Picture the Statue of Liberty greeting the huddled masses while wearing a full-length, hot pink, crocheted sweater.
A whimsical Brooklyn artist named Olek does every time she looks in her direction.
On Christmas Eve, she cloaked the iconic “Charging Bull” statue on Wall Street – from horn to hoof – with a pink, camouflage-patterned cover that she crocheted herself.
Since then, Olek – real name Agata Oleksiak – has found herself sizing up other famous city landmarks as possible candidates for her guerrilla sweater treatment.
“I want to create a new identity for things,” she said. “I want to make art accessible to people. To get people to think about shapes and colors in a different way.”
Olek said covering the bronze bull statue was her Christmas present to New York.
“I wanted to give a little warmth to the city after the recession,” said Olek, who admits she didn’t get a permit. “All the time, I was waiting for the police to stop me. But they were very human and understood that I wasn’t trying to harm the statue.”
Olek said it took miles of yarn to create the fabric. Asked how long it took her to stitch it together, Olek, who devours movies and sitcoms while she crochets, answered: “It took me six seasons of ‘Lost.'” The fruits of Olek’s labor survived for only about two hours before a grumpy city worker tore it down.
Olek said she was not deterred. She has other projects up her, ahem, sleeve. Including one that will require the help of dozens of other crocheters.
“I applied for a grant to do a project that will be in Times Square this year,” she said.
Born 32 years ago in Poland, Olek is the daughter of a coal-mine machine operator. “I grew up in a gray, dark place called Silesia that I always wanted to escape,” she said.
Olek said even as a child she thirsted for color, but became an artist by accident. A seamstress aunt turned her on to fabrics. That, in turn, piqued her interest in creating costumes.
Along the way, Olek said, she discovered crocheting – and her calling. In June 2000, Olek arrived in New York on a student visa determined to make her mark in the art world.
“My first night I stayed with a friend, and when I woke up, I was shocked and a little disappointed to find myself back in Poland,” she said.
It turned out her friend lived in the Polish enclave of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Since then, Olek has – a stitch at a time – built a remarkable résumé and established herself as New York’s crocheting queen.
Inspired by modernist artists like Marcel Duchamp and Christo, who did “The Gates” exhibit in Central Park, Olek has covered everything from windows, bicycles and vegetables to people with her colorful fabric creations.
Today, Olek is an artist-in-residence at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and is represented by the Christopher Henry Gallery. She often wears her crocheted creations and cuts a colorful figure as she tools around town on her beloved bicycle.
“I love covering things,” said Olek.
