Let's Talk Crochet.
Crochet is a wonderful craft. Many beautiful objects have been created with skillful hands and deft use of the hook.
However...
There's also a whole boatload of weird out there.
Crazy Crochet by artist Judy Swartz
Puke green and purple... not exactly the most pleasing combo, yet oddly popular. I'm actually working on a project right now that has these exact colors! Although, this one trumps mine for the simple fact that it has a tiny lady just kind of chillin' out in the toe box. Seriously, click the link for some majorly cool shoe art.
Bjork: Volta costume by The Icelandic Love Corporation
Bjork is... something... else. I don't know what people from her planet are like, but they've got a taste for the theatrical. Oh, I just this second noticed she's on fire. I suppose that's really just like an average afternoon for Bjork. It's pretty colorful, and interesting, and really, I'm just glad it's not this.
By Kate Jenkins, an artist from Brighton in the UK created this lovely plate of fish and chips, and if you click the links, you'll see several other dishes. Still, I can just imagine the dinner conversation. "Hows the fish?" "Eh, a little stringy... kind of er... woolly." "Oh, ah... the chips then?" "Yeah... not sure they're real potatoes... polyester maybe." "For heaven's sake! The mushy peas!?" "Not all that mushy... but the flavour's fine."
I... I...have no words. (Raise your hand if you didn't see the second figure until after you'd stared at this, bemusedly, for a while.) Also, why is there a balloon doggy by his foot? It just seems incredibly random... you know, unlike everything else going on up there.
Polish-born Brooklyn-based artist Agata Olek brought us the, what I like to call, "Nude with Ski Mask, hidden guy, and balloon doggy," and the two above pictures of the totally crocheted rooms. It's like a rainbow came and vomited all of the place! I think there are colors in there I never knew existed. I certainly never knew they existed together. Honestly, I wouldn't want to live there, but it is kind of interesting. It's definitely attention grabbing, and I can tell it took a good long while to create. At the very least, one of those full body crochet suits would keep a person warm and toasty.
Fecal Face just featured a studio visit with artist Sarah Applebaum. First of all, if you're unfamiliar with Fecal Face, go forth and familiarize! FF is a great site full of wonderful art and photography, with a weird name. But hey, that name comes with the added bonus of freaking people out when you tell them what site you're visiting. "Hey, what ya lookin' at?" "Oh nothing, just Fecal Face.com" "...Fecal Face?" "Yeah, it's this great site where-" "Never mind! I don't want to know!" *friend backs out of the room while silently judging you.*
Uh, but yeah, the installation. The big colorful shapes are actually paper, and they're amazing. I love the way they just sprout off the wall and basically eat the ceiling. Wouldn't it be cool to talk a walk through this room? Oh, and yeah, there is something crocheted in (btw, is crocheted correct?) this room. Those giant man shaped... er... shapes, are crocheted from Granny squares! A staple of the crochet world. You can see Sarah, above, assembling one.
Jo Hamilton creates these crocheted portraits, and really, I think they're awesome. I just want to touch them. They have such an outrageous 3D quality to them. Her gallery is full of them, and I suggest you check them out... speaking as an artist, drawing or painting a recognizable portrait is hard enough... I can't imagine how difficult doing it in yarn or floss must be!
Joana Vasconcelos created this. It's a crab... a giant, crocheted upon, bedazzled crab, AND IT IS AWESOME. Seriously, click the link for this artist. Her work is worth the time it takes to navigate the somewhat clunky website. Her pieces are whimsical and oddly beautiful. Check it out... crochet crab commands you!
He looks like he's been dipped in chocolate and decorated... not that that would be a bad thing.
So THAT'S what's inside Sarah Applebaum's statues! Actual guys! It's like a tea cozy for your boyfriend/ husband. Of course, he'd stay even warmer if he had on some shoes, but maybe she's working on the rest of his ensemble.
I. want. the. crochet. lion. Artist Shauna Richardson crafted up these incredible animals, and I'm absolutely in awe. I'm assuming they were done over traditional taxidermy forms, because the musculature is amazing! If people can be all gungho for paper-mache deer heads, (which are totally cool) then I can be all about a hand hooked lion.
I could keep going. There is a ton of stuff that falls into the "weird handicraft" category, especially textiles, but I think this is a good place to stop. I will say, when I say weird, I don't mean horrible or stupid or ugly. I simply mean unusual, different, abnormal, and not in a bad way. I like weird. Weird is interesting, and even if it is stupid, horrible, or ugly, it makes you think.
Oh, and everyone dropping by from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and anyone else from that part of the world, thanks for taking the time to read! You guys are awesome, and I hope I'll get to see your lovely countries some day! :)
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