Only in America (14 Photos vol. 2)

October 14, 2026

By Vidar

More Art That Could Only Happen in America

In a field outside Amarillo, ten Cadillacs have stood nose-down in the dirt since 1974, and people still turn up with spray cans. In Bend, Oregon, someone taped googly eyes on a bronze deer, and the city ended up paying to take them off. This second round runs from a Philadelphia museum to a Venice Beach basketball court.

More: Only in America (14 Photos)

🪢 Indiana Jones Rescue — By Nate Baranowski in Bay Lake, Florida, USA 🇺🇸

A man on the walkway holds a real rope, and at the other end an adventurer in a fedora dangles over a torch-lit temple drawn in chalk. Baranowski made it for EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts, where the crowd walks right past the edge of the pit.

💡 Nerd Fact: Baranowski, a Chicago-based street painter, got hooked on street painting while earning his BFA at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

More: 3D Chalk Art by Nate Baranowski at EPCOT

🔗 Follow Nate Baranowski on Instagram

🙂 A Smile in the Forest — By Hampton Lumber in Oregon, USA 🇺🇸

From the air, a hillside near Willamina smiles back. David Hampton laid it out with forester Dennis Creel in 2011: larch trees turn yellow in the fall to make the face, while dark Douglas-firs form the eyes and mouth.

💡 Forest Fact: The face was laid out by hand. Planting crews used a rope to plot the circle and measured out where the eyes and mouth should go.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsThe Smiley Face ForestDavid Hampton & Dennis Creel (Hampton Lumber) · 2011 · Grand Ronde, OregonPlanted 2011About 300 feet acrossLarch and Douglas fir1Planting crews used a rope to plot the circle, eyes and mouth, according to Beaver’s Digest.Beaver’s Digest2Larch form the face and turn yellow-gold in autumn; Douglas fir form the eyes and mouth.OSU Landscape Plants202111 NovFull Fact: the photo is real20218 DecBeaver’s Digest report202226 OctFox Weather report202315 SepKOIN 6: back for fall20247 NovFilmed from the air (KOIN 6)202611 FebIFLScience reportRead the full file →

More: A Forester Planted a Smiley Face in an Oregon Forest

🦍 “King Kong” — By Carlos Alberto GH in New Rochelle, New York, USA 🇺🇸

Kong peers around a skyscraper while his huge hand spills out onto the sidewalk, so anyone who stands in the right spot ends up in his palm. It was unveiled in spring 2022 at New Roc City Plaza, and the Public Art Archive lists it in the New Rochelle Council on the Arts collection.

💡 Technique Fact: Carlos Alberto painted Kong with house paint from Home Depot, applied through a sprayer. His two New Rochelle murals were paid for with funds from ArtsWestchester’s ReStart the Arts program.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsKing KongCarlos Alberto GH · 2022 · New Rochelle, New YorkInteractive 3-D muralNew Roc City PlazaHouse paint (arts council)1It was funded by the New Rochelle Council on the Arts with an ArtsWestchester ReStart the Arts grant.Talk of the Sound2According to the arts council, visitors who pose correctly appear to stand in the palm of Kong’s hand.NRCA release202228 AprUnveiling announced202228 AprCBS New York report20223 MayArt Walk photos on Patch202225 MayArts council release2022JulOn the NRCA mural map202221 SepArchive record: on viewRead the full file →

More: King Kong in New Rochelle

🔗 Follow Carlos Alberto GH on Instagram

🦈 Matawan Shark — By Tattoo Bob in Matawan, New Jersey, USA 🇺🇸

Teeth painted around a low arch of a bridge over Matawan Creek turn the opening into a mouth, and the still water adds the lower jaw. Tattoo Bob painted it close to where the attacks happened, and the red 1916 on the wall points to the summer a real shark came up this creek.

💡 Shark Fact: The July 1916 attacks on the Jersey coast killed four people, and two of them were attacked in Matawan Creek, not on a beach.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsMatawan SharkTattoo Bob · 2020 · Matawan, New JerseyPainted July 2020Rail bridge, Matawan Creek1The artist told Weird NJ he painted it at 3:40 a.m. on 22 July 2020, during the year’s lowest tide.Weird NJ2According to The Lancer’s Point, neither the town nor NJ Transit had taken legal action by September 2021.The Lancer’s Point202022 JulFirst noticed · Lancer’s Point202113 JulNews 12 report202128 Sep“Still stands”202330 MarVisitor photo · Roadside America tip202319 JunWeird NJ storyRead the full file →

More: Street Art Inspired by the New Jersey Shark Attacks of 1916

🗽 Lady Liberty’s Lighter — At the Statue of Liberty in New York City, USA 🇺🇸

One cigarette and a low camera angle are all it takes. From the right spot, the torch of a 151-foot statue turns into a lighter, and he doesn’t even have to lean in.

