in rememberance

"prayers at chambers"

"order out of chaos"

"stuck in limbo"

"silence"

  as we are reflecting this week ten years after the assault on NYC and the WTC towers I have been, like so many, recalling my own experience of that day/week/time period.

 the photo studio I worked part time at was not very far from the two towers, so as I was heading to the studio that morning I experienced the event from the street with the others standing below Houston street on west broadway that day - it's the only day in my life I've questioned if my visual nature was a gift.

 Over the days following 9/11 in my own way, as I tried to make sense of the experience and feelings I was having, I found myself re-walking the path I took to work that morning and going further downtown as close to the smoldering towers as I could , camera in hand doing what I do - processing my emotions though the lens of my camera.

 The yellow ribbons of "prayers at chambers" found on the fence at chambers street and the hudson river carrying names of the missing and presumed dead, "order out of chaos' the neat and orderly front of a building  with an american flag a block away from the burning pile of rubble that a few days earlier was the twin towers, "stuck in limbo" the edge of one of the many refrigerated containers lining the west side highway framed by the heavens - waiting for human remains that never came, and "silence" the pay phone booth on the street next to the fallen towers covered in dust from the buildings reminding me of how communication stopped and how quiet the city had become....

 A lot of what I shot is ( as my college professor would say) "more therapy than art" but these four images above, I feel transcended therapy and moved into the realm of art. so, I have over the years since I printed them shown and shared them. I felt it appropriate to share them today and explain the images a bit - something I usually don't do.

 I will always remember that day not just for the tragedy but for the humanity - people helping each other, people coming together, loved ones looking for each other, friends helping friends and stragers helping strangers. Maybe sometime soon we can all remember that day by behaving as New Yorker's did: by lending a helping hand with no questions, checking on people we hardly knew and doing whatever needed to be done to make sure we were all okay.