The front of The Front!

This is a special post I've written after reading Bell's post today about rude treatment by The Front Cafe in Lyneham of people I know and respect. I started writing a comment on Bells's blog, but I just had too much to say so I'm posting here instead. You may need to read Bells's post before reading this to make full sense of it.

I just can't figure this one out. The Front *seems* like it would be an inclusive, progressive community-minded establishment. But our group has more proof than we need now that The Front, contrary to appearances, is not one of these at heart. My first theory is that the person in question might have had some sort of previous traumatic experience with a knitting needle and needs therapy to get over it! An alternative theory (thanks, O) is that this matter relates to the art-craft schism and that this person has an outdated view of knitting. He sees it as sitting way at the "uncool" end of the craft part of the spectrum. He doesn't want his business's cred to be diminished by having this sort of "embarrassing" activity associated with it. What he fails to see, evidently, is that although most knitting does reside at the craft end of the craft/art spectrum, there is tremendous creativity within it and that this activity speaks to us in much the same way as the "regular" type of visual art speaks to him. He probably also doesn't know about the knitting that is considered modern art. One of my favourite knitting books is "KnitKnit" by Sabrina Gschwandtner. As well as avant guard fashion items, it also features installation art such as Isabel's Berglund's knitted room called "City of Stitches"

and Dave Cole's giant toxic knitted fibreglass teddy bear.


There is also Bridget Marrin's knitted stainless-steel gas regulators and Jim Drain's far-out Forcefield stuff.

And some of us have already dabbled a bit in public knitted art a la Knitta's continuing worldwide public art project (see also the Flickr group 'Urban Knitting').

All this is totally inspirational and much of it requires a high degree of technical skill. And because knitting isn't regarded as a mainstream art in our society, we don't go to art school to learn how to do this stuff - we meet in sociable groups in cafes to share and develop our passion.

I'm going to end with an ambitious idea. If this art/craft divide IS what's behind Mr Front's affront to knitters, I wonder if he'd be interested in seeing what knitters CAN produce with their sticks by way of art. Anyone up for creating an exhibition of knitted modern art with me? I can think of some gorgeous pears and cupcakes which would already fit the bill. We just maybe won't be approaching The Front to show it - they might not let people in the door to see it.