His comments on Facebook prompted an intense war of words online as those behind the new mural try to raise the last $1000 needed to celebrate its official opening this week.
In the Welcome to Ōtepoti — the te reo Māori name of Dunedin — mural each letter of the word Ōtepoti is a unique design done by two pupils each from seven different Dunedin schools. The pupils won a competition to have their designs used.
The mural features, among other elements, native birds and plants, Baldwin St, the Octagon, a clipper in full sail, a sheep, a cyclist on the harbour’s edge and a rainbow over Larnach Castle, and incorporates some beloved cats from the previous 1989 mural at the George St site following community concerns they would be painted over.
"You get everything woke thrown in with this activist-designed ‘mural’[sic] [rainbows, native birds, koru flora and fauna, and car-free roads only used by a righteous cyclist], when it is designed by a committee of activists. The art these activists wanted to paint over is now to be overshadowed by crass ideology instead," Cr Vandervis said.
The post’s author, Bruce Mahalski, who worked on the Keep Dunedin Beautiful project as part of that group and who is also an artist and prominent city activist, was not impressed.
"You are a sad bitter man denigrating the art and ideas of local school children from seven local schools. The winning design elements were chosen by artist — Koryu Aoshima. You have no place in public office. Shame on you!," he responded on Facebook.
Others piled in, many in support of Cr Vandervis’ sentiments, though most were not.
Peter Ripley said: "This had to be said and no-one else was going to."
" . . . plants and birds are "woke"?," Sam Caldwell asked Cr Vandervis.
To which Mr Mahalski responded: "Apparently they have a subversive agenda. Plus they cost too much!".
Mr Mahalski told the ODT yesterday he was "absolutely furious" with Cr Vandervis and upset for the children.
"Has he got nothing better to do than make up these fantasies because he’s got a beef with other councillors or me?"
Asked if he understood that children had designed elements of it, Cr Vandervis said the original cat mural was designed by school children and was now "being overshadowed by the gaudy over-coloured wokeness of the Keep Dunedin Beautiful committee".
At least one parent of a child involved in the project expressed his intense displeasure at Cr Vandervis’ comments.
The $12,000 mural was crowd-funded and the team behind it are trying to raise a last $1000 for a public launch/prizegiving on Sunday.
By 4pm yesterday they had raised $1528 from 28 donors in just over 24 hours.
Cr Vandervis said late last night he had been referring to the mural initially presented, and it had since been revised "and significantly improved, as it no longer has the two car-less roads with only a cyclist, no rainbows, and the colours are less saturated and overpowering".
"I might even get used to it."
