On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, the lives of many Americans were forever changed. Every year since, two powerful blue beams called the “Tribute in Light” pierce the New York sky in remembrance of the lives lost, and this year was no different.
Through art and everyday living, Americans continue to process and keep the memory alive. Located in New York, the World Trade Center is home to the Sept. 11 memorial. The Sept. 11 memorial remembers and honors the 2,983 people killed in the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as well as, those who risked their lives to save others and those who demonstrated extraordinary compassion in the aftermath of the attacks.
The museum commemorates the lives lost through exhibitions and educational programs. “Demonstrating the consequences of terrorism on individual lives and its impact on communities at the local, national, and international levels, the Memorial & Museum attests to the triumph of human dignity over human depravity and affirms an unwavering commitment to the fundamental value of human life,” World Trade Center states.
The Sept. 11 memorial includes the Memorial Plaza and the Memorial Museum. The Memorial Plaza is a free public space filled with swamp white oaks and features the Memorial Glade. The Memorial Glade is a clearing dedicated to the men and women of the rescue and recovery effort with two reflecting pools with waterfalls in the footprints of the Twin Towers. The Survivor Tree, a callery pear tree that was damaged during the 9/11 attack but survived, is also located in the Memorial Plaza.
The Sept. 11 museum is open to the public six days a week and requires an advanced ticket purchase. The listening guides are available in nine languages including American Sign Language, making it accessible for many people to learn about the historic event.
Nearly 25 years later, 9/11 is not only remembered through educational displays, firsthand accounts and recovered artifacts, but also through different avenues of art. Artists all over the world commemorate the lives lost in various forms of art and architecture.
The Art of Remembering 9/11 by Howard Koplan shares The Smithsonian Institution’s American Arts Museum collection on 9/11. The gallery features Eric Fischl’s sculpture, Ten Breaths: Tumbling Woman II, memorializing those who lost their lives.
“When Fischl spoke at the Smithsonian American Arts Museum and Renwick Gallery in 2014 as part of the Clarice Smith Distinguished Lectures in American Art series, he told us ‘the experience of 9/11, the trauma and tragedy was amplified by the fact that there were no bodies. You had 3,000 people who died and no bodies, so the mourning process turned to the language of architecture.’ In direct response to the making of his sculpture, he poignantly added, ‘I extended her arm in the hopes that someone would grab her arm and help slow the tumbling down,’” Koplan said.
9/11 changed and touched many artists like Fischl and led them to show their respect and gratitude for those who lost and risked their lives for others.
Another example is Kevin Bubriski’s World Trade Center Series, New York City. His art in pictures captured the people who gathered at 9/11’s Ground Zero and the emotional distress people were going through as they saw everything dismantled in front of them. His pictures still hold the same impact as they did years ago.
This tragic event also had a big impact on the cinematic world, with various documentaries, movies and shows. Directors and filmmakers honor the lives lost through the different stories, many of which are the true accounts of survivors that experienced the attack and survived.
The world will never forget what happened on 9/11, and people continue to remember this day through storytelling, art and architecture.
