But the artwork has required conservation repeatedly over the years as the paint has puckered or cracked. Exposure to the elements is taking a toll once again at LACMA, albeit to a degree that's barely noticeable. "Firetruck" will fulfill its three-month commitment at the museum, returning to the foundation about the first of May.
"We are talking about a pretty fine level of detail," Heyler said, "but that's what conservators do and what we do when we are taking care of an artwork. We are still in the process of determining what exactly is happening with 'Firetruck,' but to make sure these problems don't get worse, it is going to come off view before it gets roasting hot every day."
Artists such as Ray, who lives in Los Angeles, and Koons, of New York, have "pushed the envelope" of materials used in outdoor sculpture, Heyler said. But maintenance challenges loom large even in sculpture gardens at many museums and universities where works in old-fashioned bronze and stone abound.
Although vandalism is relatively rare, sculptures often suffer from hands-on affection and thoughtless abuse.
At the Getty Center in Brentwood, where 28 modern and contemporary sculptures from the estate of film producer Ray Stark and his wife, Fran, are sprinkled around the buildings and grounds, visitors look at the artworks and see photo ops.
Brian Considine, the museum's sculpture conservator, said photo-motivated folks huddled around the sculptures, stepped on the bases and, when possible, climbed aboard.
"On Maillol's 'Air,' " he said of a lead nude that appears to float in the breeze, "we have seen adults not only put their children up on the sculpture but -- sometimes two at a time -- sit on the upper arm while somebody takes a picture. We have a generous contingent of security officers, but when somebody hops up on something and the guard is 15 yards away, they are on there before the guard can shoo them away."
At UCLA's Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden, where neighbors walk their dogs, schoolchildren arrive by the busload and students lean against artworks while doing their homework, touching is OK, said Cynthia Burlingham, director of the UCLA Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts and deputy director of collections at the Hammer Museum.
"Franklin Murphy's whole thing was to have this be an accessible garden," she said. "He made the case that if students feel that it belongs to them, they will respect it." His instincts were correct, she said, adding that having the garden in a relatively contained, highly populated place probably helps.
