Is it art?

Defining art is likely to be contentious and complicated when perhaps all that is needed is common sense, Queenstown Lakes District Council senior policy analyst Ralph Henderson says.

• Show us a sign

"It is a nebulous topic ... Graffiti is a classic.

"Is it tagging, art, or a nuisance?" he asks.

Art can also be used as an excuse to break rules or create exceptions to rules, ending up with awkward situations where rules are stretched almost out of shape.

"People want to do whatever they want to, so they have a crack at it," Mr Henderson says.

So, for now, art and sculpture in the district is treated as a "sign" - unless it's really big.

A really big piece of art could be deemed a "building", triggering the blunt force of rules relating to height, scale, impact, shading, colours, site coverage and suchlike, Mr Henderson says.

A "sign" is widely defined in 162 words in the QLDC signs control bylaw of 2006.

It does not specifically include "sculpture" or "art" but does include "any form of visual message", which arguably might be sculpture or art.

A pithier, 82-word definition in the district plan (which has over-riding powers and was recently applied to deckchair sculpture Recliner Rex in Wanaka) defines a sign as "any mural or other artwork" that is "designed to attract attention" and is visible from a road or public place.

The Queenstown Lakes district developed its district plan sign policy to "protect people's safety and well-being" - mainly through being a distraction to drivers - and to "avoid, remedy or mitigate any potential adverse effects on the environment", such as cluttering up the view.

Lakes Environmental planning manager Brian Fitzpatrick confirmed last week that an enforcement officer had written to the owners of 236 Beacon Point Rd requesting Recliner Rex be moved from a balcony following a complaint it was interfering with an unnamed complainant's view.

"We think it fits the definition of a sign.

"The easiest way to comply with the bylaws is to position it so it cannot be seen," Mr Fitzpatrick said.

The original position appeared to be within a building recession plane and someone could have felt their mountain view was compromised, he said.

"That aside, if that wasn't an issue, we would probably still treat it as a sign, mainly because we haven't got a more useful definition," he said.

Mr Fitzpatrick accepts there is a wider issue about people's expectations of art in private spaces but his staff enforce rules made by the council.

They seek compliance first and are not set on punishment.

The issues with Recliner Rex were dealt with reasonably by its owner, Sonia Jones, and the enforcement officer and there was no need to apply for resource consent for the chair's new location, he said.

If people were thinking about outdoor sculpture for their property, it might be best to talk to Lakes Environmental first because no-one wanted to determine consents if there was no need, Mr Fitzpatrick said.

The chair was a type of piece that made people smile, like Christmas decorations on houses, he said.

Christmas lights would also come under the "sign" definition, but Lakes Environmental did not really want to have to police Christmas lights either - unless they were left on all year round, he said.