Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: It was covered by the BBC and NPR, Time.com and the Huffington Post and by media in Europe and Israel.
The vast, improbable, record-breaking Knit the Bridge project -- in which the 1,061-foot-long Andy Warhol Bridge was covered with 580 knitted and crocheted blankets during the second weekend of August -- is officially a success, according to organizers, public officials, knitting enthusiasts, yarn bombers and people on the streets of Downtown.
8 comments:
What a great project! It's really nice to see color added to this gray city. I think it was a wonderful way to bring the community together, and what is more beautiful is the fact that all of the blankets will be donated to homeless shelters and nursing homes. I have never heard of yarn bombing before, but after looking at images on google, it looks like public street art. Personally, it reminds me of all the brightly colored textiles from Mexico. I think this would be a wonderful tradition in Pittsburgh, but I am curious as to how the blankets are protected. I know how much it can rain here, and I'm just wondering if the project is protected so that the donations are in good condition.
This was such an exciting project and I'm really disappointed that I did not get a chance to go see it. From the pictures, it looks amazing. Public art is so important, especially in smaller cities that are considered "up and coming." I did not know anything about what Pittsburgh was like in the past, but Susan Tsu has described to us what it was like here when she was growing up and it is obvious that Pittsburgh has made enormous strides, especially in the arts. One of the things that is really beautiful about this project is that so many people got involved and put a lot of work in, just to do something nice for the city. I do not knit, but my mom does, and knitting a blanket takes a lot of time. The people who organized and knit for this did not have any type of incentive, they just wanted to something to make Pittsburgh better.
I think this project is extremely cool. Taking everyday objects and making art out of them is amazing. What's even cooler about this project is the impact it had on the Pittsburgh community. Hundreds of people bonded together to create this work of art. I think the success of this work of art as whole was dependent on that. It was also aided by the creative juxtaposition of materials. On one hand, you have the cold steel bridge, and on the other hand, you have the soft knitted pieces. That really brought this piece to life. Furthermore, I really enjoyed the fact that after the installation was over, the knitted blankets will be going to a homeless shelter. So much of today's materials are wasted, and I think that's a really great way to reuse a beautiful piece of art. I wish I could have saw this exhibit (if you could even call it that)!
Such an awesome event. I have a friend who attended a yoga session on the knitted bridge. A picture she posted shows hundreds of yoga mats and people. It looked like such a pleasant environment and I love that this piece of art is able to bring so many people together! I love seeing my city grow culturally a little more each year. I'm excited to see what will come up next.
They brought art to the bridge and made walking across it a more enjoyable experience. When I saw it two weeks ago I was amazed at how much work it must have been and also because it was beautiful. Tourists and locals were taking pictures on the bridge in front of the quilts and it made a typically less than exciting metal bridge a wonderful temporary tourist attraction.
It is also great that they will be donating the blankets to homeless shelters, because so often in art we waste used materials. Therefore this venture had a twofold purpose, to beautify and then to comfort. Great initiative! It will be interesting to see if they try something different next year.
Working in theatre on daily basis, we constantly get wrapped up in the conventions of story telling. How can we make this production different? What is a story that has never been told? How do we overcome this obstacle so that we can broaden the mind and gain the aesthetic or intellectual approval of our attending audience? While a noble endeavor, this mentality glosses over several other functions of art, as demonstrated by this project. Art allows communities to join together, whether through participation, observation, or discussion. Beyond accomplishing a first, there was no other ambitious endeavor in this project rather than to simply make a little part of the city “look better.” A simple mission that had some astounding results. Bravo!
The idea behind this project is so pure and amazing. Something from the community and for the community. I had the privilege of working a party held for this event on the actual bridge itself. It was so wonderful to see the entire community to gather and celebrate their accomplishments and to give back.
Lindsay: The blankets are all made from acrylic fibers that repel water and are therefore impermeable. Weather-proof.
What an awesome idea! This simple but breathtaking idea can easily be accomplished with the help of a massive group of people. This project brought the community together in such a unique way. People of all different backgrounds can create a simple quilt and contribute to the art piece. Art like this I believe is going to continue to thrive in communities around the country because its relatively simple, but covers a wide mass of people to make the impact greater.
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