9/11 Memorial Museum Holds First Art Exhibition

The work by artist Eric Fischl titled “Tumbling Woman” stands on view at a preview of the new exhibition at the 9/11 Memorial Museum titled “Rendering the Unthinkable: Artists Respond to 9/11.”
(Credit: news.artnet.com)

In the heart of Manhattan, nested within the 9/11 Memorial that is built upon Ground Zero — the site where the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre once stood — a museum holds records and remnants of one of the most shocking events to have occurred on American-claimed soil in modern times. This year, to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the tragedy, the National 9/11 Memorial Museum is set to share its first art exhibition with the public. “Rendering the Unthinkable: Artists Respond to 9/11” is a collection of works from thirteen artists, which will open on Sept. 12, 2016.

The exhibition incorporates several mediums including video, sculpture, painting, and works on paper. Each artist or artist group were residents in New York at the time of the attack, and all were directly affected in their respective ways. Their artworks reflect their personal experience as much as articulate experiences that were shared by so many in the wake of the event.

Still from “Exhibit 13” by the Blue Man Group
(Credit: koreatimes.com)

“Exhibit 13,” a contribution from the Blue Man Group, is a video-based installation inspired by and including the charred pieces of paper from the debris that floated into their studio on Sept. 11 2001. The title refers to text found on one of those papers, which is featured in the work. The several languages found on these papers reminds the viewer that 9/11 was truly an international tragedy that changed the course of history as well as so many individuals’ lives around the world. An excerpt of the video is available online.

Ejay Weiss, “9/11 Elegies”
(2001–02)
(Credit: news.artnet.com)

Other works incorporating the physicality of debris include Michael Mulhern’s “Ash Road 14-45th” and “Ash Road 2-45th” (oil and aluminum paint on gessoed paper); Doug and Mike Starn’s “Fallen #6” and “Fallen #7” (printed hand-coated silver emulsion on paper from the collapse of the World Trade Center); Ejay Weiss’ “9/11 Elegies” (acrylic paint on canvas); and Todd Stone’s “Lifting,” “9:03” and “3:45” from “Witness” series (watercolor on paper). In the works by Mulhern, Weiss, and Stone, ash and debris was either mixed into gesso or paint. In Stone’s case, the dust that filtered through his studio window created a pattern against the paper that was to become the base for “Witness.”

A full listing of works found on the 9/11 Memorial and Museum’s website generously includes images of each piece.

In related news, the public artwork “Sphere” by Fritz Koenig, originally installed at the World Trade Center and then removed after being damaged in the attack, is being returned to the site after fourteen years at the behest of the victims’ families.

Fritz Koenig’s “Sphere”
(Credit: news.artnet.com)