Big Ears — Joe Halko, Bend
Joe Halko · roundabout at Simpson Avenue and 14th Street · Bend, Oregon, USA
Photo: City of Bend, shared on the city’s social media in December 2024 (Artnet), via the Street Art Utopia archive; capture date not stated. The googly eyes were a prank, not part of the work. Artwork: Joe Halko, 2001. Full photograph shown; resized for display.
A bronze deer family stands in one of Bend’s roundabouts, so lifelike that Visit Bend says it occasionally stops traffic. Joe Halko’s Big Ears was among the first pieces of roundabout art in the city, installed in 2001. Art in Public Places · The Bulletin, 2023 · Visit Bend Checked
5 things to know
- One of the first roundabout piecesThe Bulletin names Big Ears and Sherry Sander’s Grizzly as two of the first roundabout sculptures installed in Bend; Big Ears went in in 2001. The Bulletin, 2023 · Art in Public Places Checked
- Dressed for the seasonsThe deer get dressed up through the seasons, sometimes in flower leis, holiday outfits or sunglasses, Visit Bend says. Visit Bend Reported
- Googly eyes in 2024By September 2024 Big Ears was one of six roundabout sculptures found wearing googly eyes. The city warned that adhesives can damage the art. The Bulletin, 2024 · OPB / AP Checked
- $1,500 and a confessionThe city said eight sculptures had been hit and removing the eyes cost $1,500. In January 2025 local man Jeff Keith said he had put eyes on two sculptures with duct tape, including the deer in the city’s photo. OPB / AP Reported
- A taxidermist firstHalko (1940–2009) worked as a taxidermist in Great Falls before he became a full-time artist in 1976. Wilcox Gallery Reported
Check-in guide
- 📍
- Roundabout at Simpson Avenue and 14th Street, Bend. The 2024 Bulletin article names the crossing as SW Century Drive and SW Simpson Avenue. Art in Public Places · The Bulletin, 2023 · The Bulletin, 2024 Conflicting
- 🚗
- It stands in a traffic roundabout and is one stop on Visit Bend’s Roundabout Art Route. Visit Bend Reported
Sightings
- 2001Installed
Art in Public Places record
- 202328 Jul
The Bulletin history
- 202420 Sep
Googly eyes reported
- 202417 Dec
City of Bend photo of Big Ears, via Artnet
- 202527 Jan
AP: the prankster speaks
All stamps are dates of records and reports, not camera dates. The status stamp follows the City of Bend’s December 2024 photo of the googly-eyed deer, which Artnet (17 December 2024) identifies as Big Ears. The AP report of January 2025 mentions the deer sculpture without naming it.
On the record
The giggle problem
“Googly-eyes make everybody giggle.”
Romy Mortensen, Art in Public Places board president, who also said the damage costs taxpayers money to fix.
Why he did it
“It is a place for me to cope with some pretty heavy stuff.”
Jeff Keith, who said he put googly eyes on two Bend sculptures with duct tape.
The facts
- Work
- Big Ears, a bronze deer family. Art in Public Places · The Bulletin, 2023 · Visit Bend Checked
- Artist
- Joe Halko (1940–2009). Art in Public Places · The Bulletin, 2023 · Wilcox Gallery Checked
- Date
- Installed 2001. Art in Public Places · The Bulletin, 2023 · Visit Bend Checked
- Material
- Bronze. Art in Public Places Reported
- Location
- Simpson Avenue and 14th Street (Art in Public Places, The Bulletin 2023); SW Century Drive and SW Simpson Avenue (The Bulletin 2024). We follow the Art in Public Places record. Art in Public Places · The Bulletin, 2023 · The Bulletin, 2024 Conflicting
- Owner
- Art in Public Places commissions the roundabout sculptures and donates them to the city, which owns them. The Bulletin, 2024 Reported
- Status
- In place in December 2024, when the City of Bend photographed it wearing googly eyes. Artnet, 2024 · The Bulletin, 2024 Reported No dated photograph from 2025–2026 found. Unconfirmed
- Our photo
- The City of Bend’s photo of the doe and fawn wearing googly eyes, shared on the city’s social media in December 2024; capture date not stated. Street Art Utopia archive · Artnet · The Bulletin, 2024 Reported
Related
- Only in America (14 Photos vol. 2): the SAU collection that includes this photo
- Playing With Googly Eyes (8 Photos): SAU’s earlier post with the same photo
- Čumil by Viktor Hulík: another street sculpture people can’t leave alone, with its own Artwork File
All sources (7)
Records
- Art in Public Places (Bend): Big Ears, the commissioning nonprofit’s record: Joe Halko, installed 2001, bronze, Simpson Avenue & 14th Street.
- Visit Bend: The Roundabout Art Route, the city tourism route: deer family, 2001, seasonal costumes.
- Wilcox Gallery: Joe Halko, gallery biography: 1940–2009, taxidermist, full-time artist from 1976.
Reporting
- The Bulletin: Discover the history behind Bend’s roundabout art, Janay Wright, 28 July 2023. Two of the first roundabout pieces; Big Ears installed 2001.
- The Bulletin: Bend agog at roundabout sculpture googly eyes, Morgan Owen, 20 September 2024. Six sculptures with googly eyes, including Big Ears; ownership and funding.
- Artnet: Someone Is Putting Googly Eyes on Sculptures in Oregon—and People Are Loving It, 17 December 2024. Names Big Ears; eight artworks, $1,500; two-deer photo credited to the City of Bend.
- OPB (Associated Press): Man says he was behind some of the viral googly eyes on public art in Oregon, Claire Rush (AP), 27 January 2025. Eight sculptures, $1,500, and Jeff Keith’s account.
Artwork File · Last checked 15 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files