Mandell H. “Monstrous” craft activism: A city yarn installation that wrought controversy through textile togetherness and community engagement. Craft Research. 2021;12(1):31-50. doi:10.1386/crre_00039_1
After utilizing the EbscoHost database, I came across a paper called ‘Monstrous’ craft activism: A city yarn installation that wrought controversy through textile togetherness and community engagement. This paper discusses a commissioned yarn installation at a public park, Schiller Park, in Rochester, New York during the summer of 2018 that drew both public praise and criticism from City Hall. The unexpectedness of the yarn work in the park was thought to draw this criticism, as well as the fact that it was in a public space and was a traditional form of women’s art.
The paper then goes into the topic of Yarn bombing, which is a type of graffiti where crocheted yarn is draped over public spaces, as well as yarn activism, which describes the use of yarn to make a statement. This latter concept turns the idea of knitting as a service done by women for men on its head: yarn activists in the 1900s utilized embroidery in Suffragette banners, and knit tapestries were used to draw attention to Schiller Park’s history.
I think this concept of unexpected ‘takeovers’ of yarn could be used for an artistic soft robotics project where a seemingly innocuous piece of cloth/knit fabric could slowly expand until it was visually more intimidating and physically taking over a physical space. This would occur due to soft silicone tubes being sewn inside and pneumatically activated.
Below are some images from the installation.
