Article content continued

Photo by Gerry Kahrmann/Postmedia

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 and here it is under a bridge. I love that, the juxtaposition.”

“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.”

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.

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.”

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.