Photo by PaulSteinJC, courtesy of Flickr Commons

Olek strikes again! Polish-born crochet artist Agata Oleksiak added some color to Lower East Siders’ commute this morning by hanging two pairs of pink camouflage yarn-covered sneakers alongside the many old shoes dangling from wires above the intersection of Broome and Eldridge Streets.

Olek’s knitted street art is a downtown staple by now. In the past two years, the New York transplant has fully adorned shopping carts to cars with her elaborate crocheted designs. The public displays often promote her larger scale gallery projects – such as her an entire apartment covered in crochet patterns, furniture, appliances and all  – but they have also occasionally become large scale projects of their own: in January 2011 she covered Wall Street’s massive Charging Bull sculpture, and in October 2011 she crochet-bombed the Astor Place Cube.

Olek in her crocheted apartment. Photo by HAPPYFAMOUSARTISTS, courtesy of Flickr Commons.

Olek’s street pieces usually don’t stick around for long, so take the time to enjoy them when they pop up. And don’t worry that you’ve missed your chance, because today’s colorful hanging shoes hint that another spree of public works might be on the way this summer to generate hype for her upcoming exhibit at the Smithsonian museum in Washington, D.C. Check out the chronological list below of where her work has appeared on the city’s streets and what it has covered in the past few years, and see if you can find out where and what she will strike next!

OLEK’S CROCHET BOMBS

2010

• Intersection of Suffolk and Rivington Streets: bicycle, locked to a post –
  

  Photo by easy mo drew, courtesy of Flickr Commons

  Olek’s crochet street art debut! Later moved to the entrance of Essex Street Market, where the artist had an exhibit.

• Elizabeth Street: car and another bicycle, both parked outside the Christopher Henry Gallery.

• Intersection of Bowery and Delancey Street: children’s bicycle, chained to a street sign.

• Wall Street : Charging Bull Sculpture.

2011

• Stanton Street: bicycle, across from Olek’s exhibit at the NY Studio Gallery.

• 358 Broome Street: image on the side of the building of a girl holding balloons, a tribute to iconic street artist Bansky.

• Northwest corner of Chrystie and Delancey Streets: another girl with balloons image on the side of the building.

• Petrosino Square just off Lafayette Street: children’s tricycle locked to a post.

• Tompkins Square Park: sculpture of a life-sized “walk” crosswalk signal
  

  Olek likes to cover people, too. Photo by See-ming Li, courtesy of Flickr Commons.

  man, created by Scott Taylor.

• Astor Place: “The Alamo,” the Astor Place Cube.

• Rivington and Suffolk Streets: shopping cart, chained to scaffolding at the Clemente Soto Velez Center.

• 147 Orchard Street: another shopping cart, chained to the Volang boutique.

• East First Street and the Bowery: a third shopping cart, chained to a tree.

2012

• Jersey Street between Lafayette and Crosby Streets: four strollers locked to street signs with the combined message “Love and stop lights can be cruel.”

• Broome and Eldridge Streets: two pairs of shoes hanging from the wires over the intersection.

– Paul Bisceglio

Our resident nightlife contributor The Visceralist travels downtown and reviews Dixon Place

