Captain Hook Yarn Bombs LA

NPR has a piece on Captain Hook, a craftivist who yarn bombs statues in the LA area.  The story recounts how Captain Hook dresses up a statue of a bear (what is it with yarn bombers and bears these days?) in Griffith Park for the 10th time.  The story solves a local LA mystery as to the nature of the bear’s recent wardrobe changes. Park employees are rather fond of her work:

“Marshal Barrena, the park’s senior gardener and the man ultimately responsible for the bear, is a fan. “It puts a little spring in your step, seeing something like that in the morning,” Barrena says.” — NPR

Check out this great pic of the yarn bombing crew on Flickr. (I’d put it up, but it is marked ‘All Rights Reserved’)

Some people call yarn bombing a form of vandalism. Others say it is art or activism. What do you think?

Yarn Bombers Target Denver

My goodness! They even crocheted the yarn for the yarn ball!

That big blue bear* right outside of the Denver Convention Center has been yarn-bombed.  A group of crocheting street artist craftivists** calling themselves the Ladies’ Fancywork Society put a (crocheted, of course) ball and chain on the bear’s leg and called the resulting work “Slave to the Craft”.  The work was  swiftly removed by convention center officials, but photos survive!  Check them out (and get the full story) at Denver Westword’s Art Blog.

*The sculpture’s official name is “I see what you mean”.  This makes sense when you consider that the giant blue bear is peering in the windows of the convention center.

** Craftivism is a form of activism associated with the use of craft.  Wikipedia has an entry on craftivism, and craftivists have their own website with a definition.