Elizabeth Licata: Buffalo Pothole Bandit adds art to unexpected places

It is the drabness of urban living that can get to you, especially on a gray day – and April is the month for drab, wet days. Leaden-hued streets and sidewalks are reflected in the sky as residents hurry to warm, well-lit places.

But maybe people shouldn’t be in such a rush. Maybe they should look down. They might just be walking over a colorful piece of street art by the Buffalo Pothole Bandit. 

Nobody asked the Pothole Bandit to fill a few dozen Buffalo street potholes – also some sidewalk crevices – and decorate them with colorful mosaics of words and imagery. This is not a city public art project. In fact, it’s not officially sponsored in any way.

I suppose you could say it’s illegal.

Public art is a big deal in Buffalo. The sides of city buildings are decorated with elaborate murals, usually commissioned by local businesses or the Buffalo AKG Art Museum’s ongoing public art program. Even signal boxes on street corners along Elmwood and Hertel avenues have been painted by local artists as part of Buffalo’s Community Canvases project.

These pops of lively imagery really help during cold Buffalo winters and generally disappointing springs.

Of course, there is a big difference between Pothole Bandit projects and those sanctioned by municipalities and businesses.

It started in 2022. Bandit, whose real name will not be given here, explains: “So I was getting out of my car to go into my favorite bakery (Breadhive), and I almost twisted my ankle in a pothole. I decided to go buy a bag of cold patch and fill it myself. I’ve seen the linoleum Toynbee tiles around, and wondered if I could do something similar with potholes. I filled the hole and put ‘I love bread’ in it with Scrabble letters and some mosaic tiles.”

Toynbee tiles are similarly embedded in Buffalo streets, though many have been removed. They are made of linoleum that has been inscribed with various messages in distinctive lettering – “House of Hades” is a commonly seen phrase – and taped to the roadway. Cars passing over them wear away the tape and help embed them into the street. The tiles started appearing throughout the United States in the 1980s, but nobody really knows how they got started, and now there are generations of copycats.

While Toynbee tiles are rather dark in message and appearance, Bandit’s street interventions are bright and positive.

“When it started, I just wanted to make some jokes and have fun,” Bandit says. “One of my early projects is the dinosaur eating people mosaic in front of Jim’s Steakout. One hole says ‘Don’t Eat People,’ and the other said ‘Eat at Jim’s.’ “

Since that first Breadhive pothole, 59 potholes have been filled and decorated with mosaic artwork. Bandit speculates that about 49 remain intact, and that the pothole repair jobs themselves have held up well to wear and tear, even if the mosaics disappear. 

Collaboration is appreciated and welcome. A project in the sidewalk on Elmwood near Cleveland Avenue known as “Praise the holy wing” was done with Jennifer Schmidt, @thegirlnextdoorny.

“I call her the epoxy wizard,” Bandit says. “She preserved the two chicken wings in resin. It’s an altar to our holy chicken wings. I have chalk there for people to ‘testify’ their love. They also leave offerings of coins, trinkets and blue cheese. One guy left a bottle of ranch.” 

Some might wonder if these pothole interventions are meant to shame the City of Buffalo’s Department of Public Works for not filling them. They would be mistaken.

“I actually think the DPW does a great job, considering what they’re up against with our freeze/thaw cycles,” Bandit says.

This is not social activism as much as it is joyful expression, as the artist confirms: “It’s honestly all I think about these days. It makes me so happy.”

And there’s no desire to anger residents or officials: “I don’t do sinkholes, anything on historic sidewalks or brick streets, and nothing on sidewalks in front of residential homes without permission.”

Scott Propreack, executive director of the Burchfield Penney Art Center on Elmwood, the street that hosts much of the Bandit’s work, appreciates the way these interventions focus on the most unremarkable, even ugly, aspects of the urban infrastructure.

“Where society fails, artists step in,” he says. “The Pothole Bandit makes blight beautiful.”

The spirit in which these street mosaics are made is reflected in Bandit’s social media following, with the largest group (3,894 followers) on Instagram. This is the best place for people to get information on new mosaics, make requests and find out about “art drops,” which are kind of like scavenger hunts for individual mosaics that can be taken home. It is also where those who want to help the artist with the cement, tools, mosaic pieces and mesh needed for these projects can find out how to donate.

There’s a “tour de holes” scheduled for May 4, led by one of the “Banditos,” friends who help with the projects and act as representatives for the anonymous artist, who maintains anonymity with disguises while working in public. Personal safety is maintained with street cones, a reflective vest and more help from the Banditos. There is only about a 15 minute window to start and finish each pothole mosaic.

Public art can be writ large and small. The stunning murals that have appeared along almost all of the city’s major arterials – Broadway, Hertel, Elmwood, Washington Street and many others – cry out for attention in ways subtle, unofficial expressions can’t. 

It is important to pay tribute to these sanctioned, well-funded works that now beautify the city. And don’t forget NFTA Metro Rail’s magnificent collection of public art, which is still Buffalo’s single most substantial public art endeavor. My favorites are the Joyce Kozloff mosaics at Humboldt/Hospital and the Craig Langager sculptures at Utica. 

But in the meantime, as you hurry along the street, take the time to look down and look around. There are “unofficial” artists who have also taken the time to make art that celebrates the city they love.

Like the Buffalo Pothole Bandit.