The small city of Utrecht in the Netherlands is a charming place filled with canals, bicycles, the tallest cathedral in the Netherlands and lovely parks. A short stroll down my canal side street on my first day here revealed a very exciting public artwork. The artist/s are unknown, it is probably illegal, but is one of the most delightful outdoor site specific yarn installations I have seen.
Cosy car
Bike bomb
Crocheted canal
No barriers
Bridge of happiness
If you noticed from my last post that I seem to be drawn to works with an element of craft, well you would be right. I am assuming it is a sort of art envy, as although I can paint and draw, find it difficult to even sew on a button, let alone knit one – pearl two. There is a lot of dedication, and humility in this type of practice. I found this particular installation (which spans a footbridge adjacent to a huge bridge building site and extends 400m down one side of the canal until the next bridge) to be a delightful departure from the more predictable forms of street art, which can often damage buildings and create a psychological barrier to entering spaces where it prevails.
Graffiti v Street Art
I prefer the crafty approach!
I admire artists who use methods traditionally associated with craft, and curated an exhibition in Sydney in 2010 which reflected that reverence. Hands On | Craft in contemporary art featured emerging and established Australian artists whose primary mode of production involved working with yarn or other traditional craft based materials and methods to realise their work.
Human hair, buttons, telephone directories, cane toad leather, tea towels, native grasses, electrical cords, latex, socks, rags, deconstructed woolen rugs and blankets, silk, shipping rope and fishing line were all stitched, woven, glued and pressed into a fabulous range of sculptures, installations and images. You can check out the catalogue here, but be warned, there are a few saucy things in there – but hey, I am sure you would expect nothing less from me!
Cash Brown 