Order a bagel and schmear at Feltz Bagels, and you’ll be fed an original piece of art
NEW YORK (AP) — While not one of the major food groups, a bagel and a schmear made of felt might satisfy your appetite for art.
“Feltz Bagels,” the latest installation from British artist Lucy Sparrow, uses approximately 30,000 pieces of felt to recreate the look and feel of the authentic Jewish bagel shops prominent in New York’s Lower East Side neighborhood.
Sparrow says she wanted to depict how this breakfast food brought here by Eastern European immigrants in the late 19th century “morphed into New York society” and beyond, making the bagel the Swiss Army knife of breads. Cream cheese, butter, cold cuts, lox — anything that fits on the circular bread is fair game, Sparrow felt.
Taking over an abandoned storefront in the East Village, Sparrow’s pop-up shop runs from Tuesday through the end of October, offering a step back in time and the ambience of a real New York bagel shop.