Fallen Series
Continuing our reflection on works of art in our new exhibition, We Remember: Stories from the September 11 Memorial and Museum, we turn to the most poignant and profound works that connect us to those lost in the World Trade Center attack of 2001. These works not only document that unimaginable event, but they also remind us that the creative act is a healing salve which moves our mourning back toward living.
A stunning ephemeral work by American artists Doug Starn and Mike Starn (b. 1961) proves to be as haunting as it is elusive.
On September 11, as the Twin Towers collapsed, an enormous plume of debris and burned paper was lifted across the East River, settling over parts of Brooklyn. Much of this paper drifted directly into the yard and roof of the inimitable twin-brother, contemporary art duo, the Starn brothers’ studio in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
Among the debris were charred and scorched financial records, bond receipts, and administrative correspondence belonging to Cantor Fitzgerald, whose headquarters occupied the 101st through 105th floors of One World Trade Center. The firm lost 658 employees that day, the highest death toll of any single organization in the World Trade Center complex. Among those lost was a newly hired Peoria native, Charles “Chip” Chan.
Rather than disposing of these fragments or treating them merely as historical artifacts, the Starns incorporated the paper directly into their artistic practice, creating their Fallen series. By superimposing decaying autumn leaves over scorched, torn corporate paper retrieved from Cantor Fitzgerald and other offices, they created a metaphor for seasonal transition, mortality, and the fragility of life.
The papers, remnants of human industry and individual lives, had floated across the river and descended “like leaves in autumn.” The Starns recognized a natural connection between these fragments and the life cycle of leaves, which nourish a tree before withering and scattering in the wind.
We Remember: Stories from the September 11 Memorial and Museum is presented by the Bielfeldt Foundation.
Sponsored by Advanced Medical Transport, RLI, Mike and Lori Gudat, Patricia and Anthony Cutilletta, Sally Snyder, Lisa and Bob Gates, Craig Kliethermes, John and Julia Chan, Sid P. Ruckriegel and Andrew A. Rand Charitable Foundation, America 250 donors, Visionary Society.
