• 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.
"Start with the visibility issue. If it is not visible from the road or a public place, then our interest is limited. We are unlikely to even think of it as a sign," he said.
Recliner Rex is believed to be the only privately-sited art work in Wanaka that has received a complaint, but the council has dealt with controversial art or signs in other towns.
Murray and Clare Doyle needed retrospective consent for a red doughnut-on-a-tripod kinetic sculpture on their Arrowtown property (seven of 21 submitters did not like it).
Arrowtown businessman Michael Hill was accused of urbanising a rural landscape when he placed a sculpture on his land.
This was also resolved retrospectively.
Four years ago, Queenstown developer Dave Henderson was told to get consent for a 356m-wide grass-mown word (fivemile.co.nz) on his property.
He let the grass grow back and was not punished.
The Cardrona bra fence was probably the biggest catalyst for sparking interest in what could be called a sign, Ralph Henderson says.
Lawyer Trevor Shiels, in a legal opinion to the council, surprisingly deemed the fence to be a sign and a building, and also a threat to traffic safety.
Owner John Lee led a spirited battle against complainant Andre Prassinos before the fence was eventually removed.
During the debacle, no-one appeared to seriously contend that the bra fence was "art".
Mr Shiels said it "came close" but he preferred to put the fence in the catch-all category of "any other thing of a similar nature" that comes at the end of the list of other things that could be a sign.
The bra-fence story was a wake-up call for people who enjoy being creative when decorating their property.
Clearly, there are limits.
Wakatipu councillor Gillian Macleod believes art should be bound by some rules but says more discussion is needed.
"If people have a right to comment on buildings, why can't they comment on art? ...
"If you want the public to view [your sculpture], it does become a public issue," she said last week.
Cr Macleod, who is also on the council's Aspiring Arts and Culture Trust, boils down most of the issues to setting.
"Is it urban or rural? "If urban, provided it doesn't breach rules about height, reflectivity and all the other rules you might have in an urban setting, [it should be fine].
"In a rural area, does it become urbanisation? For example with Michael Hill's sculpture, five years down the track you might think [the landscape] is all urban now.
But at the time, it was a bit of a shock, popping up in the middle of a farm paddock," she said.
Setting was also the reason the trust's application to site a Haast eagle sculpture at the top of the Crown Range was turned down, she said"Maybe art should obey certain rules so people aren't going to be surprised about their views being taken away.
"But then, my neighbour has a giant insect in his garden and we were surprised, but not offended.
"It is within the building boundary," Cr Macleod said.
In the meantime, other large privately-sited, publicly-visible sculptures have not attracted complaints.
But no matter what your taste, a simple change of location could change everything, Ralph Henderson says.
"You can have giant teeth on Dunedin harbour and call it art.
"Put those same giant teeth outside a dentist's place and all of a sudden it could be a sign," he says.
