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Over the last few months, the city of Bend, Oregon has become used to the feeling of someone having an eye on them. But this isn’t espionage or anything of the kind, but rather a cheeky act of art vandalism. An unnamed individual(s) has been putting googly eyes on public art around the city, much to the delight of the public, and to the concern of local officials.
The artworks that have been brought to life with googly eyes are part of the Roundabout Art Route, which is located around the city and features 27 sculptures created by artists from around the world. Among the eight pieces that have been targeted are the Phoenix Rising, an all-red bird-shaped metal piece by Frank Boyden; Orb I by Brandon Zebold, a six-foot-tall metallic sphere; and Joe Halko’s Big Ears, a family of deer cast in bronze—all of which have been given a fun twist, dropping their more solemn appearance if only for a little while.
While the elusive artist(s) has long engaged with these pieces by decorating them with seasonal gear, this time the local government has asked the anonymous art bandit(s) to stop. “We love our roundabout art in Bend, so let’s do our part to take care of it,” reads a statement from the city. “While the googly eyes placed on the various art pieces around town might give you a chuckle, it costs money to remove them with care to not damage the art.”
The officials were quickly met with pushback from the residents, who shared how it has given them a good chuckle and lightened the mood, and that they should focus on more pressing issues. While the government said that they don’t condone the wreaths, leis, and Santa hats that people have placed on public art in the past, they requested people stay away from adhesives, graffiti, and all things that can damage the art.
According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, the city has spent $600 to remove the adhesive from the metal sculptures, plus an estimated $900 will be spent to remove googly eyes from Phoenix Rising, as the piece may need to be repainted entirely.
“Adhesives can pull off the paint, wax or other protective coatings on the metals,” René Mitchell, Bend’s communications director told The New York Times. “If paint on steel is chipped, scratched, or removed with adhesives, the steel will rust.” Due to the nature of the metallic pieces, each one requires a trained conservator and a different process to be cleaned.
After the response to the googly eyes was picked up by several outlets—including a call out by The Late Show host Stephen Colbert—the team said that they were simply putting the artworks first. “There was no intent to be heavy-handed, and we certainly understand maybe how that was taken,” Mitchell told ABC. “We own this large collection of public art and really want to bring awareness to the community that applying adhesives does harm the art. So as stewards of the collection, we wanted to share that on social media.”
Meanwhile, local businesses have followed suit with the trend, aware of the cheer it brings to people’s days. The Pine Tavern posted a photo on Facebook of giant googly eyes on their façade with the caption, “This googly eye trend has got to STOP!” Meanwhile, the Unofficial Logging Co., an ax-throwing facility, added googly eyes to one their targets, cheekily writing, “This googly eye problem in Bend is getting out of hand!” These funny additions may physically be completely removed from the city one day, but they’ll surely stay in the hearts and memories of the city’s residents.
Sources: City of Bend; Thanks to a Prank, Sculptures Make Googly Eyes at Oregon Residents; In Bend, art is in the googly eye of the beholder
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