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A three-eyed creature haunts the streets of Ann Arbor

I first met this adorable creature in Ann Arbor in April 2022. It was painted on a post at Packard & Arch at the tiny Forsythe Park. It offered good (albeit saucy) advice:

I’m glad I photographed it because it was soon gone. A week later the creature appeared a few blocks south, on the side of the Argus Farm Stop. This message was purely encouraging:

I didn’t see it again after that. Until this month, when the creature returned to a couple of spots on Madison St.

Here it is beaming on a planter at Madison and Main:

On an electrical box near Washtenaw Dairy, on Madison west of First [painted over as of November 2024]:

Radiant! Does anyone know what it’s saying? The same red and white paint is used in both pieces a block apart, perhaps they were created in the same evening.

[Added October 2024] A dog who is also a spicy life coach on Madison near Main St:

Is that paint? Marker? I know little about street art but I appreciate it when it’s well-done, creatively and technically. I’m glad the creator still calls Ann Arbor home – it’s a pricey place to make it as an artist – and continues to share this creature with us.

This kind of thing is ephemeral and feels worth recognizing and documenting. My dad played poker with a guy who made a hobby out of photographing antique ads painted on sides of brick buildings around Chicago. By the time he published a book with his decades of photos (Fading Ads of Chicago), half of them had faded away or been covered up, painted over, knocked down.

If you have seen this creature elsewhere, send in your photos or tip me off to where I can spot it in the wild.

November 2024 update: I was tipped off that the artist is Benjamin Layman. I’m not outing him, he has taken credit for a creation on Reddit under his real name. See his Instagram where you can buy originals or commission new work.

I’ve also updated the post with a new photo and noted that a past work has been painted over.

8 replies on “A three-eyed creature haunts the streets of Ann Arbor”

Thanks for showing the two new pieces. I hadn’t seen them. Did you know Argus sells a large sticker of the creature, which still graces their outer wall?

No idea on the artist but I’m wondering if the material are POSCA markers. My kids and the Internet are obsessed with those. They’re a very satisfying and thick paint marker.

Whoa I wasn’t aware of those markers! I bet my oldest kid would love them … I’m squirreling that idea away for a future birthday or holiday 🙂

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