It’s Cuter Than the Average Vandalism, Boo-Boo

Graffiti is so ubiquitous on New York City streets that I don’t usually pay too much attention to it. But lately, I can’t help but feel like this little guy has been stalking me around town:

So far, I’ve spotted him twice on Lafayette… once by the entrance to the downtown 6 train on Bleecker Street, and later the same night on Fourth Avenue and 11th Street.

Well, a quick Google search for “cute bear graffiti” revealed that these “polite and friendly” bears actually hail from my own stomping grounds of Los Angeles, California. (Which explains, I guess, the “Greetings from L.A.” bear, whose meaning I didn’t quite understand at the time.)

The murals (although you can also order prints!) are by an artist named Phil Lumbang whose “illistrations [sic] of bears, coined ‘awesome bears’ by fans, spread a message of happiness and understanding.”

I found several reports of “awesome bear” sightings around Silver Lake and Echo Park mostly, but not too much (nothing at all, actually) about their recent appearances here in New York.

But Lumbang’s Twitter does say he was in town last week… maybe to come share the happiness and understanding with us crotchety, uptight New Yorkers? I’ve gotta admit it did the trick for me; these bears pretty much made my Monday morning!

Anyway, who else has seen seen these? And where? What other bits of well-mannered wisdom do they share? And can we get them on a t-shirt already?