Creative art provides solace on anniversary of 9/11

BY MARIE MABER
Correspondent

Works of art created in response to 9/11 include (clockwise) a quilt with an appliqué of the Twin Towers by Kathryn Hodecker of Aberdeen; a vest covered with donated pins created by Geri Stewart and Terry Truelove; journals created by art therapist Stephanie Hagadorn, Red Bank. All Americans have had to find a means to come to terms with the aftermath of 9/11. For some, this challenge has been met with tremendous creativity. Many have found solace in songs, verses and other written forms of encouragement.

Others have found the impetus to create powerful works of art. The opportunity to share such healing tools that could bring peace of mind to others was the genesis of a multimedia art exhibition currently on view at the CVA Gallery of Brookdale Community College in Lincroft. The group exhibition is co-curated by Marie Maber, Susan Godwin and Emily Hodecker, in cooperation with the Monmouth County 9/11 Task Force.

The exhibit, “Memorials, Monuments, and Memories: Monmouth County’s Artistic Response to 9/11/01,” will provide an opportunity for local residents to visit a place of reverence and healing upon the third anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

An interesting comparison is found in the emotional quality of works of art dated 2001, as compared to those created in the three years following the tragedy.

Major commissioned works by master stone carver Franco Minervini — one destined for the Mount Mitchill Overlook in Atlantic Highlands, another for the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel — will be part of the exhibit in the form of unfinished carvings of sections of these monumental works and sculpted studies. The unveiling for each monument is slated for next September.

Minervini, a Marlboro resident who is originally from the Bari region of Italy, has designed the Monmouth County Sept. 11 monument, which incorporates a beam salvaged from the World Trade Center into the sculpture tentatively titled “The Soaring Eagle.” A cast version of the carved stone eagle’s head is included in the exhibition.

Elements of stone carvings for memorials by Franco Minervini, of Marlboro, are also represented. Stephen Shaheen’s massive sculptural monument, The Memoria Project, will be represented at Brookdale in a variety of media. The story of the project will be told through the use of a series of large-screen images — a visual loop — that will take viewers from the initial idea of the monument, the group effort by numerous local 9/11 family members who helped carve the stone, and views of the completed carving.

Also on view is a beautiful plaster model of one of the figural sculptures. Shaheen, a former Rumson resident, has studied stone carving in Italy and imported master stone carvers to New Jersey for the execution of this work of art.

Kyle Galante of Holmdel has lent a visionary watercolor to the show titled “God’s Light.” Her spiritual beliefs are manifest in each work of art she has created in the aftermath of 9/11.

Galante recently completed her monumental sculpture, “Holmdel New Jersey, 9/11 Memorial,” which is scheduled for unveiling on Sept. 12 at Holmdel’s Town Hall.

United We Quilt

and The Dragonfly Nine

Initially, only works of art made by Monmouth County residents were considered for inclusion in this show. Before long, however, families who lost loved ones were bringing in works of art sent to them by total strangers from all over the country — works that had meaning for them and that were so potent in their messages of love, selflessness, empathy and hope that they found prominent places within this exhibition.

A group of quilts was shipped to Brookdale by women quilters from around the country who call themselves The Dragonfly Nine. The group took its name in honor of a very personal moment experienced by Trish Straine.

When the Oceanport resident visited ground zero for the first time after losing her husband, Jimmy, in the attacks, a dragonfly’s conspicuous presence caught her attention.

What was a dragonfly doing in “the Pit,” New York City’s ground zero? Its beauty was incongruous within such excruciating surroundings. The motif has become a touchstone for Straine.

The motif of a beautiful dragonfly has appeared on 11 magnificent quilts, which will be given as gifts to members of the Straine family by this group of women whom they have never met before. Family members will see these quilts and meet many of the quilt makers for the first time during a private unveiling and reception at the gallery.

Leading the Dragonfly Nine is a quilter from Illinois named Ricki Selva.

“I volunteer with a group called United We Quilt,” Selva explained. “I contacted them in August 2002 with my willingness to make a quilt for a family who lost someone on September 11. I waited for eight or nine months, and then one day I was assigned Trish Straine.

“Trish asked me early in our e-mail correspondence how she could get quilts made for the rest of Jimmy’s family. I contacted friends all over the world and all of them agreed to help. We started with nine quilters – The Dragonfly Nine. Since then four more quilters have helped complete the Straines’ 11 quilts.”

Art therapy seen as a key

to the healing process

The single work of art that initially sparked the idea for this show almost two years ago was a group weaving created under the direction of art therapist Susan Godwin of Little Silver and Marion Fitzgerald, a spiritual director from Little Silver, in anticipation of the first anniversary of 9/11.

This work, titled “Love, Healing, Hope,” was woven by more than two dozen local women who lost loved ones.

The weaving has been shown in various sites around the county and has a permanent home in the Tuesday’s Children office in Red Bank.

Stories, verses, songs and prayers have been collected by recent Brookdale graduate Emily Hodecker of Aberdeen. Some of these works will be available through an audio headset; others are presented as wall text or bound within loose-leaf binders for quiet reflection.

Another project is a composition of tiles painted by children who have had to deal with their personal loss — and those tiles are surrounded by tiles made by Monmouth County children who viewed the tragedy from a far greater emotional distance. About 200 tiles come together in two mosaics, symbolic of the bridging needed between those who have suffered a personal loss and those who experience the loss primarily as a national tragedy.

An interactive wall collage titled “Resiliency” is on view and will be continuously added to by visitors to the gallery. The work has been created through the efforts of Laura Green-stone of Amanda’s Easel, an art therapy program for children, based in Hazlet.

Artwork for this exhibition has been loaned by professional artists, students, even young children, and all, including the parents of the children, have given permission to display the works of art created through the process of art therapy.

The overarching message conveyed in these group installations is one of community — a sense that through art and hope, even in times of excruciating tragedy, a community continues to knit itself back together again.

“Memorials, Monuments, and Memories: Monmouth County’s Artistic Response to 9/11” presents an ongoing story of the role that art plays in the healing process, its messages unfolding right before our eyes.

For some visitors to the gallery, this exhibition might understandably evoke strong emotions. Comfort zones and places to reflect in silence are provided, as well as one participatory art piece in which visitors can share their responses.