Street art can take many forms and have many meanings. Recently, we saw one of the most poignant examples of this from the harbor in Copenhagen. Alongside the usual collection of initials and names painted on the waterfront retaining wall, we were touched to see this memorial. We wondered who Natasja (or Little T) might be. And, of course, because the world really is quite small, a little internet research provided answers.
It turns out that Natasja is Natasja Saad. She was an up-and-coming Danish rap and reggae artist who lived and began her singing career in Copenhagen. She died tragically in a car accident in Jamaica in 2007. Certainly, this brief recitation cannot do justice to who she was as a person or an artist.
The art of the street is, by definition, transient. Images and text are often on display for only a short time, subsequently partially painted over by other taggers or artists, or sometimes obliterated completely. Yet, sometimes the art is respected and left in place, as is the case here.
Ms. Saad is buried in Copenhagen's cemetery for artists, Assistens Kirkegard, in the same company as Hans Christian Anderson and Soren Kierkegaard. But she also has this informal memorial on the waterfront of her native city. It is a street art memorial for an artist whose inspiration came from the music of the streets. How poignant. How fitting.
An online memorial to Natasja Saad can be found at this address:
http://www.myspace.com/tasjamusic
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