Mayor Gregor hates the Main Street Poodle

February 5, 2013

Posted by Vancity Buzz | 29 »

We first told you about the giant Main Street poodle (do yourself a favour and read the comments in our previous article) perched high atop a black pole on Main and 17th. Since our posting it’s caused quite the stir and other media outlets have picked up on this controversial canine public art, mainly due to the cost of this project, $100,000.

According to a tweet by News 1130, it seems that our esteemed Mayor isn’t even a fan of the public art.

‘@mayorgregor says he’s not a fan of 7-ft poodle atop a 25-ft pole at corner of Main/18th #publicart What do you think? twitter.com/News1130radio/…

— News1130 (@News1130radio) February 5, 2013

One must ask themselves, what does a poodle have to do with Main Street, or East Vancouver in general? For a $100,000 the city could have got something really special, instead with get this.

Image: Our City Our Art

Travis

How does someone saying “im not a fan” equate to “I hate this”

Dont twist words.
Barker

You work for the mayor Travis. If I’m not a fan of something it means I don’t like it vis a vie I hate it. Get off your bicycle.
Jeremy

He should hate this. $100,000 for this monstrous “ART”
http://twitter.com/nick69h Nick Harborne

100 Grand on this… woah. I need to go into the art of poodle sculpting!
Evolve

Really Travis? Either you work for the governement or never finished Highschool because “Im not a fan” and ” I hate this” both relay the exact same message. Dont twist words? Dont beat around the bush!
Lindsay

I love the poodle. I especially love the reaction that it is getting. If you saw the price of other permanent, outdoor art pieces your head would explode. Its not actually that outrageous comparatively.
Travis

Are you guys being serious? Come on now. There are degress to dislike in everything in life, to say your not a fan is the same thing as something as powerful as hate is completely insane. Whether you like the mayor, or the poodle, I dont really care. What I do care about is a website that can twist someones words in their own personal agenda.

Heres the original article:

http://www.news1130.com/2013/02/05/gregor-robertson-chimes-in-on-poodle-art-debate/

And the original quote:

““Definitely not a fan of the Main St. poodle but public art is important and at times provocative!”

That doesnt sound like hate to me.

I bet you personally could name 10 things your not a fan of but dont hate. I personally am not a fan of fruit, but I dont HATE fruit. Sure it might not be the first thing I eat but im not going to petition for its non-existance. Im sure the mayor doesnt like giant poodles and probably wouldnt want it on his front lawn, but to say he HATES it, well I think thats a stretch.

Im not working for the mayor nor am I a fan of poodles. But if your going to post something that is clearly a hot topic for debate, be objective about it.

The day you stop realizing the degrees of emotion is the day you become a radical in either one direction.
LJ

I completely agree with Travis, you have taken something a man has said and artificially inflated with a more loaded word.
LJ

On another note, I have to say that this poodle is an absurd waste of money – I don’t see the social benefit of this at all and the reason for its creation must be questionable.
http://twitter.com/edlau Ed Lau

I can’t believe someone put this thing up and thought 1.) “Yep, this is a great use of $100,000.” and 2.) “Man, that 7-foot poodle up there sure looks good!”

What does this “art” represent, anyways? Because anyone could’ve done the same job with a plastic dog off eBay, some hardware from Home Depot and still have change from a $100.
http://laurentmunier.com Laurent Munier

If someone is going to spend money on public art… take it!

You might not like every piece, but grow up and deal with it.

Let’s try and encourage the next one.
SP09

“Not a fan” definitely different from “hate”.
Gkawi

Really? You’re happy with 100,000 spent on THAT? I’m sorry, but the issue isn’t on the fact that we should be happy about funding for public art. I am glad the city is willing to spend money on public art and culture. But what does a poodle have to do with Main Street? And how the heck does it cost $100,000? Seems like a significant waste of tax payers money.
http://twitter.com/Phanyxx ♔ Nick Routley

Public art is guaranteed to draw a lot of public debate and mixed reactions, and this piece is no different. In this case though, I have to agree with the majority; this really was terrible value for the city. Ed Lau summed it up well – this looks like a plastic yard ornament from Walmart. Mayor Gregor, I’m “not a fan” either.
http://twitter.com/1darkeclipse darkeclipse

fugly
anon

Well said Travis.
megamouthmedia

Ummm….everyone knows we are just talking about a PLASTIC POODLE, right? Altho a few of the comments here gave me a good laugh at the sheer silliness of what people can get worked up over.
Jereffroy

Yeah, you people saying “not a fan” means “hate” are just wrong. That’s ridiculous. Hate according to dictionary.com: to dislike intensely or passionately; feel extreme aversion foror extreme hostility toward; detest.

Fan means fanatic.

Lots of things I’m not fanatical about are also things I don’t care about enough to even mildly dislike. Not a fan of baseball. Not a fan of Rihanna. Not a fan of tequila. Not a fan of small dogs. Does that mean I intensely dislike them? No, it doesn’t say anything substantive about the way I feel. At all.
Guest

Way to find another way for the city through money away. $100,000 could have bought a lot of new books for schools.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=532595537 Sean Lucky

I would really like to know what branch of government, and who personally is responsible for commissioning/purchasing this piece of public art. Mayor, I’m glad to hear that you’re on the same page as many people in the community. However I think we really need to see someone held accountable for this horrendous misuse of taxpayer money. And on top of that, something needs to be done about it!
The real issue

I’m not a fan of the Maple Leafs = I hate the Maple Leafs.

Can we focus more on the fact that $100,000 has been spent on this junk?
Bent_920

That’s a fair comment from Gregor considering the number of Vancouverites who hate him and his fellow hypocrite hippie cum businessman Council cohorts like Kerry the slime Jang. They all sold out Vancouver to developers and other commercial interests but fooled enough misguided hugging Vancouverites into getting them elected for a second term.
http://twitter.com/RobLeslie RobLeslie

in Manitoba south of Virden they put up a classic tractor on a pole just like this. Everyone thought it was awesome.
Mainlander

He’s the lapdog of the Tides Foundation. He should love it.
Lrothney

“I’m not a fan” is the same as “I’m neither here nor there”. BIG COP OUT MR. MAYOR. Just send the French poodle back to Montreal where it belongs and make sure you get the wasted $100,000 back so we can put that money to good use. Honestly – what a bunch of idiots! Oh ya, that money could have been contributed to a new outdoor pool that the city took away from our community.
Cat Lover

ok people: I live at Main and 18th and I can honestly say that the poodle was a joke for the first week, but now it is an ugly thing to look at. Having bought a condo that I will be paying off for the rest of my life, I think it is understandable that I am annoyed that the beautiful view I had is now quite hideous. Had I known that this poodle would be installed in front of my balcony, I definitely would NOT have signed the papers. Does anybody know if this “piece of art” is permanent?
http://twitter.com/No6655321 LTD.Edition

I have to agree with you Travis. I don’t like a lot of things and am not a fan of a lot of things. But there is very little at all that I would say I hate.

Perhaps people holding such differing concepts to mean the same thing is what has resulted in the predicament of modern extreme black and white views.
Robtrendiak

I originally was crazy angry about the Poodle, But I now think it is a great reminder how important it is to support local art. Here is a fundraiser for a local Vancouver dance guru who is raising money to start a dance school. This would be such a great opportunity for anybody looking to support local art. There will be multiple local musicians preforming as well!

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/338504
diphthong

Love the poodle. Love public art. Please enjoy to poodle. The people who put up the poodle would like you to enjoy the poodle. PUBLIC ART ROCKS! Thank you developer. I like the huge bendy straws too.

Mayor Gregor hates the Main Street Poodle

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