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New and Old Bridges Inspire Diverse Art Shows

It is fitting that two artists documenting the retirement of the original cantilever Bay Bridge East Span and the construction of the new, sleek self-anchored suspension span (SAS) would choose to use a combination of old and new technologies. Peter Tonningsen and Lisa Levine’s multiple-imaging process begins with analog film that gets the digital treatment later in the editing room. And their new show, “Crossing Over,” is not just a partnership of mediums, but also a collaboration between the photographers, who shot their images over each other’s rewound film, creating complex layers and displaying multiple perspectives in each individual piece. 



The artists – who operate as Counterpoint Studios, LLC and have collaborated on several public art commissions — believe multiple-imaging is the best way to explore the diversity and individuality of the Bay Area. “This approach allows us to uniquely celebrate the distinctive landscape of an area from multiple viewpoints while promoting reflection, conversation and a sense of visual vitality for the viewing audience,” they wrote in a statement. 



Tonningsen and Levine took their cameras to the East Span construction site and what resulted is a series of vibrant, colorful and busy images of the bridges – several of which are on display at the MTC offices in Oakland’s MetroCenter through January 10, 2014. The multifaceted photographs stand up to multiple viewings and provide a friendly backdrop at the LunchStop Café and adjacent lobby.



Tonningsen and Levine are hardly the only ones to adopt the Bay Bridge’s transformation as an artistic subject. Current and upcoming exhibits and installations throughout the Bay Area — including several more at MTC — are celebrating the new span and commemorating the old one, through a variety of mediums. 



For “Through an Engineer’s Lens,” Martin Chandrawinata took breaks from his job as an engineer on the new span to photograph the construction process. The exhibit, on view on the second floor of MTC’s office, is a sampling of the over 20,000 images the photographer managed to capture while working on the project. 



“My role on this project is primarily to review contractor's submittals, requests for information, inspection, and all items related to the mechanical and electrical portion of this project,” Chandrawinata wrote in a statement. “However, I have been privileged to be given the opportunity to channel my talents in photography while documenting the progress of the construction. I climbed the catwalk to the top of the tower and went inside the bowels of the deck to capture the progress.”



Also on view at the MetroCenter, “The Art of Steel” reveals what happened before erection even began on the SAS. Tom Paiva traveled to Shanghai, China to shoot the fabrication of the bridge cables along with deck and tower pieces. 



One floor up, two exhibits take a bit of a departure from the Bay Bridge to highlight the beauty of the natural landscape that surrounds it. “Bay Bliss: Bridges, Skylines and Animal Life” presents the multimedia artwork of the participants of Artful Steps, a program that serves East Bay adults with developmental disabilities. In “Walking the Bay Trail: A Photo Journal,” Kurt Schwabe documents his ambitious month-long trek around the entire Bay. The intensely colorful photographs, printed on aluminum, feature wildlife, stunning views and infrastructure, covering everywhere from the Albany Bulb to Hunter’s Point in San Francisco and Redwood Shores on the Peninsula. 



And just down the street from the MetroCenter, the Oakland Museum of California is host to “Above and Below: Our Changing Bay,” an interdisciplinary exhibit that explores the Bay Bridge as well as the history and future of the region. An alcove dedicated to the bridge is a treasure trove of artifacts and stories. A bright red toll plaza sign from the early years of the Bay Bridge hangs overhead, and a replica of the bridge’s beloved iron troll stands proud, ready to ward off intruders. Visitors can listen to oral histories from construction workers who built the new span and read about the perils of working on the old bridge without adequate protective gear. MTC is a cosponsor of this exhibit.



Over 10 other exhibits featuring the Bay Bridge are sprinkled around the East Bay and San Francisco, from Anne Subercaseaux’s abstract impressions of the old bridge on display at East Bay Municipal Utility District in Oakland to Barrie Rokeach’s dramatic aerials of the new span on view at SFO. Even those who don’t want to leave the house can enjoy the artwork inspired by the iconic bridge by exploring a handful of virtual exhibits online. 



See a complete list of shows and installations on the MTC website. 



--Natalie Orenstein

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