There's some irony in the fact that our formerly longtime enemy knows more about constructing a memorial than our own leftist citizens, who were fellow travellers with that enemy.
Thanks for the article, but considering the designer, I'm a bit afraid to see what this will look like. This guy's "style" is usually scary (though his statue of Marshal Zukov is impressive).
That was a nice gesture by the Russian people, and I'm grateful to them for it. At first I thought it was going to be erected in Russia, but I guess it's going to be in New Jersey?
I like it.
Thank you, Russia.
Interesting tid-bit: apparently the US didn't want to accept it at first, the did it only after protest letters.
Apparently some Russians don't like it either.
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"Tsereteli has long branched out beyond Moscow and Russia. Last year he decided to bestow on New York City his masterpiece commemorating September 11: A huge wall pierced by a tear. But he didn't manage to convey the tragedy, and although the size of the monument is as astounding as ever, the Americans did not want to accept this present. The Mayor of New York City received a host of protest letters, the press joined in, and the decision to install the monument was delayed.
Muscovites have just followed suit."
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050811/41135640.html
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I personally think it's not only a generous gift, but also very fitting: simple, yet eloquent.
Earlier article:
Russian sculptor offers his 9/11 monument to America
http://en.rian.ru/culture/20050802/41077640.html
ST. PETERSBURG, August 2 (RIA Novosti, Olga Vtorova) - Russian sculptor Zurab Tsereteli's monument to the victims of the 9/11 attacks on New York City has been loaded onto a ship in the port of St. Petersburg.
The monument, weighing 150 metric tons, will now be taken across the Atlantic and mounted at a site near Ground Zero. Its centerpiece - a huge crystal sculpture representing a tear (hence the title, "Tear of Sorrow") - has been clad in leaf iron to keep it from being damaged along the way. In accordance with Tsereteli's design, the tear, with water pumped inside it, is to sit atop a 30-meter-tall bronze-plated iron stele that has been cut in half.
In September 2003, Tsereteli and the mayor of New Jersey agreed to have the monument erected on the Hudson peer overlooking the World Trade Center redevelopment site. However, the mayor soon died and New Jersey City Hall refused the Russian sculptor's gift, citing a negative response from local residents.
In March 2005, the authorities of nearby Bayonne said they would like to have Tsereteli's 9/11 monument in their city. The work to put the gigantic memorial in place is due to begin in September.
"The "TEAR OF GRIEF" memorial is a rectangular bronze stele, 30m high, to be mounted on a stepped granite base with eleven sides. Its laconic form and clear outlines symbolize calm and peaceful life. At the same time, in the core of the monument there is a long tragically curved split depicting the drama of the tragedy. Inside the split is falling a big tear in honor of victims of the terrorist acts. The monument contains not only the memory for those who died, which will be kept for centuries, but also a hope that the civilized world will be able to withstand the horrendous threat of mass terrorism.
The artist believes, that in spite of the losses and sorrow for innocent victims, there are a lot of possibilities in the world to fight for humane values, and among them one of the most important is fighting against Evil through Art, that is understandable to all people on the planet. This is the principle idea of Zurab Tsereteli' s new monument. The artist always keenly feels and fervently responses to events that thrill the world. By his artworks he is contributing to make life more safe and beautiful.
"
http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:yVJUKAbkU48J:194.190.136.224:81/+Zurab+Tsereteli&hl=en
And more info:
"Tear of Grief is a 10-story high sculpture by (Click link for more info and facts about Zurab Tsereteli) Zurab Tsereteli that will be given as an official gift of the Russian government and placed on the (A city in northeastern New Jersey (opposite Manhattan)) Jersey City waterfront across the (A New York river; flows southward into New York Bay; explored by Henry Hudson early in the 17th century) Hudson River from where the (Twin skyscrapers 110 stories high in New York City; built in 1970 to 1973; destroyed by a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001) World Trade Center fell on September 11, 2001.
The sculpture is in the form of a 10-story high tower of bronze split with a jagged opening through the middle. Inside the opening hangs a large polished (A light strong gray lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong light-weight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite) titanium teardrop about three stories high to represent the tears in (A city of central European Russia; formerly capital of both the Soviet Union and Soviet Russia; since 1991 the capital of the Russian Federation) Moscow shed for the victims of the September 11th Terrorist Attacks.
The teardrop will contain a special cooling device to produce a constant flowing of water. This causes the sculpture to appear to weep."
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/t/te/tear_of_grief.htm
.