Monday, July 18, 2016

Ufa Street Art, Pt. 3


Let me be completely honest for a moment. If you don't know me personally, or maybe if you do, you might not realize I'm one of the most introverted people ever. Besides holding a conversation and small talk I hate going out of my comfort zone and I hate doing anything that will draw attention to myself. Basically, I'd be okay just going through the motions of life until I die without having to interact with people. Okay, that might be a little dramatic because I do crave human interaction sometimes. I love to take pictures, but I get anxiety a lot of time worrying about what people think about me. About two months ago I went with Anton to pay his rent. I sat outside while he went to pay and noticed the art work above. I was too scared to walk over to take a picture so I vowed to come back another time. (Ignore the foul language in the photos)

Flash forward to a few weeks ago, and Anton had to pay rent again. Once more I sat on the bench and had an internal battle with myself debating whether I'd go to take a photo or not. Alas, my anxiety won and I didn't go until Anton came back out and suddenly I had the strength to go take that picture. As I was walking towards the wall I noticed an entire area covered in street art. I could not believe all this was hiding in this enclave of high class apartment buildings. I didn't have time to take pictures because Anton needed to go to the bank, but fortunately he forgot his passport so we had to return, and I knew while he was at the bank I would go back to take the pictures.

I actually didn't bring the correct camera lens for taking photos but I was determined to take them. It was nice that the rain let off for a little bit and I had the whole area for myself. A group of girls did show up as I was finishing and they were looking at me quite strangely, but it's okay because I will probably never see them again.

I don't actually know why all this graffiti is there. I was told by one of my friends that companies will hire artists to paint walls and include their logos, which you can see in some of the photos above. Companies like Добрый and DERUFA are advertised in some of the designs. As winter ended I began to notice a lot more street art around the city covering the sides of buildings. I think it might be the city's attempt to cover up bare, cracked walls. What do you think about cities using street art and murals to cover up walls instead of just painting them a solid color?

9 comments

  1. Love the man with the coffee peaking hehe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know! It's awesome! I actually saw it on Instagram first, and I was like "I'll never find that in Ufa." I couldn't believe that I found it.

      Delete
  2. There's a street here in my hometown of Toronto called "Graffiti Alley." I have driven by it so many times in the past, but have never stopped to take photos of it. I may need to now after reading this.

    If "a picture tells a thousand words," then what does graffiti art tell you? I think it is a beautiful way of showing you the heart of the neighbourhood you are in. That's why I'm always drawn by graffiti art no matter where I am in the world and love to take photos of it, like you did.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think graffiti can be so beautiful and it shows the talent of the people there. I HATE tags though. I wish people could just go without tagging their name.

      Delete
  3. I am completely and utterly obsessed and want to visit Ufa so bad. Or just anywhere in Russia apart from Moscow (and Moscow for a second time).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, Ufa is kind of boring. You should definitely visit Kazan!

      Delete
  4. So glad you summoned up the courage for these photos, Jasilyn! :)

    You're using a "camera" camera, right? That's what I originally had, back in the day, and it seemed to make people suspicious but after switching to a smartphone, no one would even look twice when I photographed stuff. Might be a good way for you to go "undercover" if you have a decent camera on your phone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I have a DSLR camera which is what I use for 95% of my photos on here. I use my iPhone for Instagram so I usually have both and people give me weird looks for using my phone when I have a camera.

      Delete
  5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

© Tiny Sputniks. Design by Fearne.