The bust found in the Neumann Library, by Bertil Thorvaldsen, was “bombed” in style. Photo by Roberta Cowan: The Signal.
UHCL campus has been “bombed” with yarn with the help of the Neumann Library staff members to commemorate the Judy Chicago art exhibit on display in the library.
Yarn bombing is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colorful displays of knitted or crocheted cloth rather than paint or chalk.
A woman named Magda Sayeg started the cultural phenomenon of knit bombing in 2005 by simply knitting a cover for the door handle to her boutique, Raye located in Houston. “Knitta Please,” a group founded by Sayeg and anonymous member “AKrylik,” is the knit graffiti group credited with spawning the international yarn bombing movement.
Darlene Woodbury, a librarian at UHCL, was the person who inspired the idea to bring yarn bombing to UHCL as a way to honor the women’s movement art exhibit.
“She is a textile person and she suggested this novel approach to the advertisement of Judy Chicago,” said Jane Davidson, assistant professor of Art History.
“Yarn bombing is not something that I have ever done before,” Woodbury said. However, she heard about the yarn bombing movement and thought that it would be clever way to get people’s attention.
Masaru Takiguchi’s “Embracing” 1977, found at the main entrance to the Neumann Library, did not miss out on the “bombing.” Photo by David Miller: The Signal.
To celebrate its 30th anniversary, the “Setting the Table” exhibit will be displayed in the university’s Alfred R. Neumann Library until April 30. As you walk around campus, especially by the library, there are pieces of yarn that cover railings, sculptures or the pillars in the building.
“Volunteers knit or crochet covers for things around campus, and put them up much like installation art,” Davidson said. “A tag attached to the door knob cover or the knitted cover around a tree limb directs viewers to the website explaining the exhibit. The connection between knitting and Judy Chicago’s process works on display now at the library is key to the knitting expression. The Setting the Table show is a display of the preparatory materials, the line drawings and ceramic test plates show the process of creating The Dinner Party. The table runners were all textile artworks, made of embroidery and cloth which is associated with Darlene’s knitting. These are ‘women’s work’ that were never thought of as ‘art.’”
The Judy Chicago exhibit started Feb.25 and Woodbury’s goal was to have all the knitting done for the opening of the event.
“This exhibit is about the process of creating the ‘Dinner Party,’ making the place setting for 39 women includes table runners, plates, goblets and silverware,” Woodbury said.
Woodbury has high hopes that the yarn would catch people’s attention who were unaware of the Judy Chicago art exhibit and would bring them into the special collections room to see what it is all about.
“I work with an incredibly talented group of people who loved the idea and started knitting pieces for the project,” Woodbury said.
For information about yarn bombing, call Darlene Woodbury, 281-283-3903, or pick up a show catalog on sale in the bookstore for purchase about Judy Chicago’s “Setting the Table” exhibit.
The Signal reporter David Miller finds out the reasoning behind the yarn “bombs” that have sprung up on campus.
[…] The Signal reporter David Miller finds out the reasoning behind the yarn “bombs” that have sprung up on campus. To find out more about the yarn bombing and the “Setting the Table” exhibit, click here. […]
[…] The Signal reporter David Miller finds out the reasoning behind the yarn “bombs” that have sprung up on campus. To find out more about the yarn bombing and the “Setting the Table” exhibit, click here. […]