françois pinault commissioned a statue for the tip of punta della dogana from charles ray upon receiving approval from the city to start the museum. ray made an eight-foot-tall boy holding a frog by its leg intended as a public sculpture called "boy with frog". the sculpture's permit was set to be negotiated four times annually. "boy with frog" was originally encased upon the museum's july 2009 opening after protests following its installation. the city moved in early 2013 to replace the statue with a reproduction of the streetlamp once situated there. its spokesperson said that the sculpture's installation was designed to be temporary. ray refused an offer to relocate the sculpture to palazzo grassi, opting to put the sculpture into storage. independent curator francesco bonami wrote in "la stampa" that the removal was "administrative cowardice" and the lamppost represented "cultural darkness".