A Kinder, Gentler Vandalism
During our carefree days as hapless grad students a couple of years back, we noticed a surge of knitting among the student set. While discussing greasy topics like intellectual freedom, ethnographic methodologies, and how best to catalog pornography, some of our number were simultaneously manipulating dangerous needles and fearsome quantities of yarn. We never formulated an official opinion whether knitting during class was disrespectful or not. On the other hand, we felt much safer sitting in a room full of pointy weaponry. Had the anti-intellectuals finally decided to storm in and shut down our abstract fantasy-land, we were prepared.
Still, though, we always harbored this nagging suspicion that those knitters were up to no good.
So, it was no surprise to us when this town's finest print publication ran a piece about an intriguing form of street art. Since reading about it, we have run across at least a handful of examples of this colorful graffiti. They have mostly taken the form of lovingly-sheathed streetlights and signposts. We've seen them from Ballard to Fremont to probably Pioneer Square. Some pieces wrap the entire length of a pole from the ground all the way up to the stop sign, for example. Others, like the pictured piece, give a mundane street sign a charming, European makeover through the simple addition of a smart, chic scarf. (What? No beret!?) Perhaps it is a belt, though, or even a garter, which we certainly wouldn't endorse, as we are of the conviction that street signs ought to maintain a certain modicum of modesty. But we digress…
Seattlest is an avid connoisseur of compelling graffiti and street art, so the transgressive cockles of our little hearts are warmed whenever we see this innovative form of contra-Sidran expression, as we did the other day. And what with the weather recently turning properly and deliciously autumnal, we know that it's only a matter of time before the cruel--though life-giving--rains come and the brutal, Northwestern winter presses down upon us. We are comforted knowing that the metadata provided by our signage will be protected from the elements.
Furthermore, not only does our dreary, metropolitan infrastructure sport a refreshing splash of style, but, somewhere in the shadows, a crafty army of knitters keep our streets safe. With needles at the ready, they protect us from the invading hordes. Seattlest wanders our gritty streets with a renewed sense of safety.
Love freedom? Hug a knitter.
