3 days ago
5
Last month, googly eyes appeared on pieces of public art throughout Bend, Oregon. Drivers would rubberneck, befuddled and amused by statues of deer and other sculptures that had been given an irreverent, cross-eyed gaze. The eyes became a sensation, except among frustrated city officials, who paid for their removal.
The identity of the person behind the pranks, who became known as the
Googly Eye Bandit
, was unknown. That is until
Jeff Keith
came forward to claim responsibility. Keith, 53, who runs the Guardian Group, a nonprofit focused on disrupting sex trafficking in the US, said that in mid-Dec he sneaked into the middle of a roundabout and put the googly eyes on some public art. "Big Ears" by Joe Halko, a sculpture depicting a family of deer, became googly-eyed - including the little fawn between its mother's legs. "If Bambi's mom had had those eyes, maybe she'd have seen that hunter coming," Stephen Colbert joked on "The Late Show."
"I love making people smile," Keith said in an interview on Saturday. "Other people started joining in. I'm not taking credit for all of them. That's the cool part." Placing the eyes around the city was a "release" from the nature of his work, he said, adding that he did not know who else joined the effort.
Even more googly eyes appeared on statues around Bend. Among other art installations, a six-foot sphere was brought to life and given a touch of whimsy and a red phoenix took on an air of bewilderment. While the pranks got widespread attention, it was left to the city to remove the eyes."While the googly eyes might give you a chuckle," the city said on Instagram in Dec, "it costs money to remove them." The city paid $1,500 to have the eyes removed while carefully preventing damage to the art,its spokeswoman said.
Some online commenters were frustrated with the city, saying that officials couldn't take a joke and suggesting better uses for the city's budget. Keith, who has lived in Bend for over two decades, said he went to the city offices and offered to pay for the cleanup that but he had not heard back. Bend's city office is yet to comment about Keith's offer and if it had identified him as the prankster.
