Above you can take a look at some of my photos from my visits to the 9/11 Memorial.
By visiting the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero, I came away with a greater awareness of myself and of the way that New York City as a whole is still healing from the tragic events that occurred on September 11, 2001. My first visit was on a sunny, mid-morning day during the week. The memorial affected many of my senses simultaneously, which added to the site as a place for both reflection and restoration. Standing along the edge of the pool, sight, sound, and touch were all working together to form an environment of healing and renewal. The continuous rushing water sound, which almost drowned out the noises from street traffic and construction, was extremely calming. Watching the water fall down into the bottomless voids was mesmerizing, and the play of light and shadow highlighted this continuous cascade of falling water. The water drops in two places, and at the initial drop the water falls in drops, whereas at the central drop it seems as though the water is clinging to the wall trying not to fall. The individual drops of water could be seen because of the sunlight’s reflection, creating a shimmery water curtain along the walls of the pools. The sharp edges and corners of the pools added to the drama of the space by creating elongated cast shadows in the voids. At one side of the North Pool, the wind picked up the mist of the falling water in such a way that people walking by that edge were getting wet. The stencil-cut names on the bronze sheet metal that runs along the pool also added to the sensory experience because I could not only see the names but could trace them with my hands as well. On a second trip to the memorial, which was on a much warmer day, the bronze was hot to the touch. By making pencil rubbings of the names, I was actively engaging with the memorial and interacting with the materials. The site changes as the sun goes down, an event that I experienced on my second trip as the sun was setting. The lights slowly turned on underneath the names and at the bottom of the waterfalls, which gave the names and the water a glowing effect.
Amidst all of these immediate sensory reactions I had, I never lost sight of the fact that I was still in New York City. The design made no attempt to block out the surrounding skyscrapers, and instead it made me feel very connected to the city and I felt a part of the city’s livelihood by being in the memorial. The surrounding construction was a strong reminder of the continuous building and commercial activity that is such a part of the Ground Zero area. There was plenty of space to move around the memorial site freely, and there was no clear pathway. Everyone could walk along the pools at their own pace and in their own direction. Some people were leaning of the edge of the pools, but most people were standing or walking around. I noticed that the majority of visitors were gathered around the South Pool, possibly because that is the pool closest to the entrance. Even more specifically, the visitors were grouped at the corner of the South Pool where the sun was, and the opposite end, which was in shade, had no lingering visitors.
