City: Please Stop Putting Googly Eyes on Public Art

Bend, Oregon, is proud of its roundabouts and the public art it has placed in the middle of the traffic features. It's not so thrilled about the modifications people have been making to the sculptures. In posts on Facebook and Instagram, the city has asked people to please stop attaching oversized googly eyes to the art, UPI reports. "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. "While we don't condone the wreaths, leis, and Santa hats, let's stay away from adhesives, graffiti, and all things that can damage the art."

"The adhesive that's used to do that really damages the art," says Bend Assistant City Manager Stephanie Betteridge," per Central Oregon Daily. "We're trying to get it off quickly to minimize the damage. But we've had eight pieces that have had eyes installed on them over the past few months. It's cost over $1,500 to remove that." Commenters on the city's social media posts were largely pro-googly eyes. "Art is in the eyes of the beholder," one commenter wrote. "I say they made it better." (Savannah, Georgia, had a similar problem with a statue of a Revolutionary War commander.)