With the rest of the country gathering for holiday tree-lighting ceremonies, Leo Villareal has been busy trying to illuminate another iconic structure: the San Francisco Bay Bridge.
Bridge officials have commissioned artist Leo Villereal to create The Bay Lights--a light sculpture on the western span of the bridge's north side, facing the Ferry Building and Fisherman's Wharf. Made with 30,000 individual LEDs, Villereal's sculpture will create a shimmering canvas of lights along the bridge's suspension cables. "The way I describe it is as an additional layer, subtle but legible," Villereal told the San Francisco Chronicle. "It activates the bridge, and it will hopefully reveal something about its environment."
Villareal envisions covering the northern expanse of the bridge with “The Bay Lights,” a dynamic light display that reflects off the surface of the water below. A nod to the 100th anniversary lighting of the Eiffel Tower, the project should come to life just in time to celebrate the 75th silver anniversary of the Bay Bridge in 2012.
