There’s a new dog in town.
Rising to the height of a three-story building, a 38-foot-tall statue of a Dalmatian, perfectly balancing a yellow cab on its nose, sits outside the new NYU Langone Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Pavilion at 34th Street and First Avenue.
“Spot,” a female puppy, was constructed with fiberglass and steel beams in a large factory in Wisconsin before it was trucked to the city, according to NYU Langone.
The taxi cab is an actual Prius, donated by Toyota, that has been stripped of its motor, and when it rains, its windshield wipers will activate, according to NYU Langone.
Although Spot is a fun public art piece, she’s got bigger plans. The sculpture is planned as a lighthearted greeting for patients of the new Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital, which opens June 24.
“Spot” is the perfect playful figure to introduce adults and children to Hassenfeld,” NYU Langone said in a statement. “Spot contributes to the hospital’s uplifting atmosphere, part of our commitment to helping families feel welcome, supported and at ease from the moment they walk through the doors.”
The dog statue was brought in by crane to the construction site, according to a Twitter post by NYU Langone on Thursday.
The artist behind Spot, Donald Lipski, has done multiple pieces of public artworks across the country and in NYC, including a suite of sculptures that hang over the entrance of the La Guardia High School for Music and Art (made from musical instruments, costumes and ballet slippers) and in Central Park (“The Yearling,” a giant, red steel chair). He also has work on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum and more.
