Tallinn Blog

Kalju Suur

The man above is 81 year old Kalju Suur, a renomed photographer in Tallinn and often found  in KUKU kohv (on Vabaduse Väljak), a birdeye’s-view on his work and life …

Starting out with factory-photography while being employed in the mechanics dep of the textile factory Marat he transformed his carreer into an eclectic horizon of sorts …such as being a reporter for a cultural magazine Hammer and Sickle,  founder of Stodom a photographic group  and even founding his own one-man publishinghouse Suurkalju ( Big-Rock ,infact just his name in another order) focusing on photoalbums obviously . Outside Estonia  he featured in exhibitions since the mid 60’s  , in countries as : Australia, Canada,  Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, France,  Sweden,  Finland,  Denmark , Hungary, Russia) . Well known for comical subjects and nudes aswell as portraits of famous Estonians he also had a foot into the reportage field . Not in the least during the famous Singing Revolution, even while being allready retired he was a voluntary journalist. His pictures often important time-documents got published in foreign press  . In 1978 Kalju Suur was awarded the title of Artist of the International Federation of Photographic Art (AFIAP) . A videofragment of him can be seen at http://www.nuffi.ee/video/zsWtvubMyjU. Books can be ordered  at www.apollo.ee or in various bookstores in Tallinn, or if you ‘re lucky you can purchase a signed version from the man himself at KUKU kohv whenever he’s around …

text and picture : Thomas Viaene