Graffiti or “street art” is usually considered to be vandalism, act of defacing property. As any large city, Prague too has been confronted with graffiti art, though essentially unknown prior to Velvet Revolution of 1989. While “tagging,” writing of simple signatures, is especially looked down upon as senseless scribble, creative graffiti art is definitely present around Prague. In some areas of gray-prefab tenement neighborhoods, commonly constructed during forty years of communist era, creative graffiti projects have indeed been on occasion encouraged to mitigate the depressing architectural style. Other “legal-walls“ and surfaces maybe at times set aside by city governments and graffiti artists get invited to enhance the otherwise unsightly vertical space, including certain pedestrian underpasses and walkways, though the designated legal areas do not abound. That to allow creative juices free expression may produce fascinating graffiti art is no doubt. It not only provides for self-realization of the artist,
but also is a wise move that curbs illegal graffiti. Following are graffiti under Barandow bridge, a well-know multi-lane freeway and pedestrian structure below the famous Barrandov Film Studios, and one of the legal graffiti walls, or zones, of Prague.
