I only spent two days in Zagreb but luckily I managed to see an absurd amount of innovative street art before leaving. Our group was a bit unlucky with weather during our time in Zagreb but when the sun did shine, it was simply glorious. On my last night in town and during the last remaining hour of sunlight, I wandered toward the train tracks to spot graffiti.
There is a long public wall along Branimirova Street, which dates back to 1987, where local artists showcase their latest street art masterpiece. To go a bit deeper into its history, the art I saw is actually the result of a competition in six of Croatia’s most respected artists chose 83 pieces to be replicated on the wall. This was the first project that the Street Art Museum (MUU) organized and one of its most successful. The cool thing about MUU is that there is no physical address. All of the “galleries” are located throughout the city much like the one I found.
My only problem with this gallery’s location is that there is a really thin sidewalk so there is not much separating you from the cars whipping by during rush hour. Then again, maybe I could have chosen a better time to visit. It was pretty cool to walk so close to the wall because there is so much detail in some of the work that you probably wouldn’t have noticed from across the street. It was really hard to narrow down my favorites but here are ten that sparked my interest the most.
Flames of Color -The bright pink, yellow and blue colors used in this piece really lifted my mood and I almost forgot that it was still drizzling outside.
The Big 23 – I really liked this one mainly because 23 was a very tough yet rewarding year for me, as I’m sure it is for most 20-somethings.
Young and in Love – This was one of the more simple pieces in some ways but it struck a chord with me. Love is something we all understand.
Channeling Lisa Frank – This is my childhood in one photograph. Seriously though, this reminds me of Lisa Frank and the Skittles commercials.
Flower power – Having just visited Maui a few weeks ago, I felt like I was back on the island doing the hula, or at least my best imitation.
Windows to the Soul – The eyes are one of the most expressive parts of the body yet I wasn’t sure whether the person staring back was happy or sad.
MTV Throwback – Remember when MTV blurred out the “naughty” parts of music videos? This is what immediately came to mind for me.
A Taste of Home – Clearly this is not NYC but it made me laugh because if it was, I wouldn’t be surprised. Weird things happen daily that I’ve simply stopped noticing.
SpongeBob but not – This yellow guy and his friends reminded me of the SpongeBob SquarePants series and I wonder if the artist had this in mind too.
Circles and Triangles – Nothing too crazy going on here but I like the colors and the geometric shapes. I think this would be a cool wall design for an urban apartment.
This trip was hosted by the Croatian Tourism Board. All opinions are my own.
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