💡 Torch Fact: The flame he is borrowing is not the original. The 1886 torch was swapped out during the 1980s restoration and now sits in the Statue of Liberty Museum, and the torch has been closed to visitors since debris from the 1916 Black Tom explosion damaged it. Bartholdi’s own name for the statue was Liberty Enlightening the World.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsLiberty Enlightening the WorldFrédéric-Auguste Bartholdi · 1886 · Liberty Island, New YorkDedicated 28 Oct 1886World Heritage since 1984151 ft 1 in (NPS)1According to Smithsonian Magazine, the torch was replaced in 1985 and the original moved to the new Statue of Liberty Museum.Smithsonian Magazine2The National Park Service says the statue was built in France from 1875 to 1884 and shipped to New York in 1885.National Park Service188628 OctDedicated · NPS1984World HeritageInscribed · UNESCO201820 NovOriginal torch moves · Smithsonian20242 JunAskALotl photo · camera date202420 OctLostplanetKD73 photo · camera date20264 JulUS Navy photo · camera dateRead the full file →

More: Fun With Statues (26 Photos)

⚾ Perfect Timing — Harmon Killebrew Statue at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA 🇺🇸

The bronze Harmon Killebrew on the plaza outside Target Field is frozen mid-swing, and this boy stepped straight into the bat’s path. For the sculptor, Bill Mack, Killebrew posed for hundreds of photos.

💡 Baseball Fact: That swing has numbers behind it. Killebrew, nicknamed Killer, hit 573 home runs and went into the Hall of Fame in 1984.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsHarmon KillebrewBill Mack · 2010 · Target Field, MinneapolisUnveiled April 2010Bronze, at full swing1According to the Grand Forks Herald, Killebrew posed for hundreds of photos for sculptor Bill Mack.Grand Forks Herald2After Killebrew’s death in May 2011, fans brought flowers to the foot of the statue, MPR News reported.MPR News2010AprUnveiled · Shama201025 AprStar Tribune column201117 MayMPR photos of fans’ tributes20258 MayListed among the statuesRead the full file →

More: Couldn’t Resist (8 Photos)

🚗 Cadillac Ranch — By Ant Farm in Amarillo, Texas, USA 🇺🇸

Ten old Cadillacs stand in a row with their noses buried in a field west of Amarillo, under so many layers of spray paint that the bodywork looks soft. The art collective Ant Farm planted them in 1974 for Amarillo tycoon Stanley Marsh 3.

💡 Paint Fact: The graffiti is part of the deal. When the director of the Amarillo Art Center objected early on, Marsh answered that he didn’t care and saw the paint as proof that people felt the place was theirs. The whole row was dug up and moved two miles west in 1997 to stay ahead of the growing city.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsCadillac RanchAnt Farm · 1974 · Amarillo, TexasTen Cadillacs, 1949–1963Moved 2 miles west in 1997Patron: Stanley Marsh 31According to Route 66 News, Stanley Marsh 3 brushed off the Amarillo Art Center director’s objection to the graffiti.Route 66 News2In September 2019 the oldest car caught fire; the heat reportedly stripped off more than 200 pounds of spray paint.CBS News Texas197421 JunCompletion party · Route 66 News20087 SepMarcin Wichary photo · camera date201910 SepFire reported · CBS News Texas202221 NovThcipriani photo · camera date20258 JunMrtexasfreedom photo · camera date20251 JulNewsChannel 10 guide202621 MayGoRoute66 interviewRead the full file →

📷 Photo: Marcin Wichary / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

📱 Benjamin Franklin — By StudioEIS in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA 🇺🇸

Someone has put a phone in Ben Franklin’s bronze hand, and the delegate behind him leans in as if he wants to be in the selfie. Franklin is one of 42 life-size bronzes in Signers’ Hall at the National Constitution Center, where visitors are invited to pose next to the framers.

💡 History Fact: Two famous names are missing from the room. Jefferson and Adams were abroad as ambassadors, in France and England, during the Constitutional Convention, so neither of them signed the Constitution.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsBenjamin FranklinStudioEIS · Signers’ Hall, PhiladelphiaOne of 42 life-size bronzesMade 2001–2003 (CDA)1According to NPR, Franklin’s bronze hands are “super shiny” because visitors have always touched him.NPR2Jefferson and Adams are not in the room: the center says both were overseas as ambassadors during the Convention.Center FAQ2003MayProject completed · CDA20034 JulCenter opens · NCC2009JanCDA feature on StudioEIS202618 JunNPR visit, seated FranklinRead the full file →

More: When Sculptures Come Alive (9 Photos vol. 2)

🔗 Visit StudioEIS’s website

🪓 The Tin Man — By Tom Bob in Massachusetts, USA 🇺🇸

Before: a plain green post on a street corner. After: a silver Tin Man with an axe across his body and the one thing he spent The Wizard of Oz looking for, a red heart. Tom Bob, a New York-based artist who grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts, turns this kind of forgotten street furniture into characters.

