US city tells residents to stop sticking googly eyes on its statues

A council in the US has asked its residents to stop sticking googly eyes on the city's art.

The comedy eyes have appeared on statues and murals around the city of Bend, Oregon, causing a viral sensation.

"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 said in posts on social media.

"It would cost $0 to leave them on," replied one Facebook user, while another praised the artworks' additions.

"My daughter and I went past the flaming chicken today and shared the biggest laugh," she said, using a nickname for the "Phoenix Rising" sculpture.

"We love the googly eyes. This town is getting to be so stuffy. Let's have fun!"

Another Facebook user wrote: "I think the googly eyes on the deer specifically are a great look, and they should stay that way."

Others said the city should focus on addressing more important issues, such as homelessness, instead of spending time and money on removing the googly eyes.

Bend's sculptures frequently get adorned with seasonal decorations like Santa hats and wreaths which the council does not remove.

The googly eyes, however, are being removed because of their adhesive, according to Bend's communications director, Rene Mitchell.

"We really encourage our community to engage with the art and have fun. We just need to make sure that we can protect it and that it doesn't get damaged," she said.

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After the city's post went viral, Ms Mitchell said: "There was no intent to be heavy-handed, and we certainly understand maybe how that was taken.

"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."

Bend has spent $1,500 (£1,188) on removing googly eyes from seven of the eight sculptures impacted, according to Ms Mitchell and has started treating some of the art pieces, which are made of different types of metal such as bronze and steel.

The "Phoenix Rising" sculpture may even need to be repainted entirely.

(c) Sky News 2024: US city tells residents to stop sticking googly eyes on its statues