Read the article and match the photos (A-C) with two of the artists.
Jessie Hemmons
Magda Sayeg
GRANNY GRAFFITI
The statue of Rocky outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art is very popular with tourists, who often stop to take their photo in front of it without bothering to visit the museum itself. This irritated the artist Jessie Hemmons, who knitted a bright pink jacket and put it on the statue of the boxer. On the front of the jacket, Jessie knitted the words 'Go see the art'. Jessie hopes that more people will visit the gallery. This form of street art has become known as 'yarn bombing'.
The craze is believed to have started in 2005 by Magda Sayeg in Houston, Texas. One day Magda decided, just for fun, to knit a blue-and-pink cover for her shop's door handle. She loved it, and unexpectedly, so did her customers. Pedestrians stopped outside the shop to photograph it. Motorists slowed down to take a closer look. Their reaction inspired Magda to make covers for other objects in the street, such as a stop sign, a lamp post, a parking meter - and even an entire bus, which took a whole week to complete!
There are now yarn bombing groups in dozens of countries. They photograph and film their works and upload them to the internet.
Jessie believes that most street art is done by men and that yarn bombing is a more feminine activity. But not everyone approves of the new form of street art. Some people argue that covering public objects in wool is vandalism and littering, but the police appear to have a relatively relaxed attitude towards yarn bombers. They might interrupt them if they see them at work in the street, but they do not often view them as criminals.
Whether you see yarn bombing as a bit of fun that brightens up drab cities, or as a form of high culture with a serious message, it is a craze that is likely to continue.
Photo A: A bus covered entirely in knitted wool in a blue-and-pink pattern.
Photo B: Jessie Hemmons with the statue of Rocky wearing a pink knitted jacket and the words 'Go see the art'.
Photo C: A stop sign and a parking meter covered in colorful knitted wool.
Artists: Jessie Hemmons and Magda Sayeg.
