Saturday, February 07, 2015

Controversy over $200,000 council-funded phallus

A $200,000 sculpture in Auckland, New Zealand has caused quite the stir because people say it looks like a penis.

The New Lynn artwork was commissioned by Auckland Council near the suburb's new railway station, and the man behind it says it's meant to resemble clouds and raindrops. "To be honest it's a little bit upsetting but for me it's almost more humorous or funny," says sculptor Gregor Kregar.



"Art is there to provoke the reaction and usually for the one negative comment there's thousands of positive comments as well." One local said it was "absolutely a cock up", while others said it is "terrific". Mr Kregar says there are still lights to add, and if you look at the finished sculptures photographed in his workroom there is not a phallic form to be seen.

"Hopefully the opinion will change through time when the sculpture is installed and they'll embrace the work," Mr Kregar said. Auckland Council's Arts and Culture manager says her team scrutinised images of the sculpture throughout the design process, but she refused to say whether any council staff ever questioned whether the sculpture resembled a penis.

With news video.

4 comments:

Patty O'Heater said...

Clouds and raindrops, my arse! Can't wait to see it once the lights go on!

xoxoxoBruce said...

You can see it, and all the others on the street, lit up in the video at the link.

Rainbow Lorikeet said...

I'm loving my neighbour Kiwis each had a smile on their face when agreeing it does look quite a bit like it - and no-one was lamenting "but think of the chillldrennn!".

The cloud at the end of the vid just goes to show ya... :)

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