Artists To Share 9/11 Experiences At Puffin Exhibit Opening Friday Night

Those affected by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have had to learn to deal with the tragic event in their own ways. While the country mourned that day and onward, many people – especially those living near the World Trade Center towers and those who lost loved ones – had their lives changed forever.

For several artists who lived and worked in the shadow of the Twin Towers, there was no escaping the sights and sounds of that horrendous day, as well as the rebuilding of Ground Zero. These artists used their art to make peace with what happened and will show their work starting Friday at the Puffin Cultural Forum.

The exhibit, entitled "Reclaiming Vistas: Post-9/11 Urban Perspectives," will feature various works from artists including Rob Swainston, Pamela Lawton, Todd Stone, Karina Aguilara Skvirsky and Terrenceo.  

FROM FILM TO CANVAS

Stone was in his Tribeca studio six blocks from the North Tower when it was hit. Based on photographs taken on Sept. 11, Stone painted a collection of artwork entitled "Witness," which can be viewed at his website toddstone.com. He will share his oil paintings and watercolors at Puffin and be at the exhibition's opening Friday to discuss his work.

"These paintings are a tribute to the lives lost at World Trade Center," he said.

UNDERLYING SOCIAL ISSUES

At Friday's reception, Swainston will show a new version of a piece in a series called "Till Tomorrow On." The piece entails a woodblock print installation with a video-stop animation projected onto it.

Swainston said he watched the towers collapse and the site smolder for three months from his Brooklyn waterfront studio.

"I didn't set out to make a piece explicitly about 9/11," he said. "Most artists don't work like this – with an overt specific intention in mind.  However, you'll see that many artists are working with larger social issues through aesthetics.  My piece in this show is a clear example of this." 

His artwork deals with how the human-built environment is embedded with ever-changing political and cultural intentions. 

"I hope this show works to remind people that we are humans and to recover some human element to this tragedy that has been sadly dehumanized by political machinations," he said.

'HOMAGE TO THE LOSS'

Lawton used to have a studio at the World Trade Center for 18 months in the late '90s.

"While there, I painted reflections of the buildings in other buildings, such as the WTC reflected in the Millennium Hilton Hotel and the Deutche Bank building," said Lawton, adding that her work now is like a eulogy. "After 9/11, I still painted the facade of the Millennium Hilton Hotel but instead of reflecting the WTC, it reflected the view way beyond Ground Zero – the World Financial Center from afar.  Instead of the cast shadows from the towers, the view was suddenly light-filled because of the absence of the towers.  The beauty I found in the light and in the absence was homage to the loss.  Now today I am painting from inside the Millennium Hilton Hotel, looking out onto the new World Trade Center 7."

As reconstruction continues, Lawton is documenting each step of the way through her artwork.

"Buildings grow and have faces – like the word 'façade' – and my work shows buildings looking at other buildings," she said.

The opening reception for the exhibit begins at 8 p.m. Friday and is free and open to the public. Gallery hours afterward will be 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

For more information, visit PuffinCulturalForum.org or call 201-836-3499.