# Stikman

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Not to be confused with [Stik](/source/Stik) or [stic.man](/source/Stic.man).

**stikman** (stylized lowercase) is a [pseudonymous](/source/Pseudonymous) American [street artist](/source/Street_art) best known for placing images of humanoid, robot-like stick figures on the sidewalks of cities across the United States.[1]

## Background

He is reported to be Philadelphia native.[2] He has been active in street art since the 1960s,[2] when he began his career at age 14 with [anti-war](/source/Opposition_to_United_States_involvement_in_the_Vietnam_War) graffiti.[3]

## Street art

He has been creating the stikman figures that he is best known for since the 1990s.[2][4][5] These are usually made of yellow linoleum-like pavement marking tape that becomes embedded in the asphalt over time,[6][7] The artist places the figures, most frequently on crosswalks,[8] without any direct indication of authorship. This has led to articles in the media investigating the origin and authorship of the figures.[7][9] While they are frequently interpreted as robot figures, the artist has said that they are simply "little men made of sticks".[3]

A Washington Post article stated that the [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington,_D.C.) area had over 150 stikman images embedded in its sidewalks in 2008.[10] The figures have also been placed in [New York City](/source/New_York_City), Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, [Wheeling, West Virginia](/source/Wheeling,_West_Virginia), [Ann Arbor, Michigan](/source/Ann_Arbor,_Michigan), Minneapolis, Minnesota, San Francisco,[11] and Chicago.[12]

stikman has also created the figures in other styles and media.[5][13]

Although known primarily for works placed on the street, the artist has also been featured in gallery exhibitions.[14][15] Works by stikman were selected for [Amazon](/source/Amazon_(company))'s first collection of limited-edition prints by seven international street artists.[16]

## References

1. Lowman, Stephen (21 September 2008). ["On the Trail of the Mysterious Stikman"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/18/AR2008091803439.html). *washingtonpost.com*

1. McDonald, Blair (6 April 2021). ["Curious Nashville: How Stick Figures Spotted Downtown Fit Into A Global Street Art Project"](https://wpln.org/post/curious-nashville-an-easily-overlooked-stick-figure-on-downtown-streets-is-the-signature-of-a-renowned-artist/). *WPLN News - Nashville Public Radio*

1. Cooley, Patrick (27 July 2017). ["Guerilla artist Stikman leaves his mark on Cleveland"](https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2017/07/guerilla_artist_stikman_leaves.html). *cleveland*

1. ["Speaking with the Legendary stikman"](https://streetartnyc.org/blog/2012/11/28/speaking-with-the-legendary-stikman/) Street Art NYC (November 28, 2012).

1. Armstrong, Phil ["Cincinnati Crosswalks Are Being Invaded By Mysterious 'Stikmen'"](http://cincinnatirefined.com/arts-design/cincinnati-stikmen-stikman-guerilla-art-figures-found-downtown-over-the-rhine) Cincinnati Refined (September 29, 2017).

1. Kelly, John ["If you've walked over an alien robot plastered to the street, you've met stikman"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/if-youve-walked-over-an-alien-robot-plastered-to-the-street-youve-met-stikman/2020/03/21/dd359428-6a25-11ea-b313-df458622c2cc_story.html) Washington Post (March 21, 2020).

1. Trigg, Lisa (9 July 2015). ["No one's quite sure where mysterious robot-like street markings come from"](https://www.tribstar.com/news/local_news/no-ones-quite-sure-where-mysterious-robot-like-street-markings-come-from/article_1dfac21f-2ec5-50f1-8435-8c52a06fd9b3.html). *Terre Haute Tribune-Star*

1. Riggle, Nicholas Alden (Summer 2010). "Street Art: The Transfiguration of the Commonplaces". *Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism*. **68** (3): 244.

1. ["Secrets of the Square: Mr. Stikman, bring me a dream | Magazine | The Harvard Crimson"](https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/10/18/stikman-square/). *www.thecrimson.com*

1. Wear, Ben. ["Keep an eye out for Stikmen in the crosswalk"](https://www.statesman.com/article/20120901/NEWS/309014280). *statesman.com*

1. HARRIS, BERNARD (20 July 2011). ["Has 'stikman' left his mark?"](https://lancasteronline.com/news/has-stikman-left-his-mark/article_ce4123ea-7da0-5d7b-b411-d93e9e6bcbb1.html). *LancasterOnline*

1. ["The hide-and-seek story behind the yellow stikman figures in Cleveland"](https://www.cleveland19.com/story/35975657/the-hide-and-seek-story-behind-the-yellow-stikman-figures-in-cleveland/). *www.cleveland19.com*. 26 July 2017.

1. Dale, Eric ["Philly Street Art Interviews: The Artist Behind stikman"](https://streetsdept.com/2020/12/10/philly-street-art-interviews-sn3-the-artist-behind-stikman/) StreetsDept.com (December 10, 2020).

1. ["The Ever-Evolving stikman at Woodward Gallery on the Lower East Side"](https://streetartnyc.org/blog/2015/12/02/the-ever-evolving-stikman-at-woodward-gallery-on-the-lower-east-side/) Street Art NYC (December 2, 2015).

1. Crimmins, Peter ["Mysterious 'Stikman' artist's iconic street figures on display at Fishtown gallery"](https://whyy.org/articles/mysterious-stikman-artists-iconic-street-figures-on-display-at-fishtown-gallery/) WHYY.org (March 24, 2015).

1. Middleton, Josh ["Amazon’s First Series of Artist Prints"](https://www.phillymag.com/things-to-do/2015/11/23/amazon-art-rj-rushmore-stikman/) Philadelphia Magazine (November 23, 2015).

## External links

- [STIKMAN Flickr Photo Pool](https://www.flickr.com/groups/stikman)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Stikman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stikman) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stikman?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.