History
The Healing Project
was first a personal response to September 11, an artistic vehicle to
facilitate the philosophical notion of communitatis (a galvanizing social
effort resulting from a shared experience that is challenging and
frightening, redefining our concepts of community and challenging
isolationism).
Arlene Elizabeth, a furniture maker, created the 8-foot model of the
towers as a way of "resurrecting" them after their collapse. Made
from wood scrap, the sculpture is composed of various abstractions
recalling the work of Louise Nevelson, a New York sculptor who
often reflected on architecture in her work. The inside stands for human
endeavor and is completely black to represent mourning, death, destruction,
angst, despair and grief. The outer surface is silver, smooth and shiny.
The inner and the outer represent our post- and pre-September 11th memories
of the towers. People are not only remembered in death, nor are objects
recalled in a total state of ruin - they are also remembered in wholeness
and well-being.
In her own words "The sculpture was so funereal, mournful and
sad that I wanted to devise some way to liberate them so that viewers were
not immobilized by the horror, but empowered to do something about it, as
in the Aids Quilt. I had remembered meeting a Buddhist nun 15 years earlier
who was continually folding cranes for the Hiroshima Peace Park. Ironically birds
(something flying) became the symbolic liberators for this sculpture as
well as liberators of my own emotions as I mobilized to reshape my own
memories of the WTC, untangle my fear and use creativity to displace
nightmares of destruction."
Origami birds - specifically cranes, and, to a lesser extent swans
-became the symbol of choice. Unlike a quilt making, folding of cranes can
be done anywhere
and may be quickly learned, and easily transported.
The
goal of 6,000,000 came about because of the Japanese legend of 1,000
cranes. It is believed that the maker or recipient of a thousand cranes
will have a wish come true, and this wish is typically for healing, peace
and happiness. They are also folded to honor and remember. In the days
following September 11, it was believed that upwards of 6,000 people died
due to the terrorist attacks. The goal, therefore, was to fold 1,000 cranes
for every one of those lives lost on that day: 6,000,000 cranes.
Although that number has been revised downward and stands today at
under 3,000, our goal of 6,000,000 has not changed. Rather, our focus has
widened. People continue to die as a result of these violent attacks, and
their lives are no less valuable simply because they were not lost on that specific
day, or are not American. We wish to honor and commemorate all those who
died from this violence.
On this path, a pattern began to emerge among project participants that
we wanted to address directly, without subverting the original goal. We
therefore expanded our mission to include the creation of a continuing
series of special projects. These projects have their genesis in the
Healing Project because they continue to deal with the subject of violent
death and intolerance. However, they continue beyond the focus of September
11, encompassing the healing of those touched by violence
and violent death in any form.
|
|
|
