This massive 18-foot sculpture in Brooklyn celebrates a hip-hop comic book character
When it comes to outdoor public art, New York is a treasure trove of creative finds—starting with the colossal pigeon sculpture that has just recently taken over the High Line.
We’ve got a new piece to add to your must-see roster: “Rappin’ Max Robot,” a towering 18-foot-tall, 7,000-pound metal sculpture that was just unveiled in Brooklyn Borough Hall Plaza.
The piece was created. by Welder Underground, a Bushwick-based apprenticeship program for welders and fabricators, and it pays homage to the titular character in Eric Orr’s 1986 comic book, considered the first ever “for and about the hip hop community,” according to an official press release.
If Max looks fairly familiar, it’s because the statue was initially installed outside of the Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx. Following a six-month tenure at Brooklyn Borough Hall Plaza, the art piece will then be permanently installed at Place de la Bataille-de-Stalingrad in Paris.
“Hip hop is so much more than music, it’s culture,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso in an official statement. “When hip-hop was first created over 50 years ago, New Yorkers created a system of expression that transcends national boundaries and holds the power to bring us closer together. Rappin’ Max Robot epitomizes the many ways hip-hop can take shape —whether it’s through breaking, as a comic book, or in a massive metal sculpture created by Brooklyn welders.”
Pigeons, hip-hop robots and the world’s largest octopus sculpture … just a day perusing New York’s public art scene.