East Side Gallery: How to Make Photos Of Stunning Street Art
Street art portrait at the East Side Gallery in Berlin, Germany.
The East Side Gallery is a popular tourist destination in Berlin. Located on the banks of the River Spree, the 1,316 meter long open-air gallery is the longest remaining continuous section of the Berlin Wall and a great place to view historic street art.
The East Side Gallery is located on Mühlenstrabe, where the central Berlin districts of Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg connect. Founded in 1989, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the East Side Gallery is an historically significant street art site that receives over 800,000 visitors a year.
The above photo is a good example of the wonderful street art on display at Berlin’s East Side Gallery.
I find the contemplative nature of the figure depicted provides an interesting counterpoint to the bold style with which it’s painted.
Once I decided to travel to Berlin I knew I had to include a visit to the East Side Gallery in my itinerary. And I’m so glad I did.
The quality, diversity and historic relevance of the street art on display is simply stunning.
In this part of Berlin, the actual border between the former East and West German states was the River Spree, literarily a stone’s throw away from the East Side Gallery.
It’s here, at the easternmost and most photogenic section of the wall, where Berlin’s prettiest bridge, the Oberbaumbrücke, arches over the River Spree.
History of the East Side Gallery
The Berlin Wall came down on November 9, 1989. I still remember staying up late at night to watch the event live on TV.
Soon afterwards, a group of 118 artists from 21 countries began the project of painting street art onto what became known as the East Side Gallery.
On September 28, 1990 the site was officially opened as an open-air gallery. A little over a year later, the East Side Gallery was given protected memorial status.
The site very much captures a moment in time with two powerful themes being showcased:
The irrevocable desire East German citizens felt for freedom
The end to the repressive existence they’d be forced to endure under the totalitarian former East German state
Given the absolutely stunning quality of the street art on display, I’d certainly recommend an extended exploration, with camera in hand, of the wonderful East Side Gallery.
Allow at least an hour for your photography. If you’re able to, set aside two full hours for the process.
Simply making photos of the street art on display at the East Side Gallery isn’t enough. You should also take some time to walk around and soak in the nostalgia, from both sides of the wall.
That’s what I did, and I found doing so better informed the way I went about making my photos and the results I achieved.
You see, while you’ll likely end up with two or three favorite photos, to do justice to the site it’s best to think of creating a portfolio of images that better showcases the following:
The quantity and diversity of the street art on display
The issues, themes and narratives explored
The mood of the time during which they works were created
Your own, personal response to the street art on display
Birgit Kinder's street art painting of a Trabant, East Side Gallery, Berlin.
East Side Gallery: Narrative and Symbolism
Visitors to the East Side Gallery in Berlin should prepare themselves for a highly symbolic and visually dynamic street art experience.
Full of message and meaning, these powerful works speak to the desire for freedom experienced by East Germans suffering under the yoke of a soviet-sponsored state.
This photo showcases a great example of street art from the East Side Gallery. It features a Trabant, better known as a Trabi, breaking through the Berlin Wall.
The Trabi, a soviet-made vehicle, was a popular car in the former East German State.
While not a terribly reliable car, it was considered a source of freedom for folks on that side of the border.
The artist Birgit Kinder chose to depict the Trabi breaking through the Berlin Wall.
Notice the car’s license plate displays the date November 9, 1989.
That’s the actual date the Berlin Wall finally fell, and Kinder’s famous street art symbolizes the freedom that iconic event represented for many thousands of East German citizens.
With that knowledge it’s easy to read the narrative explored as that of an East German citizen breaking free from soviet-occupied East Germany.
The irony is that they’re doing so in a soviet-built car that, at the time, represented a kind of freedom for East Germans.
I love how Birgit Kinder has been able to distill that level of complexity in such a seemingly simply image.
I also love how the dynamic moment of the car, busting through the wall, has been juxtaposed against the muted gray and orange colors of the Trabi and the surrounding cooler aqua colored wall.
I wonder if the aqua color of the wall might represent the sky, and it’s association with freedom.
That would make sense as we see the car moving out of the dark, indigo blue of night towards a brighter, more open reality.
That seems a great way to express the dash for freedom of the individual silhouetted behind the wheel of the vehicle.
The barrier between worlds has been broken and the anonymous driver, representing millions of other East German citizens, is about to join us on the other side.
Kani Alavi street art painting at the East Side Gallery in Berlin.
East Side Gallery: the Will of the People Realized
I was also moved by the very expressive painting by artist Kani Alavi an Iranian who moved to West Berlin in 1980.
This excellent example of street art at the East Side Gallery in Berlin depicts a crowd of people breaking through the wall.
I find it to be a particularly poignant example of street art, particularly as many of the faces appear to be expressing relatively neutral emotions.
Perhaps it’s a suggestion of the sameness of life for East German citizens at the time.
Alternatively, it might point to the safety afforded to those not expressing emotions, or individuality, in the former East German State.
Other faces appear to display quite negative emotions, no doubt representing the anxiety associated with their ordeal.
Once again, the sense of movement is suggested as the faces emerge through the wall, the barrier previously separating Germans on either side of the border.
That separation was, of course, multifaceted.
There were two disparate states, encompassing two very different political and economic systems.
One system that celebrated freedom of expression and rewarded hard work and entrepreneurial endeavor.
The other, a slow-moving, centralized system demanding absolute loyalty and actively suppressing individuality and personal expression.
East Side Gallery: The Power of Great Street Art
Great street art serves numerous purposes.
Street art enlivens and renews urban environments
Street art brings art out of stuffy galleries and into public spaces
Street art visually engages passers by and promotes thought and debate
The large and comprehensive collection of street art on display at Berlin’s East Side Gallery showcases the skill of the artists and their ability to tell the story of East-West relations during 1989, one of the most crucial years in modern history.
Germany continues to face all manner of challenges, most recently to its once dominant automative industry.
Nonetheless, advancements that came to this great nation since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification between the former West German Federation and the so-called German Democratic Republic should not be forgotten.
If you find yourself in Berlin, do make the effort to check out the wonderful, open-air East Side Gallery.
You’ll find potent reminders there of what life was like in Europe, when East-West relations were pushed to the brink, and how quickly change came.
Above all else, the East Side Gallery provides us with a message of hope and the knowledge that, in time, change washes away all foul things.
