Yarn bombing is an art form involving outdoor installations, covering existing urban objects with yarn, and adding color, coziness, and a handmade touch to urban landscapes. From turning stop signs into flowers, to blanketing the Wall Street bull, yarn bombing is an established art form that leaves viewers curious and city workers confused. I contacted Bay Area artist Street Color to ask about her experiences as a yarn bomber, and get down to the ‘knitty’ gritty (let’s just get that pun out of the way).
Initially, Street Color chose an anonymous name as a way to separate yarn bombing from her work in other media, and because many street artists use pseudonyms to avoid the cops. But, she says, “eventually the anonymous stance became mostly a reaction to our cultural emphasis on personality.”
House by Luke Haynes.
Within any art form, there will always be different approaches. Some artists use the knit wrapping technique for commercial purposes, garnering a lot of attention, but this isn’t exactly yarn bombing in Street Color’s opinion. “In the U.S., almost all of the media coverage is about yarn bombing that was done for corporate commissions, which is the opposite of the non-commercial nature of graffiti and street art.”
