This past summer we worked at Timothy Lake Resort in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains. On Sept 8 we took the ferry from New Jersey to Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty.
As I stood in the Registry Room at Ellis Island, I was emotionally hit by A disturbing mental image.
To my right, Lady Liberty stood tall & proud through the beautiful windows. Ourforefathers looked at her with renewed hope when they migrated to the U.S. all those years ago. That statue stood for hope, freedom and fresh starts. For many of them the trip leader been arduous and horrific, crammed into the tight steerage holds of trans-Atlantic ships. (New arrivals with enough money, not only sailed in comfortable cabins, but were also spared the dehumanizing experiences of Ellis Island.)
To my left, stood the New York City skyline, minus the World Trade Center. On that morning, September 11, 2001, we not only lost American citizens. some of whose parents, grandparents, & great-grandparents originally reached this beautiful New World via Ellis Island-but also visitors. Visitors from other countries. some of whom were brutally murdered by thoughtless mercenaries from their own country. Those deaths affected Mankind worldwide.
Returning home that nightI felt an intense need to create an image that the sights and absent buildings had evoked deep within me. This was one of three results. I 'ghosted' the Twin Towers to where they once stood, proud and tall . Our flag was borrowed from an image I took in Clewiston, Florida. the New York skyline was taken through one of the upper windows on Ellis Island, and Lady Liberty was captured on the ferry.
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