Graffiti in Estonia
Rainer Vilumaa

	There are many plausible answers to the question of why artistic or visual graffiti has reached Estonia so late. One of the major reasons may be that graffiti as an aesthetic-manifest movement first started to spread in the USA and then in Western European cities. At this time, Estonia was in the firm clutches of Soviet ideology and propaganda. The information blockade which followed by consequence was established in order to suppress the influence of the decadent culture of 'the corrupt West'. Graffiti represented the disease of the capitalist system par excellence. In addition, Estonian society and environment lacked the Western conditions that would have boosted the spread of graffiti. Although it sounds paradoxical, one reason graffiti did not achieve popularity was that the nationalistic opposition to Russians; scribbling on the walls was considered a typically Russian vice (epigrams such as 'Vasya was here', manifestations of territorial identity in the style of 'Tsar Goga', etc. were widely parodied and ridiculed). The major obstacle to the emergence of graffiti in Estonia is the absence of metropolitan culture. According to Jean Baudrillard, one of the first apologists of the graffiti movement, graffiti is a phenomenon which makes depersonified space more imaginative and creates identity landscapes (Baudrillard 1984). In a small country like Estonia, where even the largest city contains no more than half a million inhabitants, it would be naïve to expect street culture to flourish, like in New York or a European capital. The population concentration is very low and almost everybody is connected with everybody else, in some way or another; there is no cause to be afraid of anonymity and oblivion which in the past led to the explosive spread of graffiti in the USA (Mailer 1974). Graffiti also cannot be an expression of aesthetic protest against boring scenery in the country, where ancient architecture is traditionally highly valued, or in the city, where greenery has always been encouraged. On a certain 'embryonic' level, graffiti-inspiring factors have always been present, but have simply not been strong enough to actually give birth to it. It may therefore seem that the graffiti movement in Estonia was initiated by an injection from outside, i.e. the first 'NewYork-style' works were produced by foreigners, probably by Finns. It is very difficult to say precisely when this style of graffiti began spreading in Estonia, beginning of course in Tallinn, but it is likely in the early 1990s; nothing much has survived of that period. It is interesting that Estonia has never systematically fought against graffiti.
	Despite its uneven quality, group-produced graffiti underwent a very fast, even explosive development after 1997. At first sight it may seem rather random, but the timing can probably be explained by the convergence of various circumstances: the stabilisation of society and economy; easy access to quality aerosol paints; and the chance to communicate with one's contemporaries and symphatisers abroad. Foremost, however, is the final acceptance of Western paradigms. The last, but by no means the least, factor in the emergence of graffiti is the spread of hip-hop culture and rap music in Estonia. Since the 1980s, the hip-hop movement, whose characteristic spontaneity and aggressiveness is highly regarded aesthetically, has been the main carrier of graffiti as a cultural phenomenon. There is even a style of group-graffiti called hip-hop (Phillips 1996); this name rather embodies the whole lifestyle and attitude associated with the movement. The elementary graffiti method of younger Estonians (especially boys) includes writing names, logos and emblems in all conceivable places and by all conceivable means.
	'Graffiti Monuments'. A Comparison of Tartu and Tallinn Most graffiti-related monuments are not meant to be preserved. Already in 1996, the murals of the Kaarli puiestee pedestrian tunnel, one of the most central graffiti manifestations in Tallinn, were destroyed. As graffiti is forced out from one place, it inevitably pops up somewhere else; so indeed it has happened so far. Despite this, several centres have emerged in Tallinn, kind of 'honorary walls' - the Lasnamäe quarry, and the wall of the industrial building at the crossing of the Paldiski road viaduct and the Tallinn-Paldiski railway. A large part of these have been painted over by now, but the best still remain. Graffiti generally attracts more graffiti, even to the extent that one kind of graffiti draws the like - the quality hardly ever varies at one specific site. Some dissonance can be detected in ethical problems, since some graffiti on the Paldiski road wall has been painted over in order to be replaced by another. This obviously has nothing to do with a shortage of space; there is really no excuse for such disrespect. In many ways, Tartu seems a far more graffiti-friendly place. It is an irony of fate that graffiti in Tartu just crumbles away, rather than being destroyed. Graffiti under the Võidu bridge have almost vanished already; the paints cannot breathe, and so the stone comes off, layer by layer. Practically every bridge across the Emajõgi River is a real graffiti monument, especially the new Kroonuaia bridge which is covered in abundant paintings. The courtyard between the Lai and Kroonuaia streets, where the punk band Nyrok City allegedly has its headquarters, is quite a sight. Unfortunately there, too, the dampness of the river valley is gradually destroying these splendid graffiti works. A real graffiti temple is the former shelter on Pargi street, now a club called Shelter 2000. Edy Maria Remarque and many others designed it as a genuine palace of Chaos; graffiti covers the whole building, both outside and inside.
