Painters have been trying to capture the essence of nature’s beauty in paintings since time immemorial. Famous painters such as Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, Michelangelo Buonarroti and many others have painted during art movements such as impressionism, expressionism, and realism with their own distinct styles and mediums. One of the oldest forms of art was creating hand painted murals on walls, ceilings, and other large flat surfaces.

Murals can be traced back to the times when cave paintings involving images of lions and horses were created using crushed colorful minerals. Murals have increased in complexity from the times of ancient civilizations of France, Greece, Rome, and Pompeii to the Federal Art Project by Franklin D. Roosevelt after the Great Depression. Mural painting usually falls into the following categories but is not limited to Political Murals, Historical Murals, Environmental Murals, Religious Murals and Recreations of Famous Artwork.

A mural is a large image that can be painted directly or applied to a wall. Murals can be painted on many surfaces such as wood, canvas, concrete, wallboard and certain types of wallpaper. Depending on the design, size and detail of the painting and painter’s skills set, hand painted murals can take a day or two, a week or several months to be completed. They can add an artistic and elegant look to either home, office, hotel or exhibition décor or any environment. Murals are not only painted on large surfaces but also on tiles belonging to the bathroom or kitchen to add more beauty to the space. Murals come in different sizes and forms and can be chosen based on one’s budget.

Hand painted murals aren’t the only option

Murals come in three different forms: hand painted murals, tattoo wall murals, and digital murals. Hand painted murals are usually expensive when customized by a creative artist but cost less when taken as a DIY project. These murals can be created with or without a ‘trompe l’oeil effect’ which is an art technique that results in realistic images that visually appear in three dimensions. These mural paintings can either cover an entire wall or ceiling or a part depending on the design and space.

On the other hand, the tattoo wall murals involve the creation of design on a thin and flexible film or paper which is then transferred to the desired surface. This form of murals is easier to paste on walls since it involves direct transfer of color pigments without any prior wall arrangements. The third form, the digital murals are high resolution wallpaper prints that are applied to any décor to create a dramatic ambiance. These murals are usually created for restaurants, business environments or even homes.

Mural painting costs are determined by various features

The cost of custom hand painted murals depends on the size, location, painting surface, complexity and detail of image and the type of paints (oil or acrylic). With oil paints, it takes a longer time to paint than acrylic paints. Moreover, oil painted murals are expensive than acrylic painted murals. Artists charge lower for mural painting an interior flat surface and higher for an exterior heavily textured wall.

Conflict breeds emotion. Through emotion comes action, and action creates visual, perceivable results that thrill and inspire us all. A story doesn’t capture imagination unless it’s wrought with conflict and its byproducts, but does that make conflict a good thing? Some conflict spurs us on and helps us grow as individuals, but other forms of conflict destroy lives and entire societies.

Perhaps the human race is a bit too fixated on the intrigue of suffering and controversy, but the emotional impact of the most devastating events in history is undeniably powerful. One such visceral object—a visual symbol that embodies pain, emotion, and unforgettable history—is the Berlin Wall and its art. We all know the history; we all know the conflict. Decades later, how is that emotion still thrust upon the walls?

a visual symbol that embodies pain, emotion, and unforgettable history

To quickly run through the history of this subject, let’s start at the beginning. In August of 1961, the birth of the Berlin Wall consisted of little more than a barbed wire fence; a product of growing tension and disputes between East and West Germany. A powerful symbol of the Cold War, what once was a simple fence quickly became a sophisticated system of guard towers, electric fences, and concrete walls. The wall was reconstructed in the ’80s, composed of tall concrete slabs.

The reconstructed walls opened up a new opportunity; the 14-foot-high walls cried out the more radical international populace of West Berlin as if they were massive concrete canvases. A stark contrast immediately could be seen between the free thinking, artistically bold community of West Berlin and the downtrodden, suppressed East Berliners. While one side of the wall attracted visitors from all over to witness and add to the melting pot of graffiti, messages, and various other forms of art, the other side remained barren and blank, reflecting the strong differences between the two peoples.

Severe political differences and oppression can certainly fuel emotion and artistic action—if that isn’t dramatic conflict, I don’t know what is. The final fall of the Berlin Wall struck a powerful chord across the world, but not the entire concrete monument went down. Much of the wall was dismantled in ’89, shipped out and ground down into underlay for new autobahns, while some sections were sold off to collectors. However, today a 1316 meter stretch of the wall known as the East Side Gallery still stands, featuring the art of over a hundred different artists from over twenty countries along with striking messages of the past.

Through fire and flames; oppression and adversity; creativity lives on. How is the East Side Gallery holding up today? Unfortunately many of the captivating murals and graffiti works of old were created using cheap, short-lived paint supplies. Much of the art flaked and crumbled on the old surfaces, and much more of it became marred with wanton vandalism long after the wall first came down. In light of this, a non-profit organization began the massive undertaking of preserving and restoring the Gallery in 2000.

Unfortunately much of the art in question was beyond repair, and was intentionally removed through the restoration’s process. Many artists agreed to return to restore their original creations, but a handful of them refused. Without permission the pieces were replicated, much to their behest of the original artists. Legal squabbles are now under way, and whether or not the art shall be listed as destroyed and copied without artist permission is still under discussion.

Regardless of legal disputes, public artistic expression is an ever changing facet of both the past and future. What is visible one day is destroyed or painted over the next, and years later perhaps another artistic vision takes its place and inspires a new generation. What lies in store for the East Side Gallery? Hopefully more than hurt feelings and lawsuits, because in the end, the message of freedom and equality continues to stand tall upon the remaining fragment of what once suppressed—and later enlightened—a generation.

Whatever the future holds, this message rings loud and clear: “No more wars. No more walls. A united world.”