How sad that one of the more remarkable artworks to grace our city in recent times is now gaining attention not for its unique appearance, but for its role at the centre of an increasingly muddled financial dispute.
It has emerged that the artists responsible for Mountain to the Sea,the distinct sculpture which sits by the Whanganui River, are yet to be paid the remaining $30,000 owed to them.
The timber and stone sculpture was reportedly purchased by Michael Laws on behalf of the council, after Mountain to the Sea came third in last year's Sculpture Wanganui contest.
The three artists involved, Mikel Durel Browne, Kerry McDonnell and Max Cody, received $10,000 with a promise of the remaining money to come.
But now it appears the leftover money has not been paid, with Wanganui Mayor Annette Main claiming to not know the exact circumstances of the agreement made by her mayoral predecessor, and adding that the money to purchase the statue is not in the current council's budget. Ms Main also added that a formal contract suggested council was to look to the community to fundraise the remaining money, and if that was unsuccessful, the $10,000 deposit would go back to the council. We can only presume that the sculpture would then be returned to its creators. The artists, having apparently suggested a deal where the council pays half the required money now and half later, are quite understandably now talking about taking the sculpture back. This whole mess seems slightly amateurish.
Thanks to the likes of Mountain to the Sea, Balancing Act and others, sculptures have become a prominent feature of our city.
It also begs the question of how, if they deemed it to be a required action, the aggrieved artists plan on carrying out their threat of removing the sculpture. Given that it weighs 6 tonnes and stands 4.1m high, you have to think it won't be going anywhere in a hurry. You can hardly blame them for wanting to take it back - if the agreed price isn't paid, ownership of the sculpture reverts to them.
To her credit, Ms Main appears to now be urging a meeting with the artists to decide the next step. As mayor, she must have the best interests of this city at heart, and while there's little doubt over the benefit of having sculptures it will be intriguing to see whether those benefits are sufficient for council to shell out $30,000 in these financially straitened times.
