Controversy delays 9/11 memorial 'Tempered By Memory'

As the country unites to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Saratoga Springs remains divided over a memorial of that historic and horrific day.

A 25-foot-tall sculpture made of twisted steel from the World Trade Center was to be dedicated today at a prominent location on Broadway, the city's main street. Instead, the artwork, "Tempered By Memory," stands in a Gansevoort steelyard, homeless, after objections to where it was to be installed, criticism of its artistic merit, accusations that City Council members were playing politics and heated rhetoric that led to a public apology.

The mayor has appointed a committee to sort through the conflicting viewpoints and decide where to put it -- before the onset of winter, he hopes.

Meanwhile, a major opportunity has been squandered, says the head of Saratoga Arts, the organization behind the sculpture.

"Every anniversary of Sept. 11 is significant, but for national and cultural reasons the 10th anniversary is a marker that feels different to people from the 9th anniversary or the 11th anniversary," says Joel Reed, executive director of Saratoga Arts. "And everybody was working toward installation and dedication as happening on Sept. 11. For the artists, for the ironworkers and crane operators who donated their time to the project, for all of our sponsors and supporters, we're disappointed."

Memorials can be seen as the physical embodiment of a community's collective memory. That "Tempered By Memory," which uses mutilated steel from such a devastating event, set off a controversy isn't surprising, says Richard Lachman, professor of sociology at the University at Albany. In fact, he says, it's American.

From memorials for Confederate soldiers after the Civil War to the 9/11 memorial opening today at ground zero, citizens have battled over the appropriateness, appearance and location of memorials.

"These are charged issues," Lachman says. "And sometimes a memorial doesn't look like what people expect a memorial to look like."

The most conspicuous example is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. Controversy consumed the project after Maya Lin, a 21-year-old undergraduate at Yale University whose parents emigrated from China, won a design competition for the memorial.

"Before the Vietnam War memorial, it was pretty clear what memorials should look like -- to make the dead look like heroes," Lachman says. "The Vietnam War memorial doesn't do that. It just lists the names. It's black stone. And it's built into the ground. It generated tremendous controversy, but now it's the most-visited war memorial in the country by far."

The 9/11 sculpture awaiting a home in Saratoga Springs is also different -- an extraordinary work of art, says a local art expert -- and could attract national attention.

"This is one of the great works of art that you'll see anywhere," says James Kettlewell, professor emeritus of art history at Skidmore College. "It rises in the most spectacular way -- a major monument to the American spirit rising from the ruins of 9/11."

Not everyone agrees. Amejo Amyot, artist, activist and a founder of the Beekman Art District in Saratoga Springs, says the sculpture belongs in the scrap heap.

"It looks very mechanical, rather than artistic," she says. "I would be embarrassed if that ends up on our main street as the best Saratoga can do with a public sculpture."

Also, she says, she doesn't want large pieces of steel from the World Trade Center on a downtown corner that she has to pass every day on her way to work. She doesn't want such an in-your-face reminder of such an upsetting event, she says.

"Sometimes I want to think about it, and sometimes I don't," she says. "But to have to think about it every day? That'd just be too much."

Amyot also criticizes Saratoga Arts for not giving all artists a chance to submit designs for the steel. But Reed, head of the arts organization, says "context largely determined our process."

In spring 2010, the commanding officer of the Naval Support Unit in Saratoga Springs contacted Saratoga Arts about the possibility of obtaining World Trade Center steel for a sculpture in the city. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owned the twin 110-story buildings, saved about 1 percent of the salvaged steel for distribution to groups and communities, primarily for memorials. The program was ending, Reed says, and his group had two weeks to submit a detailed proposal. It emailed a "relatively small sample of artists whom we knew had experience with large-scale projects," he says.

One proposal came back from the Capital Region sculptors John Van Alstine and Noah Savett. Van Alstine's work has been displayed in museums and galleries around the world; he had a large piece selected for exhibition at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Savett's sculpture has also been widely displayed; he owns NA Associates, a steel-fabrication plant in Gansevoort, where the sculpture would be crafted.

Their proposal, Reed says, "struck us as getting the project's tone and goals just right." Last summer, the two sculptors selected five pieces of the steel, weighing from 2,000 to 10,000 pounds each.

