CR PAUL Funnell pretended to put on an army helmet. Cr Kevin Poynter sent a wry smile the outspoken councillor’s way. And debate erupted over whether a “moving parts” piece of art was the right call.
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Welcome to the world of art, where debate in the chamber is as divisive as community sentiment.
Council this week voted to remove a Baylis Street water feature – which had fallen victim to vandalism and old age – but not without the testy exchange.
“I would just urge people to just consider that if you have moving parts, the art is going to be high-maintenance,” said Cr Funnell, who famously compared airport artwork to “saucepans on broomsticks” on an Advertiser front page.
Cr Poynter hit back.
“Thanks for ‘appeasing me’, but I’d hate to think we’re choosing public art based on moving parts,” he said.
An Advertiser online reader poll found 55 per cent of respondents favoured replacing the art with another piece.
