BUILDING BRIDGES AND LANDSCAPE ART

- Linda A. Fox, Toronto Sun

You don't have to visit a gallery to find art in Toronto - sometimes it's right in front of you. The Humber River Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge is no stranger to awards. It's been lauded for its design by the Ontario Association of Architects, The Consulting Engineers of Canada and the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction. It also recently received a prestigious Governor General's Award of Merit. Artists Brad Golden and Lynne Eichenberg were part of the Humber project design team along with engineers, architects and landscape architects. The pair have collaborated on a variety of projects since 1984 that address the issues of public space and landscape design. Among their many project in the Toronto area are a Memorial to John Graves and Elizabeth Simcoe and a project called Outskirts, a large-scale corporate-sponsored artwork on vacant land at Hwy. 48 and Steeles Avenue in Markham. The Humber Bridge project provides an important link in Toronto's waterfront trail system by allowing a crossing at the mouth of the Humber. "We make things - well-made things," says Golden. "Some call them art, some call them design. No matter what you call the bridge, Lynne and I are proud to have participated on a project that contributes so positively to the life of our city."