It's the fifty-fifth week of my
Tuesday's Truths series!
Today is also the somber day after the sixteenth anniversary of the
September Eleventh Terrorists attacks, which occurred on September 11, 2001. Therefore I am dedicating this entry to a harsh fact regarding The Tribute In Light, which shines all night long on the anniversary of the September Eleventh Terrorists attacks. A photograph of The Tribute In Light (from a
web-page associated with NPR), can be seen atop this entry.
This installation is the work of
"artists Paul Myoda and Julian LaVerdiere (who on the night of the attacks)
watched from Brooklyn as an ashy and gaseous cloud formed over the remnants of the World Trade Center. The lights that illuminated Ground Zero during rescue efforts set this plume of smoke aglow, and through it, both men felt they could still see the buildings. This mirage gave them an idea, which they eventually turned into 'Tribute in Light,' an ephemeral memorial that has served as a vigil for victims on the anniversary of the attacks every year since."
This year, according to
an article published by People (where the quotation above is also from),
"The installation’s collection of 88 beams will illuminate the night sky above Lower Manhattan on Monday night, creating two pillars of light that will stretch four-miles-high. The display has become one of the most recognized and unique public art installations in the world since its unveiling on March 11, 2002...
... 'When the lights appeared for the first time, it was one of the most peaceful and silent events I had ever witnessed,' Myoda says. 'Until that night, I don’t recall ever being in New York and hearing so little. When the lights were on, everything seemed to stop. It was incredibly quiet.'
As one construction worker told the artists, after six months of looking into a pit, 'people could start looking up again. '
'That night was the first time that it seemed like everybody could gaze into the infinite, and not into an abyss,' LaVerdiere says.
Since then, the installation has been put into operation every evening of September 11, and turned off just before dawn the following morning."
I've seen the Tribute In Light, and it is a sight to behold, but, unfortunately, this installation has been traumatic for migratory birds. In 2015,
Quartz reported that
"New York’s Tribute in Light to 9/11 is stunning to both people and birds."
The aforementioned article states the
"beautiful 9/11 memorial, the Tribute in Light, had to be turned off and on multiple times last night to make sure migratory birds in the area didn’t lose their way, Gothamist reports."
