Contemplating the impact photography has had on the depictions of reality that we encounter on a daily basis is heart stopping. Today we are struck with harsh picture perfect realities conveying, perhaps, a slightly twisted truth. In the past when painters were left to interpret realities and spread ideas, or news, it was easy to romanticize tragedy. In the above painting, Vasily Vereshchagin’s The Road of the War Prisoners, the first thing I saw was an enchanting snow scape, then the birds, and then the bodies. In the piece Vereshchagin reflects on horrors of the Ruso-Turkish War.

J.L. Gazabat

Another treasure from the Brooklyn Museum. Earlier in the week we visited the Noguchi Museum, a space tailored specifically to facilitate the exhibition of Noguchi’s work, but within there was no sign of Noguchi’s signature table. This notable absence left me feeling a little disatisfied and thus I was thrilled to see one of the tables within the Brooklyn Museum.

-J.L. Gazabat

I’m actually glad that this trip is coming to a close. It has been exhausting. But still fun. 

   
                          Why is this pond that shade of green?!        

 -Julie M.  

 
I didn’t lose any family and friends in New York that day. However, I did get chills when as I walked through the Museum. I remember the events of that day and the aftermath pretty clearly, since I was in my twenties when it happened and I was watching the live coverage on the news when the second plane hit. It was a scary and confusing time for all of us in the PNW (especially in my community which has a close relationship to the Naval Air Station), but now having experienced this city and the people who live here in a more intimate way, really put things into a a new context for me. As I viewed the wreckage of the Ladder 3 fire unit, I caught this story from the docent: 

“A woman in her 50’s was in bad health and had a bad knee and ankle from a car accident was trapped in the upper floors of the first tower. When the firemen came to help her evacuate, she went as far and stopped from exhaustion. She said,’I can’t go any further. Go without me.’  Yet they refused. ‘We’re not going without you,’ they insisted. And so they stayed. Then they heard the floors above them crashing into each other as the building came collapsing down on itself. They were sure they were all dead. Yet they stayed. Finally the floor above them fell, and miraculously they were all left standing. Somehow the spot where they stood was in a pocket that remained in tact. They all survived. All because she could not take one more step.” 

The woman lived another few years before a fatal heart attack. That fire unit had an an angel embroidered into her coffin to honor her for protecting them on that day. 

Wow. Only one of many such stories. As frightening and terrible the events of that day were, these stories are testimony to the endurance, strength and compassion of the human condition. 

How others made it—

The Vessey Stairs, now an artifact and monument of survival: 

   

I’m not interested in how death and destruction occurs. It is inevitable. I am interested in how we survive, in the most terrible times. How do we go on? We just will. We will find a route, and run there, as fast as we can, save as many as we can, remember and honor as many as we can. 

–Melissa Hand. 

One of my favorite things about the Brooklyn Museum was that it catered to a wide audience. Not only were there works by renowned artists such as Chicago, Basquiat, and Monet but also lesser know treasures like Bowden’s Spacelander. The bicycle buys into the obsession of the era, space travel.

-J.L. Gazabat

Is really strange. The 4th floor is a complete mish mash of stuff, with no rhyme or reason with what is put together in one room. There was a room where there was a Jackson Pollock, along with a Nick Cave sound costume, a case with animal skulls, and a gaurdian statue thing. All in one room. ALSO on that same floor, there was a room that literally had two houses and their interiors on display. It was very strange. I still enjoyed it though. 

   
     

     

 -Julie M.  

A very sobering experience at the memorial and worth reflecting on. A very powerful space/place. Another highlight was listening to Monique’s testimonial about her dad—of course it was sad, but it was good to hear Monique’s familiar voice as she told a wonderful, sweet, and funny story! 

So glad we took the Staten Island ferry after that intense collective response. It felt good to be surrounded by people, sunshine, fresh air and optimism! And all of you look amazing in those PINK T-shirts! 
We walked back-up town finding a green space oasis here and there. Little parks tucked away all over the city—which were perfect for grabbing a snack, coffee, drink, and relaxing as we made our way up into the center of the beast! After 50 long blocks of exploring, we finally took a cab up to 96th street and enjoyed an evening walk across Central Park.

-G&P