The guerrilla art form, yarn bombing, struck the McPherson College campus Tuesday with a colorful installation on a brick wall near the center of campus.
Yarn bombing, or yarnstorming, is a non-permanent graffiti created by knitting or crocheting that usually appears in public places overnight. Where graffiti is primarily seen as social commentary, territorial or vandalism, yarn bombing is almost always about reclaiming and beautification of public places. For McPherson College this yarn bombing project was also about teaching the process of public art installation. Students from Professor Ann Zerger’s Sculpture II class designed and installed the art piece.
“Every year in this class I try to bring in a professional art practice,” Zerger said. “This year we are learning about public art. It’s about taking an idea and putting it into practice. As the ‘project manager’ I try to demand as much professionalism as possible.”
Zerger said the installation allows the students an opportunity to develop a project proposal and work with building and other officials that need to be part of the project. It also teaches art students about working with structure and safety issues, as well as creating and following a project plan and budget.
The yet untitled installation is hanging on the brick wall just east of the Mingenback Theater and will be on display for the next week.