KNITTING A NICER WORLD
Are you upset by street art? Does an anti-consumer message sprayed onto a wall in an alleyway make you feel guilty about the pony-skin ankle boots you just bought?
Does tagging make you cringe? Are those giant graffiti murals that show ladies with their boobs out just a bit too much to stomach straight after a champagne lunch with the girls?
At a train station in Melbourne by street artist Meek. Photograph via Twisted Sifter.
Well, worry no more! Your inner city suburbs are being cleaned up as we speak. Councils all around the world are on board and Proper People are heaving a sigh of relief.
Welcome to the world of guerilla knitting!
We haven’t seen something this groovy since the advent of Christian rock. And oh my goodness, it’s soooooo adorable!!!!
What happens, right, is you go to your favourite suburb where those icky graffiti messages are stinking up the place and you knit a sort of tea cosy for a parking sign or bike rack.
Then you stick little knitted flowers on it as well. Ta da! It. Is. So. Cute. And you’re just like a real graffiti artist, except lovely!
No-one gets hurt or offended, no-one is confronted with uncomfortable truths about consumerism or international politics or disenfranchised youth or homelessness – it’s just pretty, pretty, pretty!
It’s. So. Pretty.
Guerilla knitting in Newtown, Sydney. Photograph via grrl+dog.
With so many young people joining gangs, being hoodlums, smoking the hooch and having the sex, it’s good to know a few of them are flying the flag for decency.
It’s just like the Temperance Movement, but with wool.
As one self-styled ninja knitter said in The Age, ”it allows me to contribute to the graffiti art world without breaking any laws”.
And I just know that street artists the world over are embracing Knitting Nancies like her in the same way the music world embraced Milli Vanilli.
I don’t know about you, but I am tired of wandering the inner city streets of Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide or Brisbane, minding my own business and shopping for bespoke light fittings, when whammo! Right in front of me is some sort of hideous stencil ‘art’ depicting a war scene or a refugee or some sort of political ‘joke’. I mean, ew!
It’s bad enough I have to see actual homeless people, let alone spray painted pictures of them as well. It completely dampens my enthusiasm for hunting out a new pair of designer jeggings.
| Page 1 of 2 | next >> |
35 Responses to this article
-
Sooz August 16, 2012
Wow. I can’t agree with your assumption that yarn bombing is about covering up the uncomfortable messages of graffiti – I’ve only ever seen it cover parking signs, trees and poles. I don’t get how this is an anti graffiti message? I think this is a really divisive way to characterise the actions of people who choice of non conformity and anti consumer
message doesn’t meet your standards. What a shame you haven’t bothered with a bit of research to back up your very strong opinions. You might be surprised to find out what motivates yarn bombers and that they aren’t all the same.-
K-roc August 16, 2012
tongue–in–cheek (adj) characterized by insincerity, irony, or whimsical exaggeration
-
-
Nicole August 16, 2012
Hee Hee Hee, but now the city will smell like wet sheep
-
Robert T. August 16, 2012
Swing and a miss. Not every expression of creativity has to be polemic.
-
corinne grant August 16, 2012
Well of course not all art has to be polemic. What I have a massive problem with is councils sanctioning certain types of artistic expression and not others. yarn bombing is a very gentle, middle class, non-offensive hobby. that’s fine–what’s not fine is holding it up as being acceptable while art that is done in the same space and makes us question the world we live in is considered illegal. Both are done in public places without permission–why is one acceptable, even encouraged, and the other not? that’s using yarn bombers in a censorship campaign.
-
Mtlyrnbmb November 16, 2012
Well then don’t blame it on the yarnbombers! Blame the repressive system, geez.
-
-
-
Ed August 16, 2012
Not all yarn-bombing is devoid of message: http://radicalcrossstitch.com/2007/10/21/cross-stitching-fences/
-
corinne grant August 16, 2012
that piece of cross stitching is great. it’s not yarn bombing though. for a start, it’s not even knitting! (yarn bombers/guerrilla knitters/ninja knitters knit–just because the artwork/message uses wool doesn’t mean it’s yarn bombing.)
-
-
Robert T. August 16, 2012
Perhaps because its non-permanent? If you stencil my wall, I have to paint over it if I don’t want it. If you knit around my pole I can cut it off in seconds.
