A group of artists who like to think big spent the weekend creating giant pieces of street art at the Open Canvas block party.
The block party organizers invited 20 well-known artists to North Sixth Street between Berry Street and Wythe Avenue to spend the weekend working on any kind of public art they chose.
“They allowed me to do anything I wanted,” said Olek, a fiber artist from Poland, who makes art out of yarn. “They didn’t give me any limitations.”
Olek crocheted a poncho for bicycle, a duvet for a van and a sweater for a 80-foot fence that bore the message “All We Need Is Love and Money.”
“It is a message that is quite personal to me, but also universal,” said Olek. “I’m glad that I was able to make a powerful statement to the public.”
Abstract painter Joseph Montgomery enlisted a squad of street artists to replicate one of his paintings as a full-scale mural on the side of Cubana Social on North Sixth Street.
“It was outside of my comfort zone, so I was interested in how well the idea would translate onto a mural,” said Montgomery.
The artists, who spent two days creating the works, included Jonah Freeman, Justin Lowe, Ara Dymond, KATSU, Aurora Halal, OLEK, Andrew Kuo, Valerie Hegarty, Ryan McNamara, and others.
The pieces will definitely be on display for a week, but many of them will probably stay up for much longer.
Reach reporter Danielle Furfaro at dfurfaro@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2511. Follow her at twitter.com/DanielleFurfaro.
