The Graffiti of Tartu
Graffiti is everywhere in the world and to be completely
honest-- I love it. I must admit that I'm a complete toy when
it comes to writing, but as an artist (in other mediums), I
can see the huge amount of effort and creativity that goes
into these works. Since I have been living in Tartu for a little
more than two months, I have recorded as much of the graffiti
in the town as I can find. While I can't possibly cover the whole
town, I have searched and posted the best pics I have. There
are some great writers in this town, including some of my
favorites, Dirty (whose stuff is all over), Rave, and Gruuv.
Check at the bottom for some good links to graffiti resources.
There's some great Estonian graffiti sites, mostly made by the
artists. Plus there's a great article on the history of Estonian
graffiti at the Estonian Art Institute. Some 19th century graffiti
can be seen at the University Students' Lock-up; I suppose
that's proof that graffiti was around, albeit in a different form,
before NYC.
A piece near the town square. Because it's on an abandoned building, the plaster
of the building is falling off along with the art. Too bad.
Two pieces on the same wall as the pic above. Nicely done but falling off the wall.
Also near the town square, but on a different wall. This one's high up so it was
probably done when there was a scaffold there. I like this one.
This one's on the back of a building near my school building. This was hard to find;
I only saw it by accident.
This one is on a small building near my friend Sam's apartment building. Not sure
what the building's for (maybe to spraypaint on?), but this looks cool.
This is on the side of the 'Harley Davidson' store. It has camping supplies and militia clothing.
Didn't see much Harley Davidson anything in the entire store though.
On the same building as the 'Slim' one.
There is a huge skate culture here in Tartu, and this halfpipe is evidence of that. Some
good work on the pipe, but it's mostly covered with tags. In the background is the
building with the muscle man and slim.
Aerozol Assasins- Estonian crew.
Anton Koovit- An Estonian artist. Only in estonian, but you really don't need to know the language to navigate.
CAPO- Another Estonian crew.
D'Art- An Estonian duo who do graphic design along with graffiti.
Estonian Art 2' 1999- The web page for the Estonian Art Institute has an excellent article on the history of Estonian graffiti.
Graffiti @ Yokohama- One of my favorite sites for viewing art online. It may not have anything to do with Estonia, but it's
definitely worth your time.
Artcrimes.org- The best graffiti resource on the net. If you have even a passing interest in the art form check this out.
Same place, same problems.
Right next to the previous one.
On the side of an apartment building on Pikk Str.
Must be some Drum'n'Bass fan...
A little bit of 3-D stuff.
Unfortunately, I couldn't move that stuff to see the rest of the piece.
Another piece in the ganja vein. Bob Marley would be proud.
The Sugarhill Gang! Ok, so they weren't really here...
An excellent wildstyle piece.
