De Saint Phalle's Sun God was the first work commissioned by the Stuart Collection, and her first piece in the United States. The exuberantly colored, fourteen-foot bird is placed atop a fifteen-foot concrete arch and sited on a grassy area between the Faculty Club and Mandeville Auditorium at the University of California at San Diego.
       Sun God has become a landmark on the UCSD campus. Students have at various times embellished the statue with giant sunglasses, a cap and gown, and a nest of hay with eggs.
       It appears on T-shirts and mugs. UCSD art students have made a shroud which covered the bird for the international 'Day Without Art' in memory of those who have died of AIDS. An annual springtime Sun God Festival has emerged as the largest event sponsored by the students. The grassy area beneath it is a popular site for rendezvous and celebrations. There have been countless spontaneous responses which embrace the Sun God as a campus character.