9/11 in Works of Art

These paintings were created in the days following 9/11 in NYC. Having just moved to Greenpoint (Brooklyn) from lower Manhattan where my apartment was located just under the shadow of the World Trade Center, I was extremely fortunate to now be living out of that immediate area. Even so, everything about this catastrophic event permeated every corner of the city; the feeling of helplessness and loss, bewilderment and fear; and the acrid smell in the air that lingered for weeks. Below, is my painting, Unfinished Business to relay the feelings of disorder and confusion in a new world as a population that was under attack, and this was far from over. America had finally woke from its sleepy oblivion.

I created this piece above, Talk of Towers, after seeing the fire in the South Tower on my way to work in Chelsea that perfect September morning, and subsequently witnessing the fall of both. I often use paper ephemera as a background before I start painting. In this case, I used subway maps with some routes and stations that would be forever changed. The WTC was marked with a red dot which can be seen through certain areas of translucence in the paint. With my usual cell “language” I have developed throughout my recent work, I modified it with a star to mark some of the central nuclei to convey the rise in patriotism felt everywhere. When you look at the piece as a whole, you can make out the faint division of three columns; on either end, the two Towers, and the ghost-like negative space centered in between.

Still Remembering 9/11

Lower Manhattan as it looked in a photo collage from my graduate school days at Pratt Institute - although the balcony of my high rise dorm had a pretty good view, this was probably taken from the Empire State Building.

Another photo collage taken years later in a snowy McCarren Park when I first moved to Greenpoint, Brooklyn in 2000- just a year before the attack on the World Trade Center. The faint ghostly outline of the Twin Towers can be seen just to the left of the Russian church. I just moved from Tribeca where the enormous buildings loomed high above my sublet in a dizzying vertical trajectory into the sky. Every time I neared the apartment, they were there; two stalwart figures. As I sat on the incredible roof deck at the top of my building, I remember always feeling a sense of unease at their scale as my thoughts trailed off, "if those things ever fell".... In my wildest dreams, I never, ever felt those musings would actually come true.

World Trade Center Mural

WTC Mural, photo by Matthew Hobbs (© 2003 some rights reserved)

This mural known as "Forever Tall" was painted on the side of a restaurant on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the days following September 11, 2001. Upon seeing it, the twinkling flowers in the outline of the Twin Towers amidst the other city lights evoked an emotional response in me. I felt the vibrancy of the souls lost as something separate from all of that sameness. This work of art was my favorite out of all the memorials and dedications from that period around Manhattan. I'm relieved to have found it documented as I missed getting to the area with my own camera. Thirteen years later, yes, we remember.

Remembered - The Names in the Memorial

10 Years Later - September 11 Anniversary

Last night, I happened to be on a boat after dusk. Looking towards the city as I often do, I was stunned (now annually) to see the two beams of blue light reaching into the night sky. The powerful rays kept going until they faded into oblivion, sometimes blocked by a low-lying cloud or two.

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I recently moved, and came across some memorabilia that I saved from the tragedy on 9/11. I thought today of all days, the ten year anniversary, would make this collection of clippings and other ephemera from that day more than relevant. It includes headlines from the New York Times, a Vanity Fair photo spread of everyone touched by this event, a new subway transit layout, an envelope requesting support from Nino's Restaurant (where first responders ate for six months), an email a year an a half later from Nino's to volunteers to celebrate all that was accomplished, a photograph that I bought from an exhibition entitled, "Here is New York- A Democracy of Photographs" of a teapot covered in WTC dust, and an article later appearing in the NY Times about the significance of that tea set to the family who owned it.

Not Forgotten

Another September 11th anniversary has come and gone and my thoughts are with the families who lost someone nine years ago. I remember that it was a pristine morning, and I was on my way to work. Across the river in Brooklyn, I could see a giant plume of smoke from the bus and thought it was merely an office fire out of control- another typical day in New York.

When I got to West 14th Street, I immediately sensed something was very wrong. Emergency vehicles were speeding downtown the wrong way on a one-way street. Everyone was standing outside looking up at the sky. Throughout the morning, I was glued to the television with colleagues and we watched in horror and disbelief as the Towers fell one after the other. We later ran outside to peer down the Westside Highway to see for ourselves.

I couldn't wait to get home and feel safe and invisible within the confines of my Brooklyn apartment. The short subway ride back to the outer boroughs was interminable. People appeared to be stunned and confused. They were both timid and polite; two words that would otherwise never describe commuters underground. We were all milling around aimlessly, suspended in time waiting for whatever might happen next. Battling my own confusion, I volunteered on the overnight shift at Nino's, a local family restaurant that generously closed its business to the public and served only rescue workers for months; anything to feel useful and connected. It helped for a little while but my relief was only temporary.

I remember that day in September as if it were yesterday. What do you remember?