	A significant difference between Tallinn and Tartu graffiti is the kind of people who actually produce it. In Tallinn, the graffiti artists are mostly hiphoppers. In Tartu, old punks join in too. Another characteristic difference is that students of the Art School in Tartu are also keen on graffiti, whereas the students at the Academy of Arts in Tallinn are interested in graffiti mostly on a meta level (i.e. not directly). Textuality come first in Tallinn, but in Tartu it is the pictorial material that dominates. Tartu's attitude to graffiti as art seems on the whole more serious. What is common between the two cities is that graffiti tends to gather in places where there is vigorous traffic - by railways in Tallinn and by the river in Tartu. Graffiti appears as soon as the sufficient conditions are there. The Tallinn examples demonstrate one peculiarity of Estonian graffiti - passivity towards the passer-by; the graffiti is simply a forum.
	Estonian artists who have used graffiti motives. Generations The works of Estonian painters (e.g. Jüri Kask) evidence indirect impulses to produce graffiti already during the 1980s. Several artists of the middle and younger generations reacted to the emergence of graffiti namely in 1997, when this phenomenon began to strongly influence the local city space. Amongst the artists of the middle generation, Jaan Elken was the one to welcome graffiti most sincerely and directly. As an architect, Elken has always been able to perceive the city environment and get a feel for city landscapes. At first, he was intrigued by the information that the city itself offered (Mum's going to kill us, if we don't eat soup; Sugar free), but researching the possibilities of illegal and seemingly random graffiti turned out to be far more fascinating. It has often been said that Elken's canvases, which may appear rather casually and even carelessly painted, resemble Jean Michel Basquiat's works. The similarity, however, is purely visual, mostly in the coinciding lines. Although both artists have been interested in street culture, their backgrounds and intentions differ remarkably. In 1998, Elken visited New York, home of the graffiti movement. He was inspired to produce quite a few paintings which try to convey the local colouring in general, as well as the effect added by graffiti. The paintings were displayed in May of the same year at the Vaal Gallery at Elken's solo exhibition Ametropia. Relatively similar to Elken is Ado Lill, a self-made man. Due to his own noninstitutional background, he has a closer connection with graffiti as an noninstitutional field of art than many others. Admittedly, he has so far been fond of abstract painting which has very little in common with the apparently representational graffiti. His attitude towards graffiti is indeed more reserved than Elken's. On wide spaces, he uses only a few motifs. '666' was exhibited at the Vaal Gallery in 1996. Perhaps this was meant only as a spark of a demonic element, because Lill has always been fascinated by diabolism-satanism in his graphic art; he made what seemed like graffiti serving the wild. It is interesting that like Elken, Lill too is in the habit of overpainting his old pictures. Re-using one space for painting seems to be common to both the caves of the primeval period and 20th century cities.
	In contrast to Lill's scepticism and reservations, Toomas Vint feels nothing but contempt for graffiti. It's no wonder when something screeching, filthy and indistinct tramples on the grass, shuffles behind prettily shaped bushes and scribbles obscenities on aesthetically well-designed beach cabins. This stands true for the works that Vint displayed at the 1997 autumn exhibition in the Tallinn Art Hall. Despite that graffiti is totally alien to Vint, he decided to put it to a test. He it let loose in his own garden. to show how ugly graffiti is, and how beautiful the landscape he organised is. The younger generation of artists' relationship with graffiti is much more straightforward, even if not necessarily positive.. It is truly difficult to guess what a versatile artist like Jasper Zoova is prepared to take without scepticism or at least irony. He projects a superiority regardless of the medium he is using. Although his passion for graffiti is unmistakable, he is totally unable to resist it, he steadily refuses to think of himself as a graffiti artist. These claims seem to contradict one another, but this is the only way to really speak about Zoova at all. There is nothing sacred in motifs, and he is by no means immune to the sick, distorted ideas that continually surround him. Tarrvi Laamann also displays a gentle fascination with graffiti, although his attitude does not seem to be so sceptical. Laamann's world of art has an introverted nature, and he often perceives things upside down through his unique psychic prism. Since textuality and its hidden meanings occupy a significant place in his work, he is also fond of expression via graffiti; he has indeed used it on many occasions.
	It is difficult to find an artist with a more extroverted way of expression than Kiwa. He enjoys graffiti because for him, it is a modern and intriguing way to express oneself artistically. I reached the notion 'pseudograffiti' namely by following Kiwa's work. The result of trying to copy and mark something cannot be authentic graffiti. Kiwa has revealed his interest in graffiti as a meaningful phenomenon by actively taking part in graffiti projects at various exhibitions. Of the younger artists, Al Paldrok, who is actually a sculptor, uses elements of graffiti in his work. In the summer of 1996, he redesigned the Tivoli ghost castles in Kadriorg with Zoova and Laamann. They revitalised the formerly banal and boring thing, creating completely new aesthetics of horror with their frightening sculptures.
	There are plenty of artists in Estonia who are interested in the aesthetic possibilities of graffiti. I could mention only a few of the most notable ones in this article. The answer to the question what characterises Estonian graffiti, and what makes it essentially Estonian is short and simple - graffiti is Estonian when it is made in Estonia. Vernacular peculiarity is added by language, but it is of secondary importance in the context of art. Graffiti is a global phenomenon which does not recognise national obstacles; Estonian graffiti is also European graffiti and the world's graffiti.
	| Estonian Art 2/99 (6) | Published by the Estonian Institute 1999 | ISSN 1406-5711 | einst@einst.ee | tel: (372) 631 43 55 | fax: (372) 631 43 56 |