Entry No. 19 — the Des Moines file — filed under: art
'Nature's Algorithm' Augmented-Reality Mural by Leon Keer
An 8,000+ sq ft hyper-realistic mural by Dutch street artist Leon Keer depicting Iowa landscapes playing on a wall of vintage televisions — point a phone running the free Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation app at it and the whole thing animates in augmented reality. Most passersby never realize the surreal AR layer is there.
The story
Most commuters driving past 901 Grand Avenue just see a massive, 8,000-plus-square-foot mural painted on the concrete exterior of a downtown parking garage. Dutch street artist Leon Keer spent weeks crafting a dense stack of hyper-realistic retro television sets broadcasting Iowa landscapes across the multi-story wall. It is an impressive piece of visual trickery on its own, but the real secret remains invisible to nine out of ten people walking past.
Keer built the wall to double as a giant optical trigger for augmented reality. When you point a phone running the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation app at the facade, the painted analog monitors flicker into motion and animate across your screen. Unveiled in late 2025 with an estimated six-year lifespan, it turns a standard slab of parking infrastructure into a quiet, secret digital installation hiding right in plain sight.
What it's like
Head to the west face of the 901 Grand parking garage during daylight, as your phone needs solid natural light to recognize the painted tracking details on the concrete wall. Download the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation app on Wi-Fi before you arrive so you aren't standing on the Grand Avenue sidewalk wrestling with cell data. Stand back on the public sidewalk to fit the full multi-story canvas into your camera frame, aim the app at the wall, and watch the vintage TV screens flicker into life.
The move: Both download the AR app, then stand back and watch the painted vintage TVs flicker to life through your phones — a free, slightly secret immersive moment you can chase with a walk through downtown.
📍 Before you go The mural wraps the west face of the 901 Grand parking garage in the heart of downtown's Walnut District, so the canvas is the structure you can park in. Viewing is free from the public sidewalk, no ticket or reservation needed. Download the Public Art Foundation app while you still have wifi, since you'll want your phone aimed at the wall, not fumbling with a download curbside. Come in daylight to read the hyper-realistic painted detail. Walnut District's pedestrian shops and restaurants surround you, and the Pappajohn Sculpture Park sits a few blocks west if you want to string together a longer downtown art walk.
- 📍 Downtown / Walnut District
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 901 Grand Ave (parking garage exterior), Des Moines, IA
Hours: Viewable anytime outdoors; AR effect requires the free Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation app. Slated to remain up roughly six years from its 2025 install.
Pair it with
- Good News, Darling — Pair an outdoor tech-mural viewing with a drink at this tiny, 26-seat cocktail speakeasy hidden behind Hello, Marjorie just a block away.
- In Confidence — Walk two blocks south after dark to hunt down the basement bar hidden behind a trick door inside Hotel Fort Des Moines.
- The Haunt — Keep the surreal downtown excursion going by stepping into a basement speakeasy built directly inside a haunted attraction space on Locust Street.
Good to know
Do I need a ticket or reservation?
No. Viewing is completely free and accessible 24/7 from the public sidewalk on Grand Avenue.
Which app do I need to see the augmented reality effect?
You need the free Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation app installed on your smartphone, as standard camera apps will not trigger the AR animation.
When is the best time of day to view the mural?
Daylight hours are best. The AR tracking relies on clean light to read the mural's painted geometric details.
How long will the mural be up?
The artwork was unveiled in October 2025 and is slated to stay on the garage wall for roughly six years.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: dsmpublicartfoundation.org · iowapublicradio.org · Facebook
last checked: 2026-06-06