Artist Leaves His Mark, And His Spontaneous Entities, All Over The South Fork

They're big, colorful and hard to miss.

That’s what Doug Sullivan, manager of Harbor Hot Tubs in Southampton, thought when he first saw the large, alien- or plant-like pieces as he drove around the South Fork.

“My first reaction was that I thought they were very colorful, very artistic, very cool, and I was wondering what kind of trend was being started with this,” Mr. Sullivan said.

Some pieces are large silhouettes with colorful dots, one or two eyes and a squiggly line for a mouth. Others are smaller, attached to utility poles.

But, Mr. Sullivan was met with one dilemma. When he went to search for this “trend” on Google, he did not know what to call it.

“I call them ‘spontaneous entities,’” explained Michael Zotos, the artist behind the work. “Because I make them spontaneously. I know I need to find a better name for it.”

Mr. Zotos, who’s from Holtsville, had stopped into Harbor Hot Tubs to ask Mr. Sullivan if he could stage them in front of the store for some photos, ending Mr. Sullivan’s search for the source of the “trend.” As Mr. Zotos walked to the Southampton Village storefront carrying the spontaneous entities, he caught many glimpses from passersby. He asked them, “Have you seen this before?” Most said, "yes."

“When he came here and started to talk about it, I realized who he was and it was what I was trying to find out about,” Mr. Sullivan said.

In 2018, Mr. Zotos installed 75 of his works in public places throughout the East End. This year alone, Mr. Zotos has put up over 20 entities on the South Fork, adding to the South Fork’s collection of 32 entities, including the ones at Gas Hampton in Southampton, which greet commuters, residents and visitors as they drive by.

But recently, four of the pieces outside of Jennifer Convertibles were stolen, leaving only 28.

"I can say that, to me, it was a little difficult to proceed with new pieces immediately as I realized some were just taken away," Mr. Zotos said. "But I got over it and just worked that much harder. I do feel it is a shame that one person's momentary selfishness makes it so that everyone else does not get to see those particular pieces. Hey, maybe they can just put them back up and everyone is happy!"

“[Mr. Zotos] came to us, and besides him, people are coming in saying, ‘Hey, I got this display, I got that display, can I display it for a day or two?’ And as long as the town doesn’t mind, we have no problem,” Sergio Celikoyar, the owner of Gas Hampton, said when asked about the spontaneous entities installation at his business.

For Mr. Zotos, displaying his work outside businesses is a win-win situation. They get to display the art for free, and he gets the satisfaction of having lots of people see his work.

“Getting the permission and making the installations is actually a lot of fun. Everybody knows my work, and they are very inviting,” Mr. Zotos wrote in an email. “The people treat me like some kind of a celebrity, and it is very gratifying.”

From telephone poles and roadsides, to business fronts, it’s hard not to find a spontaneous entity on the South Fork. The creations just beg for attention. Before his identity was revealed in 2014, there was much speculation about who was behind these mysterious art pieces and what they meant.

But even the artist himself does not know exactly what they are. All he knows is that the work is just simply spontaneous. He does believe, however, that his work could be inspired by his childhood. He moved often when he was young, and lived in many places including Saugerties in upstate New York and Patchogue on Long Island.

“There was so many faces and it was all new,” Mr. Zotos said.

“There was a pond [in Saugerties] with all kinds of frogs and lizards and fish and I played there a lot with the girl next door,” Mr. Zotos said. “I think that’s where all those eyes and stuff come from.”

It was in Saugerties where he started doodling. But it took a long time for those doodles to become what they are today.

As his career as an entrepreneur began to wind down between 2007 and 2009, he began taking what were then mysterious silhouettes covered in plaster to New York City to sell them.

“I had time, I had money, I had leisure,” Mr. Zotos said.

In 2012 and 2013, Mr. Zotos began placing a few blank silhouette pieces around Shinnecock Hills and Southampton.

“I came out here, it looked really cool, I liked the open space and then I put some out,” Mr. Zotos said. “Then I went back to the city where I was showing my plaster pieces and people would see me. The same people who go around in the art world in Manhattan come out here in the summertime. I was not aware of that, but now I am.”

Since then, his art has evolved into the stylized, and very recognizable, works seen throughout the area today. It wasn’t until 2014 that he began embellishing the pieces, giving them eyes, mouths and polka-dots. The development of the work was led by feedback.

"I don't consider myself a great artist or painter,” said Mr. Zotos, who admitteed that he would give the pieces away for free. “What I do is to create my artistic characters, put them out in public and take pictures of them. Then, at a later date, I show these to people I know frequent the area and ask them which ones they like best and get feedback. Then I know what direction to go in.”

Mr. Zotos makes the entities at his home. He then spends weekends in spring or summer installing the work at businesses that give him permission. In winter, he collects most of the pieces to protect them from weathering.

“My work is a sort of an automatic abstract creation, done in two ways,” Mr. Zotos explained. “First is the spontaneously generated outer image that I make rather quickly, and without thinking on it. This is usually created in such a way that I can put at least two faces on it. When I make one I like, I transfer it to a large piece of plywood, I cut it out, sand it, prime it and paint it a few times.”

“The second stage is where I deliberately embellish this piece,” Mr. Zotos added. “Here, I paint eyes and mouths on it, and other features.”

But he notes that the labor is worth it because he gives people an experience they’ll remember. Mr. Zotos was especially grateful when he installed his work at the gardens outside of Bridgehampton School two years ago, something the students would see during recess.

“That will have a significance to them from now on,” Mr. Zotos said. “And it’s mine, and I did it. It’s done.”

He added, “You’ll never forget it. And sometimes, that’s all you get.”

Where to find the “Spontaneous Entities” on the East End:

Nine at Gas Hamptons, Southampton

2000 County Road 39, Southampton

Two at Hank’s Pumpkintown

240 Montauk Highway, Water Mill

Three at White Fences Inn

371 Montauk Hwy, Water Mill

Two at the Carpet Man

633 County Road 39A, Southampton

Four At We’ll Floor U Inc.

201 W. Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays

Two at Nurel’s Farmers Market

226 E. Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays

One at Fay Teller Salon

19 Corwith Avenue, Bridgehampton

Two at Ocean View Terrace Inn

285 E Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays

Three at Speedway Gas Station

346 Montauk Highway, Wainscott