As promised, this is the piece I wrote for my travel writing class describing my fascination of the John Lennon Wall in Prague. Enjoy!
On the wall lies an image of a man of who is vaguely familiar. The artist who painted him was careful in his strokes, as it is visible how much this drawing meant to him. The sketches are gentle and precise, every detail worked in so perfectly. He has shoulder length brown hair, glasses, and a pointy nose. His eyebrows are bushy and his beard covers the majority of his face from the bottom of his nose downward. There is little expression on his face in this particular illustration, but he seems sincere. A quote follows his face that reads, “I am not afraid of death. I don’t believe in it.”
The precision and detail in both the illustration and the quote tell something about the artist; the person who said those words was special to them. A step back from the wall allows a new insight into the artist’s creation. Whether purposefully or not, the quote placed underneath the familiar man’s face tells the story for many visitors and admirers to come. In what seems to be a lightning jolt of knowledge to the brain, it becomes clear that the man’s face looking out to the world from this very wall is not any ordinary man -- he is John Lennon, the hero of the youth of the Czech Republic.
Whenever we hear about the music of the 60’s, there is one band that everyone remembers: The Beatles. Now, for a second, imagine what life would have been like without The Beatles. Does it seem a bit empty? For the youth of the Czech Republic, The Beatles were far from non-existent – but their Communist authorities surely tried to keep it that way. Until 1989, “western pop songs were banned, especially John Lennon’s songs, because [they] praised freedom that did not exist” in the Czech Republic (1). If this is true, then why does John Lennon have a whole wall dedicated to him in Prague? Lennon never even visited the city of Prague during his lifetime. In fact, the wall did not even come into existence until after Lennon had been killed in 1980. To the untrained eye, the Lennon Wall may not offer much insight into the real story of its creation. The story behind the wall, however, remains a powerful story of love, peace, and youth.
When Lennon was murdered in 1980, a mural of his face was painted on a wall in Grand Priory Square in Mala Strana, Prague. The mock-grave of Lennon resides “within a garden wall that forms the backside of a 14th century churchyard,” containing not only Lennon’s famous face, but graffiti speaking out against the Communist authorities (2). For weeks, the Communist police attempted to control the madness of the wall, but they never seemed able to keep the wall clean. Murals of Lennon and lyrics of Beatles songs engulfed the wall faster than authorities could stop it. Soon enough, the wall “took on a political focus” and became a graveyard for Communism and the loss of a young hero (2). In a last effort to preserve the wall, the story remains that a French ambassador telephoned authorities in Prague in 1989 and asked that they leave the wall as is. Who it was that made the call is not exactly clear – it has been debated for quite some time – but whoever he was, the youth of the Czech Republic and admirers for years to come have much to thank him for. Over thirty years later, the wall still stands – graffiti and all.
At first glance, the John Lennon wall looks like any other graffiti infested wall found in any major city. Spray paint covers the vast majority of the space, bleeding colors of pink, purple, green, blue, yellow, red, and black and all the shades in between. Hints of past drawings and sketches peak out from behind the freshly painted peace signs that overwhelm the space. Occasionally, a “Sarah loves John” or “Timmy was here” sneaks its way into a beautiful mural. The twists and turns of various forms of cursive and bubble letters are scattered to create a wave of size; it feels as though a mountain range of color and shape has erupted onto this seemingly flat surface. Like the wind, the murals, pictures, and drawings come and go with each passing day. What once was a mural of Lennon transforms into a peace sign with doves and notes of love. Lyrics of “Let It Be” transform into the face of Lennon with his infamous eyeglasses. Love is everywhere – literally. With every glance, “All you need is love” is painted, written, or scribbled on every inch of the wall. If examined closely enough, countless other Beatle references are found. A yellow submarine bleeds out from the wall, along with other iconic Beatle images. If enough time is spent, even quotes from other famous musicians, philosophers, and politicians can be found. Over time, as the transformations and blurred images become more visible and detailed, it is easy to see just how unique a place the Lennon Wall is. Every word, picture, and lyric on the wall becomes something new by the touch of an artist, a musician, a fan, a lover, a tourist, or an admirer.
From across the street, the wall looks like a jumbled pile of word vomit with random pictures squeezed into any place they could fit. But if examined a bit more closely, the wall glimmers. It has no glitter or confetti, but simply sparkles with the symbolism of the love, freedom, and peace John Lennon and The Beatles sang about. John Lennon was a hero to the youth of the Czech Republic. During Lennon’s reign, “the Czech people had few opportunities to express their feelings with their lack of freedom” (1). Lennon’s music granted them an opportunity to express their thoughts and dreams for the world. Although it seems odd that a flat wall can represent so much of a youth’s history, the John Lennon Wall does exactly that. Just as the wall undergoes transformation regularly, the youth of the Czech Republic underwent countless transformations as well. The Lennon Wall remains the Czech youth’s mini-history book; here, they expressed their demands, their dreams, their hopes, their prayers, their sadness, and their gratitude. The wall is not simply a wall – it is a canvas for all of humanity to share in the history of a culture that fought for the same love and freedom that John Lennon sang about.
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