Aug

Yarn Bombing Has Its Purls of Wisdom

by Janine Boylan on August 19, 2013

Yarn bombing turns the Andy Warhol Bridge, Pittsburg, into creative public art. Image © Knit the Bridge

The Andy Warhol Bridge
© Knit the Bridge

Street Knitting As Public Art

The Andy Warhol/7th Street Bridge in Pittsburgh has been bombed!

So has the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles.

And so have numerous trees, statues, railings, phone booths, bicycle racks, and lampposts.

Yarn bombing, or yarn graffiti, is often the work of stealth knitters who wish to beautify a public place with their artistic expression. This soft form of graffiti has become more mainstream in the last few years, though, and more communities are embracing it as public art.

Meet three creative yarn bombers. Read more...

Janine Boylan Comments

The World's Art & Design/USA

Aug

Art Goes Across Cultures in “Tribute to Mandela”

by Sheron Long on August 15, 2013

How is it that a Belgian emerging artist, working with Chinese seals, honors South African activist and former President Nelson Mandela with a monumental portrait in the streets of Shanghai?

The inspiration that comes from going across cultures is, at least, part of the answer. In this video, seal artist Phil Akashi, shows his creative process.

If the video does not play, watch it here.

Mandela, An International Hero

Nelson Mandela (1918– ) celebrated his 95th birthday on July 18, 2013.

Nelson Mandela, subject of Phil Akashi's "Tribute to Mandela," a portrait created with Chinese seals and illustrating the art of going across cultures

Nelson Mandela, 2008
© South Africa The Good News

His vision of equal rights for the citizens of South Africa led to resistance against apartheid policies and to his imprisonment for 27 years.

After his 1990 release, he and President FW de Klerk negotiated an end to apartheid for which they won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

At age 77, Mandela voted for the first time in the 1994 elections, in which he became South Africa’s first democratically elected President. Read more...

Sheron Long 2 Comments

China/Crossing Cultures/South Africa/The World's Art & Design

Jul

Touched by Judith Braun’s Finger Drawings

by Janine Boylan on July 29, 2013

Judith Braun showing the creative process of finger drawing

The Creative Process Behind Braun’s Abstract Symmetry

To put it simply, Judith Braun finger paints.

But her work deserves a much clearer explanation.

Judith Braun finger draws.

And she uses her whole body as she draws. She dips her fingers in ground graphite and reaches to strategically smudge perfect black marks that fade to gray. She nimbly dips and smudges until a blank space is transformed with meaningful symmetrical shapes.

Wiggling the graphite-covered middle digit on her right hand, Braun describes her creative process as she discusses her mural “Graphite”: “This piece is using this finger, obviously. It’s a very specific finger!” Read more...

Janine Boylan Comments

The World's Art & Design

World Views:

Topics

Category Archives: The World’s Art & Design