[Art] Tag You’re It! Minni Purl Invades Town

If you happen to stroll down Capitol Street, or buy a loaf of bread downtown you will see a form of graffiti hanging from trees, parking meters and statues alike.

Minni Purl will have her tag on each work. Knitting Graffiti has finally reached Charleston. It all started last year when scarfs showed up around town. This form of “tagging” has been done all over America, mainly by a crew of artists called, Knitta.

Knitta is a tag crew of anonymous rogue knitters who leave graffiti on monuments, utility poles, and other public items. Unlike traditional taggers, Knitta uses non-damaging materials, such as yarn and cloth. The crew’s mission is to make street art “a little more warm and fuzzy”, according to members.

Started in 2005 by two women tagging the Houston metropolitan area, Knitta grew to eleven members, though currently has only three. Up to a dozen groups have followed their lead worldwide. The crew has been invited to show their art in Los Angeles, California; Paris, France; China and elsewhere.

Inspired by seeing these works during her ravels, Minni Purl picked up the mantel and ran with it here at her home of Charleston. Minni works mostly alone, but is sometimes aided by other anonymous crochet and knitting enthusiasts including Mr. Crewel.

Here is the e-interview I did with Mini:

S&H: Why the Minni Purl name?

MP: I used to watch the Grand Ol Opry with my grandma and I loved Minnie Pearl.  Hee Haw!!  Since purl is a stitch used in knitting, I decided to use the street name Minni Purl.  Although I usually use the knit stitch and don’t actually know how to purl well!

S&H: What kind of feedback to your art?

MP: Overall, I think the feedback has been pretty good to the graffiti knitting.  It doesn’t deface anything, and hopefully it encourages people to notice some of the cool trees and statues they pass daily and don’t really see.

S&H: Why do you do this kind of art?

MP: I like knitting and crocheting.  I like fibers and fabrics.  I like graffiti and street art.  So all these likes kind of came together.  I didn’t create knitting graffiti.  It was probably started by Knitta, a group of anonymous knitters and taggers in Houston.  They’ve had great success in putting their work all over the globe.

I have left some knitted graffiti in Columbus and Indiana.  When I travel, I like to leave knitted or crocheted tags where ever I go.  I’ve also created little Minni Purl knitting graffiti kits.  You can get them at Kanawha City Yarn Company or Wholly Craft in Columbus. I have a friend who has started doing knitting graffiti with me.  We’ve tagged parking meters together and a bust and the state capitol of Booker T. Washington.

It was a great experience to knit a 20 foot plus long scarf and have approval from the city to put it on the Henry Gassaway Davis statue downtown.  I had originally wanted to put the long scarf around all the dancers on the Cabriole statue at BB&T bank.  But I knew if I put it up unofficially they’d take it down.  Most things I don’t ask permission for.  But I couldn’t reach the top of the statue at Davis Park.  So two city workers got a super tall ladder and helped me put the scarf around Henry and his horse.  I kind of feel like his girlfriend now… you know I knitted my boy a scarf!

S&H: How long will you be Minni Purl?

MP: I guess I’ll be Minni Purl forever.  It’s nice to have a street name and do anonymous things.  Sometimes as an artist we attach so much of ourselves to our art.  It’s a great experience to create something you love and then to let it go… knowing someone might steal it or tear it down.  This summer I caught someone stealing a knitted piece in front of Ellen’s.  I told him I was a friend of Minni and he should be ashamed of himself.  He told me the work could sell for a lot to collectors.  HA!  He left it then, but later it was taken down, along with a knitted American flag I left on a tree on Hale Street and the scarf I left on the man at Boulevard Towers.

S&H: Why the mystery?

MP:  I think mystery is an important part of being an artist.  I love mystery and the idea that people don’t know who Minni Purl is.  Some people think they know who Minni is… but only a few know for sure!  I like it that way.

S&H: Do you involve other people?

MP: There was a cooperative knitting project last fall where people donated pieces I put together into a mural.  It’s still hanging at Spyro’s parking lot fence on Capitol Street.  It’s great to involve others in knitting.  My boyfriend doesn’t knit or crochet, but he sculpts things from yarn that I include in a lot of my work. His street name?  Mr. Crewel!

You can find “tags” by Mini Purl all over town. The locations you can still find some of her work are:
Restore – rain garden
Charleston Bread – tree
Taylor Books – tree
Davis Park – Henry Gassaway Davis Statue
South Hills bridge – Tree at foot of bridge.

See pics of Minni Purl’s work….

Contact: minnipurl@yahoo.com