Arts group wants to envelope Pittsburgh’s Andy Warhol Bridge with knitted blankets

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Andy Warhol’s art doesn’t often conjure warm and fuzzy images — but a proposed tribute to him just might.

An arts group wants to cover a downtown Pittsburgh bridge named for Warhol with knitted blankets.

Allegheny County Council must sign off on the plan. But if it goes forward, the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh will use machine-knitted blankets to cover the bridge’s towering superstructure while individual blankets knitted by more than 1,200 volunteers will be used to cover its walkways.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (http://bit.ly/11yVnv0) hopes to cover the bridge in mid-August and leave the blankets in place for about a month.

After the blankets are removed, they’ll be washed and distributed to homeless shelters, nursing homes and animal shelters.

Knit-the-Bridge leader Amanda Gross says, “The point is to knit stronger communities.”