-
Sharon Ellam August 16, 2012
I want knitted toilet roll covers with knitted purple flowers on top in all disgracefully smelly public toilets. And none of that el-cheapo wool! It it’s a ‘nice’ movement I want ‘nice’ wool – Boucle (pronounced BOOEW-KLEY) to start, knitted with sustainable rainforest pseudo-wooden knitting needles – just not on a plane! Then some ‘nice’ triple organic rustic natural environmentally ecstatic alpaca with ‘fawn’ highlights. While we’re at it, the knitters need Edna-specs with ‘nice’ dark penciled eyebrows just to add a little more style. Just make a little more effort & you’ll feel the difference – as ‘nice’ as a lovely bone twin-set.
-
Sharon Ellam August 16, 2012
Oh…btw….the ‘creator’ of the knitting on the pole needs a ‘nice’ coffee morning to learn how to do her seams a little nicer.
-
Sharon Ellam August 16, 2012
Robert & Corinne – the beauty of this article is the fuzziness of the message. My favourite comedy is that which has a social message without kicking people in the guts. Filters through over time without you knowing. Seeps into the cracks of our consciousness & repels all defenses. Black & white arguments often make us repel in shock so the message can’t seep in. Like chinese water torture….such was the beauty of the ‘Comedy Company’ humour & others like it. Social messages that changed a nation.
-
Robert T. August 16, 2012
Comedy Company. Wow, that takes me back and starts making me think of Fast Forward as well.
I suppose I’d rather a thought provoking stencil than moronic tagging any day.
-
Ann-Maree August 16, 2012
Loved the radical cross-stitch article – thought provoking. On a side-note, went to a play in Brisbane recently called “Heads Full of Love” starring Roxanne McDonald and Collette Mann. It was about the beanie festival in Alice Springs and how it helps raise funds for kidney dialysis out there. Many of the actual beanies were displayed in the show. Eye opening information about kidney disease in the indigenous population and that many are dying young. The audience was asked to donate what they could at the end of the show and by the end of the season over $45000 raised to buy mobile dialysis units to take out into the desert in order to treat people who do not want to leave their country. Knitting can be a force for good. (and I can’t knit a stitch)
-
Susan August 16, 2012
What is knitting…
-
GlassGoddess August 16, 2012
I just wonder what happens to all the wool afterwards … seems like a waste to me …
-
sooz August 16, 2012
Yarn bombing is YARN bombing, not knit bombing – it’s a public use of yarn. Your assertion that radical cross stitch is not yarn bombing is based on what exactly?
And calling knitting middle class is absolutely hilarious – tell that to all the poor kids who grew up with home knit jumpers because their parents couldn’t afford machine knitted ones.
Knitting was a central form of working class domestic labour until very recently – during the second world war sock knitting was a form of state required child labour in the UK. If knitting has been taken up by middle class people in more contemporary times it does not make it a ‘middle class’ occupation.
If you are shitty with councils about their hate of graffiti artists why don’t you hate the councils rather than yarn and knit bombers?
-
Sharon Ellam August 16, 2012
I guess my point is that positive light-hearted messages often get a more positive outcome. Cranky exclamations result in cranky negative judgements.
I can’t help thinking about ‘real people’ like NSW farmers who are committing suicide because of draconian NSW legislation that allows multinational mining & exploration companies to effectively ‘steal’ their farms from under them with no warning or right of reply. Generations of Aussie hardwork destroyed by greed & corruption. With my cynical glasses on, one argument over knitting (one argument amongst many possible arguments) could be seen as a storm in a teacup.
A positive outcome is needed to prevent Aussie farmers’ suicide rates, the same as a positive argument slash outcome is needed to address many of the world’s ills…including homelessness & the mentally ill falling through the cracks…& the immigration debate. The value of humour as a social comment is proven. We need another wave of socially aware humourists who can insidiously get under our jumpers without making us close our ears cos the taste is too tart.
Just my 2 cents worth…. -
Marnie August 16, 2012
I can see the idea has definite positive attributes Corinne.
