civilized disobedience part 2

above,  Marianne Joergensen's Protest in Pink, photograph: courtesy Marianne Joergensen a World War II combat tank protesting the war in Iraq covered with 4000 pink squares knit by numerous participants in Denmark, other EU countries, and the US 

Isabel Berglund, notorious Danish artist whose collaboration with KKart is known for her whimsical knit sculptures, such as Woman's Chair and Hidden Object on a Knit (below). Guerilla knitters often criticize public policies, such as war or the lack of a coherent response to a sustainable future globally.The sterility of urban landscapes dominated by corporate advertising is a major issue that yarn bombers everywhere address. That and whimsy, such as Night Knit Pixie's work in Kilmarnock, Scotland. Knitting such statements as tiny pyramids at Giza to bring attention to an exhibition of an Egyptian mummy. NKP is so popular, that Kilamarnock's official web site includes this knitter as a local attraction. Perhaps that's why Angela Jolie and Brad Pitt visited. Anyway, ecomodista supposes the town has never had this level of publicity since the decline of the knit and felted Kilmarnock bonnet industry in the late 18th century.

above: Isabel Berglund's Hidden Object on a Knit 2009 see: http://www.isabelberglund.dk/node/8

http://www.visitkilmarnock.com/news/kilmarnock-yarnbomber-photo-gallery/

Photograph: Ute Lennartz-Lembeck
Founder of the German knitting graffiti group B-Arbeiten, Ute Lennartz-Lembeck has addressed this issue in the Westphalian town of Velbert where she teaches art. Instead of sad, B-Arbeiten decided a colorful, smiling weeping willow looks chic in a colorful sweater. Rings of multi-colored yarn hug the trunk, as one journalist described it, looks like a giant package Lifesavers. This project The Parable of the Tree, is refers to a 1924 lecture at the Jena Kunstverein when an art lecturer "compared (modern) artists with a tree, based in the world of phenomena so well that he can arrange all appearances, the flow towards him as if by the roots of a tree." Knit graffiti appears on bridges, signposts, statues, bicycles parks and rails, to name just a few options.
see: http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,763843,00.html
and Lennartz-Lembeck's site documenting her Trauerweide project:
http://web.me.com/utelennartzlembeck/utelennartzlembeck/Die_Trauerweide/Die_Trauerweide.html

Photograph: Ute Lennartz-Lembeck
Alison Kilian interviewed Lennartz-Lembeck, who was  inspired by urban art in Berlin that she decided to create projects for Remscheid, Germany, where she lives. "It's about words and art, putting art in an open space and not necessarily a museum," she says of B-Arbeiten's work. B-Arbeiten is a parody of  "bearbeiten," which means to edit or alter, perfect for their actions dressing trees, and making other sculptures.

see: http://yarnbombing.com/tag/germany

Familiar with a Knitting Nancy? In german Strickliesel, a toy to teach children knitting, and the name of  another German group of graffiti artists, Strick & Liesel was created. Concerned about nuclear power, their work has had had an impact on political figures and Parliament--this past year, the Germans decided to phase out nuclear power. Working from Dortmund, Strick & Liesel protect their identity because as we know Germany is wonderfully manicured, and such actions do constitute civil disobediance, perhaps even criminal.

for work in Malmo, Sweden see: 
Malmo, Sweden see: http://garnkonst.blogspot.com
more German yarn graffiti:

http://strickbombe.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-like-international-yarnboming-day.html

the Swedish site: 
http://stickkontakt.blogspot.com/ has wonderful documentation of yarnbombing  


a Hungarian site:   http://kovalenskotes.blogspot.com/2011_05_01_archive.htm


and the Czech Republic see: http://www.streetartutopia.com/?p=5288#more-5288

and http://www.trutnovinky.cz/index.php?gid=31361