A man and his sweaters
Internet sensation and his creations coming to Boulder library
You may have seen them in The New York Times, or on your favorite guilty pleasure website for softer news. But now, thanks to the Boulder library, you might actually get to wear the internet-famous sweaters of Sam Barsky.
Barsky gained widespread acclaim over his hand-knitted creations depicting various landmarks, and for the selfies he takes wearing them in front of the destinations they depict.
More than three dozen of them will be on display soon at the library’s Canyon Gallery, in an exhibit called, “Wish You Were Here: The Sweaters of Sam Barsky.”
Special Boulder- and Colorado-themed sweaters, created just for the exhibit, will be available to check out, for up to 24 hours at a time on a first-come, firstserved basis. A library card is required to borrow a sweater.
A Baltimore resident, Barsky learned to knit at the knees of two local yarn-shop owners. He spends “about a month” on each sweater. So far, he has made 126 — commemorating 20-plus years of world travels to iconic sites such as Stonehenge, the Hollywood sign and Jerusalem’s Western Wall — and plans a few more based on his impending travels around Colorado.
“I enjoy the work that I’m doing,” Barsky said. “The fame is a bonus part.”
He has amassed thousands of followers on Instagram and Facebook, where his many creations are detailed. Fans stop him for a “hello” and a photo occasionally, but he is still unknown enough to live a relatively normal life. “I can go to Walmart and still be quite anonymous,” he said.
Barsky keeps and wears his many sweaters, and travels the country sharing his techniques. He will teach a free workshop on pictorial knitting Aug. 26 in the Main Library. Registration is required for the workshop.
The exhibit will run through Oct. 14. Sweater check-out will begin Aug. 27 and be available from noon to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays in the Canyon Gallery.