“Stay Free” by Christopher Frank, East Side Gallery
Mühlenstraße, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg
Berlin, September 2011
“In papers due to be filed at a Berlin court this week, the artists say they – and about 80 other painters who decorated the wall shortly after the borders between east and west were opened in November 1989 – were offered €3,000 (£2,700) each by Berlin council to recreate their original murals after the site was overhauled for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall two years ago. The artists were told if they refused to comply, an urban renewal firm contracted by the council would whitewash their work and get someone else to re-create – or ‘forge’, according to the aggrieved artists – the originals. It is not unlike a London borough destroying a piece of Banksy graffiti and then getting it re-created in order to keep the tourists coming.” (Berlin Wall artists sue city in copyright controversy, The Guardian)
See also: Berlin Wall - Test the Rest - Bruderkuß - Without Title - Sonic Malade - Vergesst mir die Liebe nicht - Niemandsland - Many Small People - Curriculum Vitae
There's always something happening in Berlin... :-)
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