An individual piece of Māori roadside art may be perfectly attractive, interesting, or even impressive. But when similar motifs, carvings, patterns and structures begin appearing repeatedly on bridges, motorway interchanges, roundabouts and public buildings, the cumulative effect can change how you perceive them. Our police stations are now swamped with this Māori carving epidemic. Maybe having the police station adorned with this Māori stuff gives them a feeling of being the reception for the Māori backpackers.
What is the actual total NZTA expenditure on Māori artwork, cultural design, iwi cultural monitoring, consultants and related cultural requirements each year? It is much greater than 1.4 per cent of NZTA’s total spend, as the agency has claimed.
For those who truly like this Māori artwork, I suggest they go to Te Papa and experience those one to two hours of absolute boredom, instead of the rest of us being constantly bombarded with it along our expressways.
