What Weighs Kilos Cost Million And Hangs From A Bridge
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VANCOUVER - If you google “why public art matters,†you’ll find countless articles that wax poetic about how it adds meaning to our civic life, slows down pedestrians and sparks conversation.
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There’s no question this city’s latest installation - an audacious $4.8 million chandelier suspended from the underside of a bridge by twisting cables and timed to lower and twirl around like a flared wedding dress - is a talker.
What weighs 3,400 kilos, cost $4.8 million and hangs from a bridge? Vancouver's 'spectacular' or 'tone-deaf' chandelier Back to video
Unveiled Wednesday night and set to be fully active next week, the stainless-steel chandelier - which is 4.2 metres wide and 7.6 metres tall, weighs 3,400 kilograms and consists of 600 polyurethane “crystals†and LED lights - has cleaved the city into two camps: those who marvel at its opulence and ingenuity and those who say it’s tone deaf in its excess, a middle finger of sorts to the city’s affordability travails.
One of the city’s big developers, Westbank Corp., which built a nearby 60-storey condo tower that twists and expands upward from a slender base and has transformed the entrance to downtown, paid for the art piece. (The city requires developers to contribute a piece of public art whenever they undertake re-zoning projects greater than 100,000 square feet.
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Among the throngs who came to soak up the bling under Granville Street Bridge on a crisp night were Mark Jeffrey and Amy Robinson.
“I think this is spectacular. It’s so large, it’s so bright,†Jeffrey said. “Traditionally it’s a sign of wealth in a home. Here it is under a bridge. I love that, the juxtaposition.â€
“I think it’s more whimsical than it is in your face,†Robinson added.
But upon hearing the hefty price tag, their enthusiasm tempered a bit.
“I’m a little taken aback,†Jeffrey said.
Said Robinson: “Maybe that money could’ve gone to social housing or something.â€
The 18th-century-style chandelier is the brainchild of celebrated B.C. visual artist Rodney Graham, who was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada in 2016 and whose work spans painting, photography, music and film.
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Traditionally it’s a sign of wealth in a home and here it is under a bridge
At the unveiling, Graham said he drew inspiration from Isaac Newton who carried out an experiment in the 1600s which involved half-filling a bucket with water, suspending it from a coiled rope and allowing it to unwind. The experiment helped to shape understanding of the concepts of space, time and motion.
Mayor Kennedy Stewart gushed that the chandelier was “the most important piece of public art in the history of our city.â€
The art piece was initially budgeted for $1.2 million, but the design and complexity caused that number to quadruple to $4.8 million. The city allowed Westbank to pool money from four public art projects into one. It will also be responsible for maintenance.
Before the official unveiling Wednesday night, the chandelier was generating a lot of chatter on social media. CKNW talk radio host Lynda Steele invited listeners to weigh in on her show and on Twitter and got an earful.
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“As cool as this may be, the optics of a $4.8 million chandelier … is very short-sighted & tone-deaf to the financial struggles many are facing,†one person tweeted.
“I think at a time of desperate need for housing, $4.8 million on a chandelier definitely looks like giving poor folks the finger, no matter how well intentioned,†wrote another.
Eric Fredericksen, the city’s public art program manager, said Thursday he expected the piece to generate strong reaction and the concerns are valid. But while the piece might be seen as an “absurd gesture of grandeur,†he hopes the public can see it also as an object that invites people to a space - the underbelly of a bridge - that was never designed with them in mind. Though the surrounding neighbourhood is dotted with condo towers and is steps away from the sea wall, which is popular with joggers and cyclists, the chandelier hangs above a quieter section of downtown.
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“Part of what I’m interested in is how an art work can develop a deepening connection with its site and the people who see it and become part of the fabric of the city,†he said.
The best type of art, he said, grabs your attention on first viewing and then invites you back for further investigation.
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For its part, Westbank says in addition to contributing a significant piece of public art, the condo tower project has generated $12 million in other public benefits, including social housing, childcare and heritage conservation.
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Bundled in hooded coats and scarves, those who attended Wednesday night’s unveiling were mostly supportive. Some stood in contemplative silence, while others posed for that perfect selfie.
For a city with a lot of cookie-cutter styles, the chandelier brings excitement and a touch of class downtown, said Larry Tsang.
“It’s something the city needs - it’s out of the box,†he said. “It livens up the space.â€
Katie Riley praised the contrast between the chandelier’s beauty and its industrial surroundings.
“If (the developer’s) going to put money into something that’s going to make our city beautiful and make it so people are going to come here … I don’t have an issue with it,†she said.
With files from Postmedia News
• Email: dquan@postmedia.com | Twitter: dougquan
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