Comments on: The parliamentary art collection

By: bc

bc — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 22:38:43 +0000

Let’s hope it is satire. Finlayson comes across as an absolute idiot (shagpile artwork excluded!)

By: joana

joana — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 20:07:22 +0000

No fake Helen Clark’s then? Have they all been destroyed?

By: Manolo

Manolo — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:10:37 +0000

Dave, you’re not wrong. It is satire, pure satire.

By: Steve Wrathall

Steve Wrathall — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:04:54 +0000

Where’s Tame Iti when you need him

By: Dave Mann

Dave Mann — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:59:23 +0000

I thought the article read like a very clever piece of Dim-Post satire, actually…..

By: Longknives

Longknives — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 11:54:03 +0000

“Honest, and brutal – that’s the Chris we know and love.”

By “we” I am guessing you don’t mean the hard-working New Zealand taxpayer..

By: Tom Jackson

Tom Jackson — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 11:37:53 +0000

Why do Govt.s, including the local body socialists, consider the taxpayer/ratepayer should pay to buy such stuff??

Because its needed to counteract the negative externality of boorishness created by people such as yourself.

By: Dirty Rat

Dirty Rat — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 10:56:37 +0000

Why does Parliament have this collection ?, of no use at all to the taxpayer, sell the entire lot, a waste of tied up cash just hanging around

By: POTUS

POTUS — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 10:27:25 +0000

Automatic six during corridor cricket in parliament buildings if shot hit art work straight off the bat

By: NeutralObserver

NeutralObserver — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 09:33:34 +0000

Mmm. $12 million…presume TSY applies a capital charge as they do to any department holding an asset like that….?

By: tristanb

tristanb — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 09:00:31 +0000

Do we call them “thumb tacks” in NZ? Aren’t they “drawing pins”?

Anyway, it was only a Colin McCahon.

By: mikenmild

mikenmild — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 08:17:57 +0000

I shouldn’t have thought the very-contemporary-look-at-me-taking-the-piss part of the art spectrum was particularly over-represented in the parliamentary collection. There is a huge range of pieces in the collection.

By: kowtow

kowtow — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 08:08:17 +0000

Like so many things in the modern world art is ,whatever one wants it to be.

Completly subjective and utter rubbish. Moreover,one is not expected to say so,that might offend someone. And today giving offence is almost the ultimate crime.

beatox put it well @418.

By: mikenmild

mikenmild — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 06:11:16 +0000

We have some pretty good public art collections, built up by quite a wide range of central and local government bodies. Nice things to have; they represent about the same value to the nation financially as a few nice pieces in the average home.
The art works at Parliament are good, one of the nice things about visiting there.

By: Viking2

Viking2 — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 06:01:45 +0000

Sell the lot. Think how many operations they would pay for.
Why do Govt.s, including the local body socialists, consider the taxpayer/ratepayer should pay to buy such stuff??

Is it necessary to run NZ?

See some great art in private houses but see no reason at all why publicly funded instituions should spend money on art.

By: Tom Jackson

Tom Jackson — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 04:42:26 +0000

I think I’ve seen the shagpile disaster, but finlayson marks himself out as a cretin by criticizing McCahon. If you haven’t “got” modernism yet, there’s something wrong with you.

By: peterwn

peterwn — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 04:18:26 +0000

I remember the big stink when Auckland Art Gallery purchased Torso II years ago see:
http://www.aucklandartgallery.com/the-collection/browse-artwork/3133/torso-ii-%28torcello%29

Cr Tom Pearce (a Rugby big shot) said at the time it would make an ideal mooring weight for his boat – it had a hole through which the mooring rope could be attached.

By: thedavincimode

thedavincimode — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 04:14:17 +0000

iMP

The problem is we have too many art schools pumping out kids who think they can live off art in NZ. They can’t.

No problem because taxpayers should support “the Arts” so that we can enjoy a more rounded society.

By: hmmokrightitis

hmmokrightitis — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 03:59:48 +0000

Had the pleasure of wandering the halls of Western Mining (WMC) a few years back, and the art collection in the C wing was something to behold. Cant remember (was told) what it was insured for, think it was in excess of $AUS 200 million. Amazing what uranium can buy

By: iMP

iMP — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 03:44:38 +0000

The problem is we have too many art schools pumping out kids who think they can live off art in NZ. They can’t. Even the very talented struggle. Talking about artists, not politicians. You don’t have to be talented to be a poli.,