Googly Eyes Placed on Sculptures Follow Residents in this Oregon City

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.

Some residents viewed Bend’s statement as dampening a bit of entertainment in the city of more than 100,000 people.