I was ten years old at that time, my parents had decided to send me and my sister to my aunt’s house in Jersey City for the entire summer. It was a long and hot summer and after spending two months away from my parents I was starting to feel homesick. My aunt, an old fashioned Dominican lady who had been living in the United States since 1960 and whose English vocabulary consisted of about twenty words, had always loved to walk. That summer we walked everywhere. One day she made us walk a million miles to a K-Mart supermarket just to buy a stupid rug, I remember how annoyed I was, it was very early and incredibly hot outside. When we got to the supermarket, after walking for what seemed hours to me, I was in a really bad mood, so I told my aunt I was going to wait for her outside in the parking lot. The parking lot had an incredible unobstructed view of the New York City skyline. I stared at it with amazement, I was hypnotized by these two colossal buildings that stood there, with such an incredible presence, and it simply took my breath away. A couple of days later me and my sister were shipped back to the Dominican Republic. When I found out about the attacks, I shivered; it was too much for my young imagination. I could picture in my mind the towers as I had seen them not more than two weeks before that, it all felt so surreal and to this day it still does.
Fortunately, I was not directly affected by 9/11. However, it did cause great sadness and confusion to my young mind. 9/11 was definitely a turning point in world history, and our current economical situation is without a doubt product of what happened that day. People changed, now people carry a sense of worry in the back of their heads, especially New Yorkers. The only positive change product of this atrocity is that citizens have become more united.
The first work of art I would like to share is a set of photographs by John Pilson, entitled "Interregna". He used to work around the World Trade Center, between 1998 and 2000 and he took a series of photograph that reflect his daily life in the office. The whole set feels like a premonition of what was about to happen, especially the photograph entitled Plane, which captures the image of a plane through a window as the plane looks as if it was about to crash with building.
The second work of art is Lara Favaretto’s “Lost and Found”. I feel it captures the feeling of uncertainty and insecurity that most New Yorkers feel every day.
And the third work of art is Monika Bravo’s “La Vispera.” This video capturing the last night before September 11th made me feel the same way I felt when I first found out about the attacks.
John Pilson
“Interregna”
1998-2000
Lara Favaretto
“Lost and Found”
2006
Monika Bravo
“La Vispera”
2001
