Find Bowie game (updated again)
It’s been a few months since I updated this post… Bowie’s image, and terms and images associated with him have become ubiquitous. The “Find Bowie Game” is pretty simple— whoever finds an image of Bowie first wins. You can play with in any city or town, anywhere, and it won’t take long. This page, which I update occasionally, features some of my finds along the way. So, enjoy, and try it— play the game…
—-
Does this one count? I came upon this deli and what I thought I was seeing was “Station to Station.” In truth, it is simply “Station Deli and Pizza.” But the name appears on two consecutive windows, and, ya know, the “to” is implied. No? Anyway, it had decent pizza.
July 28, 2025: This record was on display in the window of the Lyrical Ballad Bookstore in Saratoga Springs, NY.
May 30, 2025: Bowie’s name was part of the motif of a counter at a sandwich shop in Manchester, Vt.
January 12, 2025: This poster was all up and down Main Street in Catskill, NY. If you note, as of the time of this posting, the event being advertised has not yet happened.
January 5, 2025: The photo I’m standing in front of is part of the “Under A Rock” exhibit at the Gallery at Soho Grand in New York City. The exhibit featured photos by Blondie co-founder Chris Stein. The exhibit was supposed to have ended, but it was still up and I snuck in. Actually, I just walked in but it felt like I was sneaking.
December 31, 2024: I unexpectedly found myself in Phoenix, Arizona, which is home to these Bowie murals.
September 21, 2024: I saw this one behind the counter at a bagel shop in Saratoga. It appears to be Christopher Walken with the Bowie lightning bolt. Odd, but I’m gonna say it counts.
August 30, 2024: I found this sticker on the door of the Daily Grind, a coffee shop in Albany, NY, where I live.
August 16, 2024: My mother found some creative art at a Jewish delicatessen called Liebman’s in Ardsley, NY.
June 25, 2004 update: I wasn’t expecting to see Bowie at the Chautauqua Institution, but there he is on the gay icon bingo scorecard. I bet you don’t even know what the Chautauqua Institution is…”
May 19, 2024 Update: Does the Stardust Diner Count? I say yes.
—-
Since his death, and maybe before, David Bowie (or his lightning bolt symbol) has become a nearly ubiquitous cultural phenomenon. If you start looking, you will find him all over the place. This is such the case that you can actually make a game out of it— find Bowie. The object is to be the first to find Bowie…somewhere. This gallery is of pictures I personally took in New York City, Buffalo, Albany, Jersey City, the New York Thruway and even Salzburg, Austria. Bowie is just about everywhere.
The game is not just to find Bowie in public art— it counts to find a book about Bowie in a bookstore, or an exhibit about Bowie in a museum. If you tried to play a similar game with, say, Taylor Swift, you’re going to find less of her, especially outside venues advertising her actual current output. Anyway, the next time you have some time and are walking around a city somewhere, see how long it takes you to find Bowie.