More Crochet Art: Agata Olek

http://www.flickr.com/photos/glans
New York City Street Art by Agata Olek

In my previous post, I talked about the art of yarn bombing spreading around the globe. And then I came about Agata Olek. Talk about crochet passion!

Her "Knitting is For Pu*****" collection is simply phenomenal! Check it out below...

The Huffington Post did a recent interview of Olek and I loved her reply to TH's question:

TH: Another aspect of your work that is interesting is that you use personal text messages in your work, sentences or phrases that would normally be deleted. You make them forever lasting by incorporating them into your work. Yet the bull was only covered for two hours before it was taken down, so other parts of your work was very much like a sand mandala, created for the sake of creation and then quickly destroyed without any attachment on your part. What is this dynamic of preservation and destruction that you are constantly exploring?

My new text-based work immortalizes the intense yet fleeting sentiments of modern relationships. By contrasting the convenience of "txt msgs" with the labor-intensiveness of crocheted sculpture, I transform a naturally guarded form of communication into declarations of truth and lies. These homemade pieces challenge the established barriers of privacy and tradition and re-examine modern communication technology.

The artwork is destroyed as it is created, and created out of its own destruction. Still and metamorphosing, old and new, unique and common, public and private, hidden and exposed, performer and creator, traditional and innovative, decay and renewal, are all interchangeable.

For the complete interview, click here.

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Ever Heard of Yarn Bombing?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27466406@N00
Yarn bombed Lion in Bournemouth, England

Lately I've been seeing a lot of contemporary visual artists dabbling in crochet and looking around the web, I saw this new trend going around the globe: Yarn Bombing.

No, it's not the terrorists' new weapon of choice; Yarn Bombing or also called Guerrilla Knitting is a type of street art using knitted or crocheted works instead of spray paint or chalk. 

Downtown Toledo was recently hit by yarn bombers as featured in an article by The Toledo Blade:

Guerilla knitters are on the loose in Toledo, dropping bombs on the downtown area in the form of crocheted cozies.

The woolly street art is popping up on signs and parking meter posts, trees, hand rails, and other public spaces throughout the city. The culprits, known as guerilla knitters or artistic vandals, see their work as a kinder, gentler form of graffiti.

It's called yarn bombing, and it takes the most matronly crafts -- knitting and crocheting -- and transfers them from the comforts of grandma's rocking chair to the concrete and steel surfaces of urban streets.

Below are some pictures of the fanciest Yarnbombs I found around the web:

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