1. John Lennon

I’ve been looking forward to seeing this for quite some time.  The John Lennon Wall in Prague has become a piece of “live” street art that has evolved daily since the 1980s.  Since then, artists have come here to create messages honoring John Lennon and the ideals for which he stood — Peace.  Love.  Hope.  Today, as I slowly walk the length of the wall, I read lyrics of Beatles’ songs written in vivid colors and listen to a man playing “Imagine” on the guitar.  It’s a very peaceful setting, nestled into a quiet neighborhood on a tree-lined street.  As I bring my camera to my eye, I try to envision what Prague was like when the wall was originally created during communist rule.  Young Czechs would come here to create anti-communist graffiti in protest of the ban on Western pop music.  It ultimately became art memorializing John Lennon after he was shot and killed on December 8, 1980.  The wall continued to evolve, and it does so even today as I watch a man writing a message on it with a black marker.  Originally, the Knights of Malta, who own the wall, would have come and whitewashed over his message.  But those days are long gone.  The Knights learned that their efforts were futile.  Just as quickly as they painted over the messages, new ones appeared the next day.  As I look at the years of patterns of colors and heartfelt messages that overlap one another, I can see why it was best that they just let it be…