A group of graffiti artists marked the front of the Craft & Folk Art Museum (CAFAM) last Monday. But it wasn’t spray paint or markers. It was yarn.

Yarn Bombing Los Angeles debuted its latest artwork in front of CAFAM in solidarity with the national Black Lives Matter movement. (photo by Luis Rivas)

The Yarn Bombing Los Angeles (YBLA) collective unveiled its public “knit graffiti” or crochet/fiber art installation, which is known as “yarn bombing,” on Jan. 12 on the fence surrounding the museum, which is under renovation. The art installation showcased the words “Black Lives Matter” as a show of solidarity with the national movement, Black Lives Matter, to raise awareness about police brutality, especially against African-Americans.

YBLA is no stranger at CAFAM. The collective meets at the museum monthly and has done other art installations with the museum in the past. Most notably, YBLA knitted nearly the entire front of the museum two years ago with “granny squares,” traditional crocheted pieces.

The decision on going with a Black Lives Matter-themed public art installation came from YBLA’s Urban Letters project. According to its Tumblr website, The Urban Letters project is a “public art project by the knit graffiti collaborative Yarn Bombing Los Angeles. Using large colorful yarn letters, we will write in public spaces what people want to say to the city of Los Angeles.”

YBLA began in 2010 as a group of knitters and artists who wanted to do public art installations for the purpose of creating a discussion around the concept of public art — utilizing yarn, or as YBLA refers to it, “fiber material.”

Carol Zou is a YBLA member and “head poncho,” as she describes her title with the knitters. She said the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter was supportive of YBLA’s decision to create its art installation as a nod to the national movement, raising awareness about an important issue.

“I think Black Lives Matter is really happy that the message is spreading through other creative channels. This is our way to show support for members of our community in thinking about this very powerful movement and raising more awareness in places outside of downtown Los Angeles. It’s great if they can get support from other parts of the city because if you’re not in downtown, you may not know about these issues,” Zou said.

The Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter for the last three weeks has been actively organizing, including setting up an encampment in front of the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters in downtown to raise awareness about the police killing of 25-year-old mentally ill African-American man, Ezell Ford, who was shot and killed on Aug. 11 by LAPD Newton division officers. The group has called for LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey to immediately terminate the two officers and file murder charges against them.

On Jan. 5 two Black Lives Matter protestors were arrested by the LAPD. They were later released. Protestors met with Beck on Jan. 9, who said, much to their disappointment, that he would not be terminating the officers.

Damon Turner, a self-described cultural architect, is a member of the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter. Zou had approached Turner to see if Black Lives Matter would be on board with the art installation.

“Their tactic is exactly what Black Lives Matter’s tactic is — which is about taking over non-traditional spaces,” Turner said.

The Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter has continued its work in transforming the front of the LAPD headquarters into a family-orientated space for protesting, art, workshops, political education and spiritual affirmation, as well as a general occupation, he said.

If the two police officers who shot and killed Ford are not fired and brought to justice, the occupation in front of the LAPD headquarters will continue indefinitely, Turner said.

“We will still be there. Period. Our demand wasn’t to meet with Beck; it was to fire these two officers who murdered Ezell Ford and to file murder charges. If people can come out, please come out … keep urging that Chief Beck remove these two officers from the force and please contact Jackie Lacey’s office to pressure her to file charges against the officers,” Turner said.

Much of what YBLA is doing for public art installations, such as the Black Lives Matter piece, comes from its Urban Letters project.

“Urban Letters began in 2012 and it was really a way for people to express themselves and talk back to their landscapes. In Los Angeles we don’t really talk with each other. We’re always in our cars, saying we’re ‘too far away from one another,’ that we’re 40 minutes away,” Zou said.

Zou is a student at Otis College of Art and Design, in the public practice program, and is set to graduate this May with a master’s degree in fine arts. She studies art as it relates to activism and public engagement.

“Some YBLA members like to be considered ‘crocheters’ and that they make fiber art, not ‘knit graffiti,’” she said, although she freely uses the terms interchangeably.

Zou was inspired by her mother to knit and sees knitting as a way of preserving and “activating traditional knowledge” by honoring something that was passed down from previous generations.

According to Zou, the Black Lives Matter installment will stay up as long as the public wants it.

As for the future of YBLA, Zou reassures their supporters that more knit graffiti/fiber art will come while working closely with the Urban Letters project.

In February the group will be working with Side Street Project and John Muir High School in northwest Pasadena to raise awareness about issues faced by the low-income community of the area.

CAFAM is supportive of not only YBLA but also Black Lives Matter.

Sasha Ali, exhibitions manager for CAFAM, said utilizing public space, as YBLA does, is a great way to get t he public talking about different opinions and ideas.

“And Black Lives Matter is definitely a conversation and consciousness that has taken hold at this time … and it’s something that Carol and YBLA are also aware of. They connected with Black Lives Matter. It was just a really great way to show solidarity with the message and to bring it to a public space. And it’s in line with the museum’s mission,” Ali said.