To recognize the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum is unveiling its first-ever art exhibit.
"Rendering the Unthinkable: Artists Respond to 9/11" opens Sept. 12. The exhibit features paintings, sculptures, videos and more from 13 New York City-based artists who were impacted by the attacks. Each piece of art displays the artist’s reaction to the attacks.
One artist lost a brother in the attacks, while some lost friends and others personally witnessed the attacks as they unfolded.
"Through the lens of art, we reflect on the raw emotion we all felt on that unforgettable Tuesday morning 15 years ago," 9/11 Memorial Museum Director Alice Greenwald said in a statement. "Artists, like all of us, struggled to comprehend the unfathomable destruction and loss of innocent life. They responded the way they knew best – through their art."
One artist, Manju Shandler, painted a series of roughly 3,000 paintings, with one painting for each of the victims in the attack.
Two other artists, Doug and Mike Starn, used sheets of paper from the World Trade Center that wind carried to their studio following the attacks for their artwork. They superimposed decaying leaves onto the sheets of paper.
Colleen Mulrenan McFarlane — whose father, James Mulrenan, was a deputy fire chief of the New York City Fire Department on Sept. 11 — captured video of her father returning home after working three days straight at Ground Zero. The piece focuses on Colleen washing her father’s shirt, and includes a soundtrack with exchanges based on James’ radio transmissions at the site of the attack.
