If you travel through Bend, Ore., and have the feeling that you’re being watched, it’s not a stroke of paranoia: Googly eyes were affixed to eight public art sculptures around the city, to the chagrin of some local officials but to the delight of many residents.
Beginning in August, the culprit or culprits, nicknamed the Googly Eye Bandit by local news outlets, placed the eyes on works of art in the city’s Roundabout Art Route, which snakes through the area and features 27 installations made by artists from around the world.
Among the installations that were hit: a family of deer, looking truly lost in the headlights; a six-foot sphere that was brought to life and given a touch of whimsy; and a red phoenix, one of the oldest installations, which took on an air of bewilderment.
“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 city wrote this month on social media.
Some residents viewed Bend’s statement as dampening a bit of entertainment in the city of more than 100,000 people.
“My daughter and I went past the flaming chicken today and shared the biggest laugh,” one person commented on Bend’s social media post, using the nickname for the phoenix installation. “We love the googly eyes. This town is getting to be so stuffy. Let’s have fun!”
Other commenters cited homelessness and education as a better use of the city’s budget.
The city has spent $1,500 removing the googly eyes from the installations, René Mitchell, Bend’s communications director, said in an email. She added that one piece, “Crossroads,” a circular steel sculpture depicting a set of crossing logs, was also marked with graffiti and would require $5,000 to repair.
“Adhesives can pull off the paint, wax or other protective coatings on the metals,” Ms. Mitchell said. “If paint on steel is chipped, scratched or removed with adhesives, the steel will rust.”
Without those coatings, some metals are susceptible to corrosion, she said, adding that “each metal requires a trained conservator and a different process to remove.”
Pamela Pakker-Kozicki, co-owner and manager of Ulrich Pakker Studios, whose husband’s “Three Rising” sculpture had been googly-eyed, according to Central Oregon Daily News, had not known about the prank until Saturday.
“Our first reaction is that it’s silly, it’s playful,” she said in an interview on Saturday. “It is vastly preferable for a piece of public art to have interactions with the public than be ignored.”
She added, though, that was “with the caveat that these googly eyes can be easily removed and it doesn’t damage the sculpture.”
Local businesses took the opportunity to create their own eye art.
The Pine Tavern Restaurant in Bend posted a photo with googly eyes above the building’s front door, and the Unofficial Logging Co., an indoor ax-throwing facility, posted an image of the eyes (possibly frightened) above several axes wedged into a target.
“I think slightly harmless fun is good to do, and a little bit of light civil disobedience is always healthy for a community,” said John Heylin, co-owner and manager of the ax-throwing business.
The prank received national attention this week when it was featured during a segment on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” in which the host took lighthearted aim at the city’s reaction.
“You’re gonna get mad about that? It’s fun!” Mr. Colbert said.
In the past, the Roundabout sculptures have been adorned during the holidays with Santa hats and wreaths, which the city has said on social media it does not condone, adding that residents should “stay away from adhesives, graffiti and all things that can damage the art.”
Bend is not the first city to be overtaken by googly eyes. This year, a band of Boston residents successfully campaigned to have the eyes affixed to the T trains in the city.
Although the googly eyes in Bend did not last — they remain on only the phoenix sculpture — Ms. Mitchell emphasized that the city was not trying to squash a little cheer.
Law enforcement has not been involved, and the city was not pursuing an investigation.
“We, too, think the googly eyes are funny and appreciate the admiration and interest our community has taken with them and our public art collection,” Ms. Mitchell said. “We just want to make sure the art lasts and is not damaged.”
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