PUBLIC ART // Miquel Barceló's Gravity-Defying "Gran Elefandret" Sculpture at Union Square

Miquel Barceló's "Gran Elefandret" in the Union Square Triangle.NYC's Union Square has long been a destination for loitering and people-watching, but it can occasionally be an unexpected avenue for impressive public art.

Sure, the statues of George Washington, Marquis de Lafayette, Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Gandhi are nice, and Kristin Jones and Andrew Ginzel's "Metronome" is fascinating. But we're talking about the temporary installations that have been popping up. Last year there was Miranda July's "Eleven Heavy Things," a series of interactive fiberglass installations. Earlier this year Rob Pruitt's chrome Andy Warhol statue appeared at the northwest corner of the park and quickly attracted inevitable offerings of Campbell's soup cans.

Now Spanish artist Miquel Barceló has brought "Gran Elefandret," his 2008 sculpture of an elephant balancing on his trunk, to the triangle at the southwest corner of the park. Though some passers-by have expressed concern about what a strong gust of wind might do to the seemingly precariously placed pachyderm, Barceló has made sure it won't come crashing down. The sculpture is hollow in the middle and supported by a strong steel beam. "It can support very, very strong winds," he told BOMB Magazine. "It might move a little bit," he concedes, but that's all.

"I always say it's a self portrait, because it's like an artist in difficult times – we're always balancing on our trunks," Barceló told WNYC.

You can check out the 26-foot tall "Gran Elefandet" at the Union Square Triangle through May 2012.

For more, watch BOMB's video interview with Barceló after the jump.

CHECK THIS OUT // NYC Hurricane Prep As "Slacker Art"

Many New Yorkers headed to hardware stores and supermarkets this weekend, scrambling to prepare for Hurricane Irene, but the folks at TriBeCa design and art gallery Mondo Cane were up to something--as it turns out from the Hurricane-That-Wasn't--way more useful.

After snapping photos of various storm preparations around the city, they posted them on their blog as a highly entertaining series of "slacker art" pieces, complete with commentary.

Our favorites are the 25,000 trash cans that the city turned upside down (inadvertent, Duchamp-ian public art?) and of course, the Apple Store's silver grey sand bags (their design aesthetic has no limit.)