Observer » Olek

To Do Saturday: Treat Yo’ Self

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 09:00:36 -0400

The End is Far by Olek.

The nonprofit art and design group BOFFO is holding a fund-raiser called “The Narcissists Ball,” which has the tag line “A self-love of epic proportions.” The night is all about you. Bid on commissioned portraits of your beautiful face in a silent auction featuring over 40 artists like Eve Fowler, Olek, Anthony Goicolea and Sandro Kopp, to name just a few. So dress to impress yourself. The invitation also includes this Oscar Wilde quote: “To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.”

531 West 36th Street, 8pm-11pm, tickets $212 to $6,700.

Yarnbombing Goes Mainstream on Daytime T.V. [Video]

Matt Chaban — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:00:29 -0400

Our friends the Looons, who yarnbombed a tree down the block from Observer HQ, have taken their work to the big-time, and it's not even that big of a piece. Unlike Olek's huge Wall Street bull sweater or some of the other big yarnbombings out there, this was a fairly simple task, bombing an Aeron office chair. That chair happened to belong to a Good Morning America cohost, though, so now middle America is hip to trend. While this may mean the end of this venerable art form, watching George Stephanopoulos get giddy about some string is pretty funny.

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mchaban [at] observer.com | @MC_NYC

Olek Look-Alike Adorns Hell’s Kitchen Tree

Matt Chaban — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 09:02:39 -0400

While on our way to lunch yesterday, The Observer passed by a most unusual tree on West 44th Street, a block from the mothership. And no, it was not strange simply because trees are such a rarity in Midtown. Even in the sweltering heat, it had on a sweater. After our sweat-clogged mind cleared, The Observer realized it is, in fact, unusual for a tree to be wearing a sweater, even in November. No, this tree had been yarnbombed.

We thought perhaps it could be the work of well-known street artist Olek, who among other infamous acts stitched up the Wall Street bull last Christmas. The answer is sweeter—both in the gnarly and precious sense—than that. As this YouTube video explains, it is the work of two women who own the shop next door, Domus.

There is an Olek connection—they were inspired by the prolific knitter—but what is even more impressive is they did not know how to crochet until they decided to undertake the project. Which, we might add, has been up for a few months now, with the sad fact that someone's stolen the butterfly once sewn on.

The Observer needs to look around more on the rare occasions we peel ourselves away from the computer.

mchaban [at] observer.com | @MC_NYC