161 Chrystie (btw Delancey & Rivington)

NYC, NY 10002

(212) 219-0736

133 Essex Street (btw Rivington & Stanton)

NYC, NY 10002

(212) 674-7100

Bathroom situation – Visceralist recently used the adjective “swanky” in a conversation with two art school seniors. They had no clue wtf I meant (and yeah, they actually spelled out “W-T-F”). Commenters, is Visceralist just getting old & flabby or was it just them being willfully ignorant? It was them, right? See, that’s what I thought. Anyway, the bathrooms at SoE are swanky as all get out.
Takes credit cards? – yes, and with no discernible minimum. The drinks here are fairly costly though, so perhaps it’s just never an issue cuz you hit it as soon as you even look at the drink menu (more on that later).
Crowded on weekends? – yes if consider the weekend to be Wed-Sun. If you’re getting dinner, then reservations is a must.
Seating – 10 or so stools at the bar, two long communal tables just opposite the bar, a restaurant-style setup w/ 10 or so tables in back. Fun fact! This spot used to be a shithole travesty called Mason-Dixon that featured a mechanical bull in the back. The “bullpen” area now features a sunken lounge with a DJ booth adjacent.
Neighborhood – the part of the LES that you take friends from out of town to in order to show off your big-city bonafides, you swanky scenester, you.
Pretentious/assholes – so SoE has chosen to employ this new faux-storefront gimmick that they most likely sharked from their across-the-street neighbor Beauty and Essex. Your out-of-town friends will likely find this to be pretty swanky, but I think we can all agree that, really, it’s kinda triflin’.
Cost of Stella – not available. Wtf?
What time people start showing up – 8-9ish. Though the bar area is substantial, SoE is primarily a restaurant, so people generally try to get here around date-o-clock.
Bartender efficiency – fantastic. Visceralist has nothing but kudos for the bartenders, host & wait-staff here. Friendly like a Care Bear, quick like premature ejaculation, and cool-as-fuck like The Weeknd.
Official Website – here. A little too busy for Visceralist’s liking (tiled background? really?), but fully functional.
Food? How late – full menu with a whole section devoted to different varieties of that mac and that cheese.
TVs? What’s on – if you’re enjoying the new HBO show “Veep” what you should do is this right here: buy, then watch “In the Loop” on DVD, then go on YouTube and search “The Thick of It” and watch all the episodes in order, then say it with me, “Peter Capaldi for president!”
Guy:girl ratio – who was it that said that you only really realize how awesome you are after a bad breakup? Whoever it was has got it goin’ on.
Toys – nathan, so if you need one, you’ll have to do that origami chicken thing with your napkin.
Age of clientele – mostly late 20s – late 30s. I.e. “Veep’s” demographic.
Space for dancing? – perhaps in the lounge area, but SoE is likely subject to those wonderful NYC Cabaret Laws, so don’t you dare.
Music medium, style & volume – selections from the last time Visceralist was here: Outkast’s “Hey Ya”, Tupac’s “California Love”, LL’s “Doin It.” They have a DJ here Thur-Sat who spins mostly classic hip-hop. This is a rare treat in the LES, which is likely most of the reason why this place is so popular.
Specials or most popular drink – there’s a section of their cocktail menu devoted to Tea Blends. These are watered down, which is truly tragic because this is otherwise an excellent spot. Come on now, SoE.

To read more from The Visceralist visit www.visceralist.com.

155 Rivington St. (btw Clinton & Suffolk)

NYC, NY 10002

(212) 533-1810

Bathroom situation – 2 in the way back part, both unisex. The one on the left is huge and tatted up. The one on the right has a missing doorknob, but it’s ok cuz the knob-hole has been filled in with duct tape and you can hold the door closed from the toilet if you have to sit down (so that’s a big “Phew!” for the ladies, I’d imagine).
Takes credit cards? – Yeah they do, but don’t do that. Speaking of “don’t”…how many folks out here thought it was “Downtown Abbey” for the longest?
Crowded on weekends? – oh hell yeah, fuckin’ right. Exhausting those max capacity signs is a must.
Seating – 4ish booths on the left wall, 8-10ish stools at the bar, and room for a small bachelor party in the bathroom on the left side. Oh yeah, as mentioned above, the one on the left is big. Plus it has a functional lock.
Neighborhood – so close to the heart of the LES that you may as well be suckin its tits on the subway (right, Blossom?).
Pretentious/assholes – Visceralist didn’t get the “Really? No, really?” eye-roll last time we were here, so we’ll give this a pregnant “nah” for now…
Cost of Stella – $5, but bottle only. That’s below market rate, but it’s still bottle only, so…eh.
What time people start showing up – about 90 minutes after your friends said they were getting there.
Bartender efficiency – legit. Despite all your fog machines and light reflecting off those disco balls, the bartenders here got your back for rill rill.
Official Website – none. Which is actually kinda ill ill.
Food? How late – none, but Pok-Pok Wing is right down the street, so get creative.
TVs? What’s on – they have an ironic(?) video screen just above the bar that was showing some Russ Meyer foolishness last time Visceralist was here.
Guy:girl ratio – Even Steven.
Toys – there’s probably some fun to be had with that no-knob toilet in the back, on the right.
Age of clientele – young ladies in those black leather jackets and the weathered, long-haired burnouts that tolerate them.
Space for dancing? – surprisingly no, considering they have a substantially-elevated DJ booth in the front window. The layout just isn’t conducive to learning how to Dougie.
Music medium, style & volume – whatever the ‘80s equivalent of the Killers/Bravery/Panic! triumvirate of awesome was.
Specials or most popular drink – a tall pint glass of “God damn, you’re still here!? (eye-roll)”

To read more from The Viceralist visit www.visceralist.com