More: Creative Genius Tom Bob (33 Photos)

🔗 Follow Tom Bob on Instagram

💋 “Marilyn in Manhattan” — By Zimer in New York City, USA 🇺🇸

Marilyn Monroe lounges across a gray wall in a red halter dress, one hand in her curls, while the dress pours out into Zimer’s red graffiti shapes. Zimer’s own post places it at The Ridge Hotel, 151 East Houston Street, on the Lower East Side.

More: Cinema on the Streets: 17 Murals That Look Like Movie Stills

🔗 Follow Zimer on Instagram

😎 The Dude in Sand — By Damon Langlois in Port Aransas, Texas, USA 🇺🇸

Round sunglasses, a long beard, a robe and sandals: The Big Lebowski’s Dude reclines on the beach with one hand behind his head, carved entirely from sand. Langlois made it for Texas SandFest in Port Aransas.

More: Imagination Took Over (8 Photos)

🔗 Follow Damon Langlois on Instagram

📷 Photo by Padre Island Madre.

🐊 A Cowgirl Rides an Alligator — By Naomi Haverland in Great Falls, Montana, USA 🇺🇸

A cowgirl in red boots rides a snapping alligator and casts a fishing line with a star-shaped lure, under a hanging sign that just says YEE-HAW. Haverland painted it for the Great Walls Great Falls festival in August 2026, and KRTV reported that the only brief was a western theme.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsCowgirl Riding an AlligatorNaomi Haverland · 2026 · Great Falls, MontanaGreat Walls festival 2026117 Central Avenue1KRTV reported that the western theme was Haverland’s only real direction for the design.KRTV2It covers the side of the Cowboy Slick building, according to The Electric and the artist’s own post.The Electric202619 AugIn progress · KRTV202619 AugFestival report · The Electric202622 AugArtist’s photo, finished wallRead the full file →

More: Naomi Haverland’s Mind-Blowing 3D Murals

🔗 Follow Naomi Haverland on Instagram

🦌 “Big Ears” — By Joe Halko, Googly Eyes by Jeff Keith, in Bend, Oregon, USA 🇺🇸

A bronze doe and her fawn stand in the roundabout at Simpson Avenue and 14th Street, both staring through big plastic googly eyes. Bend warned that the adhesive could damage the art, spent $1,500 removing eyes from eight sculptures, and then local man Jeff Keith said he had put some of them on with duct tape.

💡 Nerd Fact: Halko’s Big Ears has stood at this roundabout since 2001. Before he became a full-time artist in 1976, Halko worked as a taxidermist.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsBig EarsJoe Halko · 2001 · Bend, OregonBronze deer familyInstalled 20011By September 2024 Big Ears was one of six roundabout sculptures found wearing googly eyes, The Bulletin reported.The Bulletin, 20242According to Visit Bend, the deer get dressed up through the seasons, in leis, holiday outfits or sunglasses.Visit Bend2001InstalledArt in Public Places record202328 JulThe Bulletin history202420 SepGoogly eyes reported202417 DecCity of Bend photo of Big Ears, via Artnet202527 JanAP: the prankster speaksRead the full file →

More: Playing With Googly Eyes (8 Photos)

🏀 “Black Mamba: Kobe Bryant Tribute” — By Chris Carlson and Nate Baranowski in Los Angeles, California, USA 🇺🇸

Kobe’s face sits in a burst of red and orange while a black mamba coils out of the frame and seems to slide off the wall. The Nike-commissioned tribute went up next to the Venice Beach basketball courts in January 2025. Carlson lists it on his website as Black Mamba: Kobe Bryant Tribute, a 20-by-40-foot anamorphic wall painting.

💡 Mamba Fact: Kobe took the Black Mamba name after watching Kill Bill in 2004 and used it as an alter ego for what he did on the court.

📂 Artwork File · Sourced factsBlack Mamba: Kobe Bryant TributeChris Carlson · 2025 · Venice Beach, Los AngelesCommissioned by NikePainted January 202520 × 40 ft (artist)1The slogan turns the 2025 Year of the Snake into “the year of the Mamba,” a nod to Bryant’s nickname.My Modern Met2Carlson and Indiana-based artist Nate Baranowski finished painting it in January 2025, the Los Angeles Times reported.Los Angeles Times (via Yahoo Sports)202525 JanLos Angeles Times report20254 FebMy Modern Met report202614 MarEssentiallySports report (via Yahoo)Read the full file →