Franz West, “The Ego and the Id,” Doris C. Freedman Plaza, Central Park, through March 2010

Originally created for his retrospective at the Baltimore Museum of Art last fall, Franz West’s “The Ego and the Id” sits at the southeast corner of Central Park, soaring 20 feet high (his largest sculpture to date). Its height is hardly imposing, though; the brightly colored work, comprising two looping forms fashioned from aluminum, is playful and inviting, particularly to children, with its low-to-the-ground stools and slight resemblance to a giant jungle gym. Sitting on it makes you feel wonderfully connected to the sculpture, and gives you a better view of its nuances — the dented surfaces that look as if they’ve had the air sucked out of them in places; the thick paint seams that give the aluminum an odd patchwork quality. The “Ego and the Id” is prime public art: people-friendly and accessible, but hardly simple.

Photo by Seong Kwon, courtesy Public Art Fund