STUDY FOR 9/11 MEMORIAL
Sculpture # 1 - Resurrection: The very bottom of this piece depicts an immigrant ship entering New York Harbor, with the letters NY emerging from its bow as a mast which resembles the five fingers of a hand, representing the immigrant labor that built the Big Apple. Arching behind the vessel appears a rainbow in the wake of a recent storm. The apple/heart of the city rests in the hands of its many people (embodied here by the NY and the rainbow of diversity) and supports a candle to commemorate the lives of those who gave all. Reading diagonally down from the candle to the mast is an updated version of the I Love NY slogan. Continuing up the center of this sculpture, the tree of life grows out from the wounded heart of New York amid a replenishing leaf, atop which a flower unfolds in tribute, forming the crown of Lady Liberty. Her skyward-reaching arm recalls the spirit of The Towers, upon the memory of which the Earth unfurls its banner of peace.
Sculpture # 2 - Onslaught and Rescue: Amid the whirling flames and falling debris of an unforeseen attack, a rescuer relentlessly searches the chaos for survivors. The figure's head also forms the iris of an all-seeing eye, which witnesses the event from atop an all-encompassing triangle that enfolds and hampers the rescuer's valiant efforts. A bitten apple near the base represents the 1993 attack on The Towers, which is also symbolized by an abruptly concave ending at the bottom. The spaces in this and the other sculptures represent hollows in the stone, which will indicate sacred space. An area into which, and through which, anyone can pour his or her own beliefs and feelings. Those spaces in this particular piece are the apple, the rescuer/eye, the Pentagon, and the plane that went down in Pennsylvania. All of which experienced an onslaught and rescue effort. And all of which gave rise to heroes like the one in this sculpture's center.
Sculpture # 3 - Grief and Consolation: The outer form of this stone depicts the head of a woman turning away in grief from the awful spectacle she beheld. The swirling pattern of her hair as she turns reveals an eagle in a gesture of consolation to the hollowed outline of this same woman as her entire being cries out to the heavens in pain. The darkened spaces in this sculpture, studded with cosmic phenomena, represent eternity and its infinite cycle of suffering and regeneration.
Sculpture # 4 - Unfulfilled Dream: Suspended in the recess of an interrupted dream, the outlined indentation of a child at play is seared into the center of this stone. Egg-like in its shape, and bearing traumas to its surface, it anxiously relates a tale of tragic implications. The hollow of a broken heart assumes the form of a mother and father cruelly severed by misfortune. To the right of this lamenting couple is the outline of a butterfly in flight, which symbolizes the spirit of their child forever soaring in remembrance. This child not only represents all of the children claimed (or in any way affected) by these tragic events, but also our collective innocence forever altered.
Sculpture # 5 - The Weight of Peace: This bronze abstracted body of Atlas strains and twists beneath the immeasurable weight of peace it endeavors to bear. And just as even a titan can easily buckle under so heavy a charge, so too at times may super powers falter in their missions without a concentrated effort to uphold their better natures. The globe that rests on his shoulders is our planet. And the hollowed/hallowed spaces in this stone represent the five continents striving for a permanent peace on Earth.
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