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| Crystal Gregory |
As established fiber artists and fiber art lovers, I am sure that many of you are aware of Yarn
Bombing/Guerrilla Knitting. If not, you are in for a wonderful treat!
In college, I took a class on social change through public art. We had to write a paper on a
specific piece or collection of public art, so naturally, I curled up with my laptop and began
Googling “public art”. I searched for hours and found many interesting pieces of art, but nothing
grabbed me as strongly as I had hoped. While taking a walk that evening, I saw a brightly
colored design on the chain link fence around Washington Square Park. When I looked closer,
I realized it was yarn! Someone had crocheted a beautiful granny square pattern on the side of
the fence. I immediately started researching who had done this creative decorating, and I was
introduced to the wonderful world of Yarn Bombing.
Yarn Bombing (also called Guerrilla Knitting) began in Den Helder, Netherlands in 2004. Its
appearances quickly spread to the US, appearing in Texas only a year later. It has now become
a worldwide phenomenon, and can be found in dozens of countries around the globe.
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| Jessie Hemmon |
space. To me, seeing works of Yarn Bombing in a drab public space is experiencing kindness
from a stranger. We have all had those lovely interactions, where the kind actions of a stranger
on the street warm your heart for the rest of the day.
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| Olek |
closely associated with warmth, comfort, family, and relaxation is the perfect way to instantly
affect a person’s mood in a positive way.
I may just have to brush up on my knitting skills and start Yarn Bombing myself. NYC is the
perfect place to start!
~Jael
p.s. from Joetta see another great yarn bomb article here.
Posts
4 comments:
I was surprised to come across a call for knitters for a Yarn Bombing project in Michigan--from the State of Michigan Department of Natural Resources. It hardly feels like guerilla knitting when organized by the government ...
Not quite guerrilla either, the Honolulu Museum of Art invited local knitters to bomb the grounds of their Contemporary site. I thought The Fuzz did a great job (not just because i was a participant), and especially love the knit "watermarks" on the stand of trees, and the QR code and lei on the horses at the main museum.
I forgot to add a link! http://thefuzzhawaii.blogspot.com/2012/06/and-big-announcement-is.html
indeed yarn bombing is leaving the place of guerilla and entering the walls and property of art venues. But I think that it being embraced this way is a wonderful thing and there is still plenty of guerilla style happening as while, my personal favorite kind.
:)
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