9/11: 20 Years Later
Twenty Years of Trauma in Paintings by Todd Stone
Witness of 9/11 has produced more than 40 pieces of art over the years
BY MARK HALLUM
The destruction — and
ultimate rebuilding —
of Lower Manhattan
has been on the mind
of painter Todd Stone for more
than two decades.
He witnessed the jetliners soaring
over his lived studio space in Tribeca
on Sept. 11, 2001 himself, and
watched as two of the most iconic
buildings in the Manhattan skyline
were destroyed in an act of terror that
killed around 3,000 Americans.
Now, over 40 paintings later,
Stone is showcasing this body of
work in partnership with NYC
Culture Clubl which is displaying
images that document the terrorist
attacks as well as the rebuilding of
the World Trade Center.
Together, NYC Culture Club’s
Parker Calvert and Stone believes
that now is the time to tell this story
no matter what possible critics
may have to say for the catharsis
the works could do for both men
and the larger community still suffering
in the aftermath of 9/11.
“I was called to history, history
came knocking at my door. And
this wasn’t something I asked for,
but I was uniquely positioned to do
this and you know, post nine on
and I and I practice my art. I did my
work. Just like the cops, just like
the fi remen, and with consequences.
Not the consequence they paid,
but with tremendous emotional
trauma that I was working through
in my pictures. So, the witness work
was done as the fi res were burning
down here,” Stone said.
On that sunny day, when the
planes crashed into the Twin Towers,
Stone was already in the habit
of sketching, painting and photographing
the skyline during the
morning hours.
At fi rst, believing that the plane
was a missile, Stone says he dove
for cover. But upon surveying the
view from his loft, he snapped a
Todd Stone in his workspace on the 71st fl oor of 3 World Trade Center where he has produced work
contributing to his show commemorating the 20th Anniversary of 9/11.
Todd Stone’s depiction of the structures risking in place of the twin towers.
photo of pigeons rising from the
din of the impact.
“We were living with the burning
at the World Trade Center and at
that time we chose to stay because
it seemed like the patriotic thing to
do,” Stone said.
This would transform into a painting
now displayed, along with many
others, in the NYC Culture Club’s
space beneath 3 World Trade Center.
In fact, 3 WTC has become the center
for much of Stone’s work over the
years being the artist in residence
for Silverstein Properties, having the
whole 71st fl oor to himself.
One motif that has stuck with
MARK HALLUM
MARK HALLUM
Stone through many of his pieces
is the symbol of the crane. In Japanese
culture, the sight of this bird
is a good omen. A different kind of
crane became commonplace in the
New York City skyline as contractors
worked to rebuild downtown,
and Stone says he gave himself
permission to make the tools of
high-rise construction beautiful.
Standing-in symbolically for human
likeness in much of Stone’s
art concerning 9/11, he says, are
the many windows on buildings.
He goes through the effort of putting
a window in each painting to
represent a victim from that day.
The sense of loss comes through
in another of Stone’s works based
on a scene at Ground Zero on Sept.
11 2002.
“This was the fi rst time the site
had been emptied of debris and
families were invited back. This
wind came up, and all of this dust
was unsettled from the fl oor of
the World Trade Center, and came
up. All of these unsettled spirits
seemed to rise,” Stone said, “I feel
those unsettled spirits now.”
According to Stone, the refl ecting
pools that stand at the site of the
Twin Towers still create a feeling
reminiscent of that upward draft.
Stone was also an early critic of
the rebuilding of downtown after
9/11, believing Ground Zero should
be memorialized in similar fashion
to the Battle of Gettysburg site. But
the years, as well as his personal
sense of powerlessness, have worn
at his resistance. Now, he appreciates
the rebuilt downtown and the
site that commemorates the immense
loss of life that day.
“I’m very aware of this, as an ongoing
catastrophe as people continue
to get sick and die,” he said. “But
my message is one of renewal.”
Renewal, in fact, is the name of
the display.
NYC Culture Club’s spot in the
Westfi eld Mall in World Trade Center
will be hosting Stone’s work
from Sept. 1 through the end of the
month in recognition of the 20th anniversary
of the national tragedy.
Calvert is co-founder of the art
space with his brother Clayton
Calvert, both of whom were witness
to the attacks from different
parts of Manhattan.
“The show speaks to hope, to
courage, and to a communal resurgence
after immense tragedy,”
Parker Calvert said.
While many of Stone’s works
are already hanging in the gallery,
a number of them are still gracing
the walls of his workspace in
3WTC.
September 9 - September 22, 2 22 021 | GayCityNews.com
/GayCityNews.com
