more random thoughts

9/11/11

10 years,
it’s hard to believe
and
it was hard,
hard because
10 years ago,
instead of feeling the fear, helplessness and loss,
i threw myself into activity;
at first helping to prepare food for those working at ground zero
then by creating/maintaining theARTproject;
a site for people to respond with images to the events of 9/11 and its aftermath.

i was briefly tempted to reactivate theARTproject
for the 10th anniversary, but it didn’t feel right
mainly because i felt it would become too political.

in those weeks and months after the attacks
politics were in the background,
passion & compassion were the primary motivations
behind the work that was submitted.

but it’s 2011 
and i myself couldn’t imagine responding in a way
that wasn’t politically motivated
so i figured the same would be true for most people.
and quite honestly,
i wasn’t in the frame of mind
to create a forum for propaganda
of any sort.

because art can be a way of preserving emotion
one of my main motivations in creating theARTproject
was to make a place for remembering;
remembering the horror, the pain, the grief
remembering to protect us from returning to our boorish ways
remembering so the lives lost would not have been in vain.

but we don’t seem to have learned very much at all
and that is wrenching.
the only bright light that burns from that devastation
is the spirit, generosity and selflessness
of those who rescued, salvaged, cleaned, cleared and comforted
during a time of true crisis

and that is what the tribute in light has always symbolized for me
the strength, resilience and beauty that individuals can exhibit
i was never a huge fan of the towers
as a native new yorker
they seemed plopped down
out of context
a giant icon of capitalism run amok
i hated doing anything around the plaza
the inhuman scale made me uncomfortable
and i always felt like a tourist there

so the lights for me
replaced that looming weight
with twin beacons
of pain and generosity
of ghosts and spirits
of loss and love

tonight
i had to go see them
and the view from brooklyn
despite the fog
was lovely
and i wasn’t alone
a steady stream of people
came to photograph them
it was a very sweet end
to a very difficult day