September 11 Quilt
September 11, 2001
Everything has changed as the world mourns the bombing of the World Trade Center.
“Tuesday’s Child: Does God Have Enough Hands?”
A news story about a young child epitomized the week’s tragic events. The parent was trying to explain why Daddy wasn’t coming home from work at the World Trade Center. In her explanation, the mother said that God came down and lifted Daddy to heaven that day. The little boy looked up at his mother and asked, “Does God have enough hands?”
This art quilt is a response to the horrific events that changed the United States forever. It is an abstracted image of the toppled World Trade Center Towers. The rubble below are photographic transfers of newspaper articles, headlines and photographs. It is unorganized with chaos reigning everywhere. The quilt is unfinished—the batting is exposed & charred & threads are not trimmed—reflecting the vast number of lives that were so unfinished when the World Trade Center was destroyed.
There are no words. Only frozen thoughts.
This piece is dedicated to all the victims of the World Trade Center bombing.
It is specifically dedicated to my friend who carefully walked away from the bombing, navigating the darkness until he & a colleague reached safety across the Brooklyn Bridge.
This art quilt is a ‘research paper’ of sorts—rather than text, the piece is a visual journey. All photographs, newspaper articles and headlines are cited in the accompanying bibliography.
WTC silhouette fabric dyed and hand painted by the artist.
Surface treatments include: textile paints, Procion dyes, uncut threads;
photo transfers by the artist using a commercial heat press,
and exposed painted batting which reflects the ‘unfinished’ aspects of lives lost in 9-11.