Len Lye's former assistant says artist would have been 'deeply hurt' by broken sculpture

Artist Len Lye would have been "deeply hurt" to see his sculpture broken in Wellington, his former assistant says.

On Monday afternoon Wellington man Hunter Macdonald was showing off to a crowd of about 50 people when he snapped the Water Whirler by climbing it, bending it, and snapping the wand at the base.

Roger Horrocks, the world's leading Len Lye historian, was Lye's assistant in the final years of his life.

"He'd be deeply hurt by the sheer idiocy of the person who saw it as just a climbing frame and not a work of art.

"Len Lye would've had a very, very hurt look on his face."

On Tuesday, in an apology, Macdonald said he didn't even know the $300,000 Water Whirler was a piece of art.

Horrocks said the incident showed "complete disregard" for art.

"[Lye] would've been absolutely devastated, not just by the damage to the sculpture, but mostly to the act.

SUPPLIED
The would-be daredevil who snapped the waterfront sculpture on Monday has been discharged from the hospital.

"The face that the person thought it was some kind of game and also for someone to make it about himself."

Horrocks said his initial reaction was "one of great anger".

However, Lye would not have reacted to the act with anger, he said.

"He would be hurt by it ... he spent his entire life making art and respecting art as something intensely beautiful."

WILL PALMER
The man in his 20s was seen emerging from the water with a gash on his forehead.

To respect the cultural environment was just as important as the natural environment, he said.

Horrocks said he believed it was a nationwide problem that public art was not respected.

"It shows there's people in the community that have no understanding that sculptures are valuable and need loving care."

Len Lye has been said to be more well known overseas than he was in his home country of New Zealand.

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The 'wand' was made by yacht mast maker Dave Marks in 2006, and could possibly be remade at the University of Canterbury.

His career as an experimental filmmaker, poet, painter, and kinetic sculptor saw him lauded by his peers, and his work is in some of the most renowned galleries in the world.

Macdonald was taken to Wellington Hospital with moderate injuries but later discharged.

Police said no charges have been brought in relation to the incident, but they would be talking to Macdonald on Tuesday.

Wellington City Council has filed a claim to repair the sculpture with its insurers but a spokeswoman said the amount it claimed for was "commercially sensitive".

The sculpture, worth an estimated $300,000, had been under restoration for more than a year.

It was installed in Wellington 2006, with installation pushing the final bill up to $1 million. In 2016 it was turned off for repairs.

Len Lye Foundation director Evan Webb said the sculpture was close to being fixed and was slated to reopen this month. He said since 2009 almost $200,000 had been paid to fix the sculpture.

Webb said the fact it was so close to being reopened made the vandalism "doubly disappointing".

He said there's a possibility the sculpture will be remade at the University of Canterbury using local fibreglass tube suppliers.

"We're not certain yet what else has been damaged and until the wand is lifted from the harbour and inspected, we won't know the extent of what repairs we need."

Webb said he has "no idea whatsoever" on what the cost of the repair will be.

The sculpture was salvaged from the water at 9am on Tuesday and moved into a shed on the waterfront.