Perhaps we could leave a needle or a crochet hook and some matching yarn on each pole so that the homeless could stitch your bits together to make a blanket for those cold frosty nights. A knitting revolution might even be a way of restoring sheep to their rightful place (under the bottom of Australia). Perhaps we could even use natural black wool and save the little black lambs from being culled… -
Sharon Ellam August 16, 2012
To Marnie
-
Clare August 16, 2012
Not all “stencil artists” are artists-some are just vandals with an ugly and expensive outcome. And not all stencil artists put something up that makes you stop and think about society. Some councils engage artists to work on public spaces. These same councils may also commission the work of a yarn bomber. One form can not compare nor compete with the other. Yarn bombing is not just knitting-it is yarn bombing. Whilst it might not make you “think”, it will make most people smile. Thats a good thing considering how hard many peoples lives are and that impact is quite different to that of a graffiti artist. Knitting is not a “middle class hobby” but the fact that it is now enjoyed by many is a good thing. It is enjoyable, practical, and has proven health benefits. You write with such vitriol about yarn bombing (and seemingly knitters in general ) I have to wonder what your real issue is. Did you have trouble casting on…..?
-
Sharon Ellam August 16, 2012
PMSL Clare !!!
Corinne, I like your arguments. Might not agree all the time, but your writings have merit because of the cynicism that allows further reflection. The 2 main knitting stitches are ‘knit’ & ‘purl’ – complete opposites that compliment each other nicely. When you drop a stitch & then jerk in frustration you drop more stitches, then that is called lace-making. LOL -
Kate August 16, 2012
The horror – yarn bombing takes craft and knitting out of the house and into the public where people can see it! No we must all go back inside and knit quietly by ourselves where we knit and sew for premature babies, those in need, to keep our families warm and yes sometimes to just make something that makes someone smile.
As was asked above, is it just yarn bombing knitters you have a problem withor all knitters? -
Sharon Ellam August 16, 2012
Ahh….and the original point has completely disappeared into a thousand dropped stitches….LOL
Thanks for the entertainment today Corinne! Kept me giggling all day long. -
Sara August 16, 2012
I’m going to say something i never thought I’d say – Corinne, that article was absolute rubbish. Cynicism and urban grunge-chic rants have their place for sure, as do all kinds of artistic expression. I think most people can recognise genuine street-art as opposed to vandalism, even if it is not their style, just like most people can recognise when someone is stuck for something to write about, so decides to rant instead.
-
rache August 16, 2012
hmmm. i even love it when you are having an off day! i had never quite thought of guerilla knitting as sanitizing public spaces for the middle classes. but now that you mention it…..
-
bikerbetty August 16, 2012
Cori9nne, you seemed to be equivocating in this article. Are you in two minds about the value of guerilla knitting?
A couple of months ago I went to Christchurch to visit my dad. Though the earthquake damage has disappeared from our news here, it’s still an everyday reality – the ‘new normal’ – for ppl over there. My dad lost his house, but was lucky to have it red-zoned. Lots of other ppl weren’t so lucky. The ppl of Chch are fabulous – they’ve devised many morale-boosting ways of expressing their resilience. My fav symbol of same was a “shipping container cosy” in Sumner – a hill-hugging coastal town where some houses now dangle precariously from cliffs, and cliff-faces have collapsed into suburbia. The coast road is shored up by layers of shipping containers that are supposed to discourage any further quakes from sending boulders to squash the remaining houses.
Corinne, not all knitting is twee or middle class or any of those things you said – you seem to be poo-poohing it. The Sumner container-cosy made a brilliant statement – the squares were knitted by knitters all over NZ. Many of them had messages of support for devastated Cantabrians. It was truly lovely.In a similar vein, I’ve learned to knit recently so I could teach my tutor group at school how to knit. We’ve spent the term making blanket squares. We’ll sew the squares up to make blankets for a local charity that supports homeless youth in our region. I’ve seen some marvellous side-effects coming from our project – increased concentration spans for some seriously challenged kids… even kids who aren’t in my tutor group, but who want to DO something to help.
I’m not sure why you think the whole guerilla knitting thing is somehow bad… If it makes ppl sit up and take notice of important issues, surely it’s a good thing? Do you see guerilla gardening in the same way as you see guerilla knitting?
If you’re interested, here’s a link to a blog post about the resilience of Cantabrians: http://suehineswrites.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/shipping-containers-gap-fillers-and.html-
corinne grant August 17, 2012
Betty, what you’re talking about isn’t guerrilla knitting. You’re talking about something completely different, which is knitting for a purpose (rugs for the homeless, a community art installation in Christchurch used to unite and boost morale). Of course I don’t ‘pooh-pooh’ these things. Your inference (and that of others) that I have a problem with people who do good is completely unfounded. It’s also pretty awful to accuse me of not caring about people in Christchurch. It’s even more disrespectful to the people of Christchurch to use them in an argument like this.
