Love in German is pronounced “lee-buh.” This piece is about the graffiti in on the Berlin Wall….plus some.
The back gives the gist of the entire shirt: the act of graffiti on the Berlin Wall was an act of Liberty.
Details: some original graffiti from the wall. the barbed wire slowly turns into butterflies. “ich bin ein berliner” is a famous speech by JFK when he tried to appeal to the West German cause and accidentally said “I’m a jelly donut” instead of “I’m a Berlin Citizen”.
Also: November 9th at the bottom of the piece is an important date in German History. The wall fell that day in 1989. It was the date, when in 1918, after Germany loses World War I, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates and Germany is proclaimed a Republic. It was the date of Hilter’s Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. The Beer Hall Putsch was the coup d’tat that made Hitler and his Nazis famous. 10 years later he’d be the most powerful man in the world. In 1938, it was the date of Kristallnacht, when there were a series of co-ordinated attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria……. anyways November 9th is a HUGE fucking date in German history. Suck it History class. Just go to the ZAM website and you can learn EVERYTHING!!
“Hilfe, Hilfe, Hilfe” (written on the one of the spray paint cans) means “help, help, help.” This 18 kid, named Peter Fechter, tried to cross the Berlin Wall on August 17th, 1962 into East Berlin but was shot by West German guards. As he lay, bleeding from his stomach, in the middle of East and West Territory, he yelled out “Hilfe, Hilfe, Hilfe” but no one would help because neither side wanted to cross into the others territory in fear of starting World War 3. Weird but fucking true.
Juliet open neck:
Sweatshirts:
Research/concept art/Making of:
This may very well be my most favorite shirt ever.
