Brands are tapping into the art space and we are noticing some pretty awesome art installations as a result. It is a precarious feat for a brand to produce art installations because it can easily go wrong and have the exact opposite of the desired effect. A branded piece of art can be viewed as too promotional, too gaudy, too imposing and an intrusion into “public space.”  However, when done right, this kind of branded experience can work wonders for a brand and achieve the desired kind of street cred. We’ve gathered some examples of  both branded and non-branded cool public (and private) art.

credit: thecoolhutner.net

More images after the jump.

Nike’s 20-meter-high, 4.75-ton Ball Man made of 5,500 Brazilian Skill Balls was a huge hit during the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. It was the centerpiece of a Nike installation Carlton Mall Atrium in Johannesburg. Leicester-based Ratcliffe Fowler Design created using a 3d image of Carloz Tevez. The Man was designed so that the balls remained virtually intact and can be donated to the community after the closing of the exhibition in August.

Also at World Cup, Coca Cola took advantage of the Crate Man craze and installed 54-foot CrateFan in Johannesburg’s fan park in Newtown. It was built of 2,500 Coke bottle crates and weighed 25 tons.

At the BMW Museum in Munich, the Kinetic Sculpture of 714 metal orbs seems to float in space. The orbs hang from thin steel wires attached to individually controlled motors. The orbs animate a 7-minute “mechatronic narrative,” starting from chaotic and settling at the end into the six square-meter “flying carpet.” The installation, developed by Berlin-based ART+ COM is to be “metaphorical translation of the process of form-finding in art and design.”