KEY POINTS:
The subject of good taste is on the menu at a Whangarei cafe which took down a nude painting after receiving complaints. Staff at Robert Harris Cafe in the Strand removed the work by local artist Barry Wilson last week after its "graphic nature" offended some customers, the Northern Advocate reported.
Wilson, 78, who has been painting for 30 years, told the Herald on Sunday he finds the situation amusing.
He lived on a nudist beach on Waiheke Island for about six years but likes to draw and paint a variety of things aside from naked people.
He has created several other nudes which have not received complaints.
"It's a bit of a laugh, really. This is just a well put-together painting of a beautiful lady."
But he said there appeared to be a "few conservative people" in Whangarei who took offence to the piece.
Robert Harris Cafe manager Gary Lynch claimed a former staff member had "over-reacted" and taken the painting down after alleged complaints from customers.
Lynch, who regularly displays local artwork, said no one had complained directly to him and thought the whole thing had been "blown all out of proportion".
"It doesn't worry me at all, it's fine by me, but I'm only one person."
Lynch said some people had since visited to see if the painting was still up, generating a "bit of interest" - and a bit of business, too. But the painting wouldn't be going back up.
Whangarei Art Museum education and programme co-ordinator Maree Saunders defended the town's artistic sensibilities.
She said a recent photographic display including images of naked women had been well-received.
However, she said some people perhaps didn't expect to see work of a graphic nature in a public cafe.
She said art was meant to challenge, but "people often need to know they are going to be challenged before they step through the door".
The painting is now hanging in the Money Factory Furniture store, which was happy to take on the controversial piece, which is also for sale for $750.
