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Exclusive Interview with Crocheted Olek: On Wall Street’s Bull and More

December 29, 2010
8 min read
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StreetArtNews: Olek, thanks for running this interview with us, Could you present yourself for our readers that may not know you yet?
Olek: I am Olek. Loop after loop, hour after hour, my madness becomes crochet. Life and art are inseparable.
I was born Agata Oleksiak in Poland and in 2000 I escaped from the gray industrial city of Silesia and started growing my roots in New York City. I don’t know what I was thinking when I rediscovered my ability to crochet …… oh! I know what…. This technique allows me to do two things at once: to watch movies and make art. I love watching movies. They inspire my life, and conversely, life inspires me to watch certain films at a particular time. I measure time by how many movies I have seen. The bull took me 6 seasons of Lost, plus a few films… and the cover was originally created for a different show. His head took me all of Woody Allen’s movies available on instant watch on Netflix 🙂
My work changes from place to place. With a miner’s work ethic, I long to delve deeper and deeper into my investigations. I want to introduce my creations to a broader audience every time…I want to move people on every possible level. I want to create a dialogue.
I wish I could crochet even faster… I wish my hands would not hurt…I wish my back would be stronger…
I have received a few grants, participated in a few residencies, had tons of show but for that I invite you to take a look at my CV.
My infamous crocheted pink bike on the LES was a beginning of a bigger splash. I followed a recipe I have learned by watching films. I introduced my audience to new crocheted objects step by step and I presented the Bull as the finale of a very wonderful, colorful, crocheted 2010!
If you want to know more about me…just follow the thread…the unraveling, the ephemeral part of my work that never lets me forget about the limited life of an art object and art concept, and hidden behind the crochet a story or two reveals itself….
Until the end of May I can be found in my LMCC Workspace residency in the Financial District, with a pile of movies to watch and a bottle of spiced Polish vodka, aggressively re-weaving the world as I see fit.
San:We’ve heard that you can actually crochet anything, is the NYC bull your biggest crochet to date?
Olek:What does it mean “the biggest”? My installation at Christopher Henry Gallery was bigger in size, and it will actually re-open in January due to public demand!
The Bull, or as I call it Project B, since I was keeping it secret for a few months, is for sure one of the most important pieces I have done so far….particularly due to the fact that is recognizable worldwide.

SAN:How long did it take to prepare the bull’s crochet and put it in place?
Olek:I arrived at 2:30 am and was working non-stop till 6:30am. I crochet pretty fast, but I was a little slowed down because it was freezing…the metal crochet hook got almost permanently connected to my fingers…arrrrr…..
San:How did you feel once the piece was completed?
Olek:I was relieved! I so wanted to complete it!!! I actually couldn’t believe that I had done it.
San:Did you stay around to view people’s reactions?
Olek:People were passing the whole night and they loved it. I stayed in the morning a little bit, took some more pictures with tourists… and the moment I left to get something hot to drink the “caretaker” arrived and “raped” the sculpture with his scissors. I actually left a note with my info but I guess he cannot read.
San:Arturo Di Modica placed the bull on Wall Street as a symbol of the American people strength and power, Is the bull’s warm coat a symbol of protection in these times of economical crisis and bankers internal corruptions?
Olek:I believe that my role is to make a sculpture. I don’t write a particular statement about my work and especially not before it is completed. I am a visual artist and that’s my language. I don’t want to put any meaning in people’s mouth. I hope to be very communicative with my crocheted investigations. When I get the reaction, I succeeded. Tearing it down, was also a reaction. Everything has a meaning. Honestly, I had hoped to make it bold and more visible, especially to those who walk with their eyes staring at the ground. Your question is actually a statement that made me want to forget about my shoulder pain and produce more.
I intend to take advantage of living in NYC with various neighborhoods and, with my actions, create a feedback to the economic and social reality in our community. I intend to make the audience develops new means of interacting with the piece, realizing that their response greatly impacts the art, and the ways my forms are moving over time. Their response is the art, and my work is a mirror.

San:Crochet is your weapon of choice, Do you also like to use other mediums to express yourself?
Olek:Crochet is my technique, my weapon of choice as you poetically named it!
Sculpture is my medium. But I approach it in a painterly matter – that’s what I was told. I think I could be a painter if I could watch movies and paint at the same time. Would be faster…bummer…
San:’It (the bull) Lasted 2 hours, but it was there…’ What’s next for you now? A new year of Guerrilla actions?
Olek:I hope so…but now I have to be more careful. I am planning to work on a very big project…and that one will require permission…. And I am Polish…and not so good about the legal ways of doing things in life.
In January we will re-open “Knitting is for Pus****” at Christopher Henry Gallery.
On February 17th, I have an opening at NY Studio Gallery in their LZ space. I will present a work in collaboration with new media artist Devan Simunovich (http://www.c-trl.com/omni/doku.php). We are working on 3D mapping projection of crochet on a bicycle. Something totally new and exciting!!!
San:Now that you pulled perhaps the nicest act of 2010, Where can our readers see more of you?
Olek:That would be too easy, to just tell… Follow the yarn and jump!
Thanks for running this interview with us, and we wish you the best for 2011.
Visit Olek’s Website To Stay Up To Date With Her Latest News .
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