Also, at no point anywhere in the article did I say knitting was bad or that all knitters were middle class. I was saying that guerrilla knitting is appealing to middle class mores of gentrification and that councils are supporting this over other forms of street art that are less comfortable and appealing to a gentrified audience.
There are very few comments here that show a proper comprehension of my argument, nor of what guerrilla knitting is. Also, this was a humorous piece. (If you didn’t find it funny, that’s fine, but not finding something sufficiently amusing is not a legitimate reason for getting angry–”I didn’t laugh, therefore I’m furious” is a bloody weird reaction and I’ve never understood it).
I despair of the anger and indignation this article has attracted when there are so many more issues far more meaningful for people to get worked up about. It’s a sad world when satire is completely misunderstood and when basic comprehension skills are overlooked in the rush to vent.
If you don’t know what guerrilla knitting is, then the onus is on you to either re-read the article, look at the pictures in this article or do a bit of googling before lecturing the author. After all, if I’m going to be accused of not researching (normally an accusation that really means ‘you are saying something that doesn’t fit my world view’) the responsibility lies with you to at least understand the subject material and the argument.
I don’t mind legitimate criticism or a different point of view–that’s what the world is built on. But poor reading comprehension mixed with indignant, judgmental lecturing is a massive pet hate of mine.
-
-
Shannon August 16, 2012
Thinking is like so overrated…
Nice one Corrine -
Helen August 17, 2012
Can’t it just be about adding some colour? I’m a knitter, but not a yarn bomber, because well, my knitting time is spent on things I and my loved ones end up wearing, but some displays of colour I’ve seen around poles and so on are fun and bright. Good on them.
Also, most of the yarn bombers I know are not ‘safe and middle class’ people – they’re people on the fringes of things, people with a different sort of take on the world. Some of them are ‘safe and middle class’ – just like the hoardes of knitters out there. People of every socio-economic group. Talk about one dimensional. Your facts are all skewed Corinne and actually this whole piece was just a bit off. -
Louisa August 17, 2012
Come and have a coffee in Lygon street Brunswick East aka Grungewick East. Stencils, grafitti, posters and yarn bombing all co-exist in harmony. As Catherine Deveny refers to it, the People’s Republic of Moreland encourages all forms of expression. I think you are being a bit wooly headed in your attitude to guerilla knitters.
-
bikerbetty August 18, 2012
“It’s also pretty awful to accuse me of not caring about people in Christchurch.” WTF? I did that? I just reread what I wrote, and I’m starting to wonder about your own comprehension skills!
“There are very few comments here that show a proper comprehension of my argument,”
Perhaps if your message was so widely misunderstood, it’s an indicator that you somehow missed the mark in the way you communicated it. *shrug* Fair enough. You win some, you lose some. As a piece of satire, this didn’t work very well. I love most of the stuff you write, but, as I said in my original post, you seem to be equivocating in this article – your message was unclear.
Sorry if you felt attacked by what I said. I was genuinely interested to get a clearer picture of what your intention was, because it did not seem very clear. Sometimes we write stuff that makes perfect sense to us, but not to everyone else. I would suggest that the reactions you’ve had from rather a lot of readers re this article – if we have all misunderstood your point, as you believe – it means the original article was not as clear as you thought. -
moiby August 18, 2012
I love street art AND yarn bombing/ knitting. I don’t like seeing Summer Heights High style tags and graffiti though … http://media.photobucket.com/image/summer%20heights%20high/hgb0250/SummerHeightsHigh.png?o=25 … and if any yarn bombers started to knit like this, I wouldn’t approve.
*nods head and purses lips*
-
Janet August 24, 2012
Hi Corinne,
be aware there is subversive knitting going on… check out the snatchel… being knitted and sent to those who would like to rule them but lack one of their own:).. best..janet
-
sue Bell November 16, 2012
What happens to the wool afterwards? The birds take it to make nests so it is “Nice” graffiti and environmentally sound.
I like it when I see an unexpected piece of stencil art that makes you think, hidden away in my extremely middle-class suburb.
