Hundertwasser Toilets, Kawakawa

Students of this blog know that we first became acquainted with the art of Friendenreich Hundertwasser (not his real name, of course) in Vienna a few years ago. It is a name and also an artistic vision that one does not forget. (No straight lines, reconciliation with nature, etc., ...). We were surprised initially to learn that Hundertwasser had come to New Zealand in the 1970s, become a Kiwi national, and lived out the last couple decades of his life on a self-sufficient farm near Kawakawa. The more one learns about New Zealand and about Hundertwasser, the less surprising it is, really. In any case, he designed a public toilet building in Kawakawa that we had to see. It is small but typical of his work, particularly his New Zealand bottle period. In nearby Whangarei, they are creating a full museum to showcase his work and that of New Zealanders, particularly Maori, whom he admired. At the end, below, are pictured a few other Hundertwasser-inspired buildings and other stuff in Kawakawa.