West signs with their hands, the other a business man adjusting his tie with a gold chain between two rolex watches
Having seen a number of photos of the artwork I was surprised to see what I expected was an open area, to be surrounded by a set of fences, and the site full of shacks built from assortments of building materials, plastic tarps and the like.
Initially I was just going to take a couple of photos from outside and leave, however I started talking to one of the occupants who I understood came from Bulgaria. “Talk” may be an exaggeration as we had no language in common. I explained what I was doing and he offered to take me through the camp to the walls – I explained I would not take any photos of the camp or occupants.
Within the camp there were braziers cooking lunch and quite a few kids who ran to the walls with me. I took my photos, thanked the man who showed me the way with a tip, and left
Since then I’ve been reading a lot about Kreuzberg and Cuvrystrasse, trying to become more knowledgeable about its place in Berlin culture. Some of it is about freedom and the community response to gentrification. Some is about protest and violence, some about celebration.
The artist ‘Nomad’ uses a pictogram style in his painting “Rounded Heads”. This is pretty much across Oppelner Strasse from the Yellow man mural in Kreuzberg ( http://bit.ly/PRbowX… )
The London Police have a very distinctive style ( http://bit.ly/R0fAeM ). “The Lads” appears on a wall which looks like it is the background to a kids playground at the corner of Cuvrystrasse and Wangelstrasse in Kreuzberg.
