Battery Park and Lower Manhattan
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Battery Park and Lower Manhattan
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| Starry Night | ||||
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| Monadnock Region: Gathering of Lights | ||||
Monadnock
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Monadnock Region
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A 9-11 Light Tribute
Starry Night is a light tribute created in remembrance of each life that was lost at Ground Zero on September 11th 2001. From the windows of the buildings facing Battery Park and the vicinity of the Eternal Flame 2,819 battery powered strobe lights will randomly twinkle, creating a galaxy of shimmering light. Each strobe light will represent a person that perished in New York City on September 11. The lights will become visible at dusk and, as night falls, the tip of Manhattan will be transformed into a celestial sanctuary for reflecting upon what was lost and to affirm the unity and community of an enduring people. Starry Night is a luminescent eulogy for those whose loss has, in various ways, touched all of our lives and it is a radiant expression of our innate love of life itself. The conception of Starry Night was inspired by a letter from Vincent Van Gogh to his brother in which he alludes to the human spirit ascending to a star upon death. Van Gogh also painted a nightscape by the same title. Starry Night will be created by the efforts and generosity of the tenants, property management community, and building owners of Downtown Lower Manhattan and by the heartfelt kindness of numerous people throughout the United States. The project was conceived of by artist/poet James Pelletier and The Night/Light Fund is producing the light event. Starry Night is an all-volunteer undertaking that expresses the caring nature of the American people. Most of the materials for the light assemblies have been acquired. Fifty percent of the mirrors have been donated by K-10 Enterprises of Mission, Texas. Empire Industries, Inc. of Manchester, Connecticut has donated 3,000 copper clamps. The strobe lights, which are powered by alkaline batteries, will be suspended in the windows by suction cups. Suction Cups, Inc. of New Hyde Park, New York has contributed 6,000 suction cups and Energizer of St. Louis, Missouri has supplied 3,000 batteries. Do-It Corporation of South Haven, Michigan donated 3,000 plastic hanging tabs. Moore Push-Pin Company of Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania provided the metal hooks at cost. Johnson & Sons of Racine, Wisconsin has donated 3,000 Ziplock bags for storing the light assembly parts. 3M's Tape and Adhesives Division provided the tape for adhering photographs of the victims onto the mirrors. The photographs of the Ground Zero victims have been downloaded from the Internet by Jing Yu Deng, an Intern at the Pace University School of Computer Science & Information and Staples provided the supplies for his strenuous task. Staples, in Manhattan, will also contribute the boxes and necessary supplies for transporting the lights. The lights will be assembled at the High School of Economics and Finance in September. The high school is now known as "The Ground Zero High School." In addition, to help defray the cost of producing Starry Night Pelletier has donated his collection of Andy Warhol memorabilia to the project. Between 1981 and 1983 Pelletier made his living distributing Interview magazine in the SoHo, Greenwich Village and Chelsea areas of Manhattan. During that time Warhol autographed several items for the artist/poet including: issues of Interview magazine, an actual Campbell's soup can, books, and a personally inscribed copy of Warhol's autobiography in which Warhol did a drawing of a Campbell's "Tomato Soup" can. The items will be auctioned by The Cobbs Auctioneers, LLC in Peterborough, NH. Please call 603-924-6361 for further information or visit, www.thecobbs.com. Precision Arts Advertising Inc., of Ashburnham, Massachusetts, created and maintains the Starry Night website in memory of the victims of 9-11. After volunteering in the Wall Street community for several months, artist/poet James Pelletier returned to the Monadnock Region of New Hampshire in September of 2002. Pelletier became acutely aware of the emotional and economic significance of Mt. Monadnock and noted how the mountain was to the people of the Monadnock Region as The World Trade Centers had become to the people of the Greater New York City area. His memories of the mountain date back to his earliest recollections of looking out of his family¹s living room window at its constant presence. His ruminations resulted in the following poem:
Pelletier had conceived of Starry Night while completing a degree program in Psychobiology at Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire where he is currently writing "The Stories of Starry Night." "The Stories..." chronicle Pelletier's experiences while creating the light tribute. Antioch New England Graduate School is generously allowing the artist/poet the use of its library and computer facilities in order to assist him with that project. Pelletier's account of the creative process will be compiled into a book and all profits from its sale will be donated to defray the cost of producing Starry Night.
Related links for the Monadnock Region:
After returning to the Monadnock Region Pelletier became acutely aware of the emotional and economic significance of Mt. Monadnock and noted how the mountain was to the people of the Monadnock Region as The World Trade Centers had become to the people of New York City and New Jersey. Says the artist/poet, "Imagine getting up one morning to watch Mt. Monadnock be blown-up. Imagine the mountain not being there. If you can imagine what your life would be like, then you can understand what the people, who live in the Lower Manhattan area, are going through. The people of the Monadnock Region know a lot better than most what would happen if we lost our sense of place." "This is what has happened, but far worse than losing their sense of place, their web of human relations; of family, friends, co-workers and community has been deeply scarred. This is something that the people of the Monadnock Region will understand and it is the message that "we understand" that will be a powerfully healing gift to the people of the Greater New York City area. I totally believe that of the 100,000 people that live in the Monadnock Region that there are 2,819, who will understand what it would it would be like to suddenly lose the mountain and have the compassion to support Starry Night." Monadnock Region: Gathering of Lights Donation Form You can help!
Monadnock Region: Gathering of Lights Poster You can help! We need your support in spreading word about "Starry Night." Please download one of the files below, print it out (color is best) and post it. If you do not have access to a color printer, you can save the file to a disk and bring it to a local photocopy store which should be able to print it for you.
Both posters are standard 8-1/2" x 11"
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