After considering sites throughout the city, Saratoga Arts decided that the sidewalk in front of the City Center, a conference complex on Broadway at the north end of downtown, would be ideal for the sculpture. The City Center Authority agreed, and then, at a January meeting, the City Council agreed.

Saratoga Arts, a private, nonprofit organization, started raising the estimated $196,000 for the project. (It's raised about $170,000 so far, Reed says -- all from private sources, nothing from government.)

Trouble arrived in May or June when members of the City Center Authority saw the nearly completed sculpture, Reed says. They thought it was too big for their site, even though, Reed says, it met the proposed specifications -- about 25 feet tall with a 12-by-15-foot footprint.

Amyot also criticizes Saratoga Arts for not giving all artists a chance to submit designs for the steel. But Reed, head of the arts organization, says "context largely determined our process."

Their proposal, Reed says, "struck us as getting the project's tone and goals just right." Last summer, the two sculptors selected five pieces of the steel, weighing from 2,000 to 10,000 pounds each.

That prompted a quick search for an alternative site. Saratoga Arts selected the Saratoga Springs Visitor Center at the south end of downtown across from Congress Park. Built in 1915 in Beaux Arts style as a trolley station, it seemed even more appealing than the City Center site -- more room, trees, better sight lines and the potential to draw more visitors to the center. Various boards and commissions signed off on it, but the board that oversees the visitor center balked. Its members, too, thought the sculpture was too large. Some said a contemporary sculpture didn't belong in front of the historic building.

With Sept. 11 fast approaching, the City Council invited public comment at August meetings. Reed saw that as a delay tactic, and in an email blast to supporters, he accused council members of politicizing "Tempered By Memory" for partisan gain. He wrote that they wanted to put off a decision until after the Nov. 8 election, to avoid possibly losing the votes of residents who opposed whatever site they favored.

Council members were, Reed wrote, "throwing Saratoga Arts and the chance for community unity on 9/11 under the bus in the hope of picking up a few votes."

Council members quickly and loudly denied that politics was playing any role in the debate. Mayor Scott Johnson says his goal, and the council's goal, is merely to pick the best site, even if it means sacrificing the Sept. 11 dedication.

"For some people the 10th anniversary is such a pivotal part of this," he says. "I don't think so. I think it's more important to have the most appropriate location. And if that takes time, so be it. Wherever it's placed, it's going to be there permanently."

At the Aug. 16 council meeting, Reed apologized for his email, calling it "intemperate and ill-tempered." Others spoke, including Michael Messinger, co-chair of the board that oversees the visitor center. He said the sculpture would dwarf the center; he wants to see it elsewhere in the city. He also said:

"It seems ironic to us that the controversy of the placement of the 9/11 memorial has caused divisions within our city. The attack on the World Trade Center 10 years ago was not only a significant historic event, it was also followed by a rare period of great unity among Americans. ... Now, a sculpture to commemorate this event has divided Saratogians into different camps."

Johnson's 13-member committee to consider sites is supposed to make a recommendation to the council within 60 days. He says he expects a resolution that will satisfy most Saratogians. He says the sculpture is riveting and deserves a prominent spot in the city.

Reed says he's resigned to waiting for a decision. He says he believes the City Council will eventually select a suitable site. But until it does, he says, the uncertainty gnaws at him.

"We're offering a gift with a value of about $200,000 to the city," he says. "The cultural and historic value is incalculable.

"It's not beautiful. What I hear people say who've seen it is that it's awe-inspiring. It invokes powerful emotions but not the comfort or the pleasure that you'd look for in a beautiful artwork. The steel is what it is. It resonates with its history."

Reportedly, the local Fire Department had a ceremony yesterday in the steel fabricators yard. Disgraceful.

There are a number of photos at the website.

To be honest, I have problems with this sculpture. Not with the raw, broken steel, but with the figure it was made into.

I can see why many people might not think it an appropriate way to commemorate those who died there.

She doesn't want such an in-your-face reminder of such an upsetting event that wasn't committed by right-wing white Christians, she says.

There. Fixed it. If 9/11 had been committed by right-wingers, this "activist" would be demanding reminders on every streetcorner.

3 posted on 09/12/2011 6:43:44 PM PDT by denydenydeny (The moment you step into a world of facts, you step into a world of limits. --Chesterton)

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