Dimensions 8.8 m (29 ft) Created February 1983 | Artist Niki de Saint Phalle Year 1983 | |
Type Fiberglass with cement base Address 9500 Gilman Dr, San Diego, CA 92093, USA Location University of California, San Diego Similar University of California, Student Health and Wellness, John Muir College, Revelle College, UCSD Bookstore | ||
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 the first 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.