Sun God - San Diego, CA - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

Wikipedia (visit link) informs us:

"Sun God is a statue by French sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle located on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. The statue is a 14-foot multicolored bird-like creature, perched atop a 15-foot-tall horseshoe-shaped rock pedestal.

Erected in February 1983 as a part of the Stuart Collection of public art projects, the fiberglass Sun God has become a unique feature on the UCSD campus. It is located on a grassy area between the Faculty Club and Mandeville Auditorium, on the eastern periphery of the John Muir College campus. Since the 1980s the UCSD Associated Students organization has sponsored an annual event, the Sun God Festival, with the statue as its official mascot. Over the years numerous visual-arts students have accessorized the statue with items such as sunglasses, a cap and gown, an ID card, a large, water-spraying phallus, and even a nest with eggs painted in the statue's trademark bright colors.

In the initial days when the statue was available, no college volunteered to use it, Muir College accepted it on its campus."

and the Smithsonian webpage (visit link) tells us:

"Dates: 1983...

Medium: Bird: fiberglass and steel, painted and gilded; Arch: concrete.

Dimensions: Bird: approx. H. 14 ft.; Arch: approx. H. 15 ft.

Description: A colorful bird stands with its wings spread to its sides. Upon its head is a golden halo emitting rays, and an image of the sun is emblazoned on the bird's chest. The bird stands atop an arch.

Subject: Abstract
Mythology
Animal -- Bird
Landscape -- Celestial -- Sun

Object Type: Outdoor Sculpture -- California -- La Jolla
Arch
Sculpture

Owner: University of California San Diego, Stuart Collection, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093

Remarks: Nearby plaque reads: Sun God/Niki de Saint Phalle/1983/Sun God is on loan from/the Stuart Foundation/and is the first piece commissioned/for the Stuart Collection.

Condition: Surveyed 1994 February. Well maintained."

TITLE: Sun God ARTIST(S): Niki de Saint Phalle DATE: 1983 MEDIUM: Bird: fiberglass and steel, painted and gilded; Arch: concrete. CONTROL NUMBER: IAS CA000700 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: on the campus of UCSD (University of California San Diego). DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: No differences noticed...however, although it may be there, I did not notice the plaque that the Inventory refers to.

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