~OLEK/UR ART HERE
this late summer going into Fall 2011 – on the venerable Chelsea corner of 10th Ave and 24th St . . . .
you could catch a . . . psychedelic-hued camo-patterned street crocheted shopping cart by OLEK.
it said: UR ART HERE – on one side.
making one pause: put your art in here. . . . and contribute to the street par-tay ?
or this being Chelsea: your art is commercial – so it belongs in a shopping cart ?
or even worse: your art – belongs in the ‘bin’. ha.
while the other side was pure camouflage-riff.
in fact I think I’ve seen the yarn she uses. it’s readily available in the big craft shops that dot the tri-state area.
the mass-produced, and cheap, pop-colored synthetic yarn comes already pre-patterned to produce a camo effect as you knit or crochet, merrily along.
it was attached to a traffic pole by a cheap ‘bike’ lock – by its handlebar.
yep, that’s crochet-slammed, not knitted. look at the stitches.
the cart – had no interior handi-work . . . last time I was in the area – it was still there.
I hear OLEK gets really pissed off – if you remove her ‘public’ art. so be warned, she looks like a feisty one.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, NYC. SEPT 15, 2011
OLEK / AGATA OLEKSIAK born April 5, 1978, (an Aires – I just knew it !!) . . . is a Polish-born artist, specializing in fiber arts, installation, and street art. lucky for us, she is currently NYC-based.
yep, she’s up on: WIKIPEDIA, if you want to know more.
PHOTO SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA
she also maintains a colorful up-to-date website, which currently features video of her latest crochet slam: the cube at ASTOR PLACE.
see: OLEK – the official website.
yeah, go back and watch it !! super stealth, or what.
it’s interesting to note for all ya hard core crafties – the large crochet piece, which was already pre-assembled before it went up over the cube – is based on a traditional quilt pattern, also the simplest and most elemental of knit or crochet blanket/afghan patterns, which is simply to build up attached squares of equal dimension. the better to work – upon your lap.
the video has close-ups on OLEK and her trusty crochet hook – at work.
the piece seems to have a lettered border – but its impossible to decipher the words – from the video.
plus note her leather jacket – it has custom-crocheted long sleeves in a great vertical stripe pattern.
the finished crochet-slammed cube.
wow. they were able to get that up – with no one stopping them.
note: the sweet ‘street’ video – was produced by embrown23. whoever . . . nice job.
the cube crochet slam – went up this past Monday Oct 3, 2011.
I heard from sources on the street – it was already down by the very next day.
taken down by who – that’s the interesting question. I’m thinking the authorities, but nobody knows.
p.s. at the very bottom of her website – home page – it states:
all works produced with “Red Heart” – a widely available, and cheap commercial brand of synthetic yarn.