Art Inspired by 9/11

Lance Corey is on a mission. The East Quogue artist has been steadily producing artwork inspired by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks since shortly after the towers tumbled.

His art is abstract but the hard-hitting titles provide access. Titles like "What About the Children?" "The Condemned" and "Outlining the Crusader" hint at the anguish Corey feels about a future where violence is enacted on behalf of radical Islam.

“It’s a crusade,” he said. “I’m on a crusade to help better improve life, not destroy it. I express what I feel through my art.”

Corey fears for the future, feels anguish for those who died on 9-11 and frustration at aggressive actions taken in reaction, worldwide, since that day. Starting this weekend Corey’s art will be featured in six exhibitions held to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Sept. 11.

He’s having a solo show at the Crazy Monkey Gallery in Amagansett. The show opens Saturday, which is also Corey’s birthday. Corey’s the featured Artist of the Month at Studio East Gallery in Greenport. He’s exhibiting six paintings at the Suffolk County Historical Society in Riverhead. A taped 10-minute interview will be presented at the Riverhead Library as part of an oral history project.

His art is also included in 9/11 shows at the Gallery on the Hill in Farmingville, Brian Scotts American Restaurant in Miller Place and the Southampton Artists Association’s Labor Day Art Show. It remains on view through Sept. 11. Nearly all of these shows open on Saturday and extend for at least two weeks or longer.

Despite contributing art to six shows, Corey says he has more 9/11 art available. “This isn’t art I’m making for the 10^th anniversary,” Corey said. “This is what I do.”

There are multiple reasons for Corey’s passion. He believes the terrorist attacks ushered in a new phase in our world history. On a personal level, he and his wife, Laurie, lost a nephew who was working in the North Tower. On that day, even before official explanations were offered, Corey said he understood what had happened. He attributes this to studying the Middle East and Islam for 40 years, he said.

His academic credits include two Fulbright scholarships, multiple college degrees and countless hours of study on his own. One Fulbright took him to American University in Cairo, Egypt, at the same time one of the 9/11 pilots was a student, Corey said. (Their paths never crossed, he said).

For decades, Corey also taught world history and geography to high school students.

While his projections of a world filled with strife are harsh, Corey’s art is not. His paintings are filled with expressive brushstrokes that create implied figures. The abstract works can be dominated by color.  

When it comes to expressing the human cost of violence, Corey prefers to let his paintbrush speak instead of the harsh tones, loud speeches and dramatic gestures he’s applied in the past.  

“My art is where I can truly express what I feel,” he said. “It’s right there for people to see. “