On 9/11, New York City lost 343 firefighters in the line of duty, trying to save the lives in one of the most horrific events our city has ever experienced. As we near the 20th anniversary of this tragedy, we are creating a memorial for those firefighters who lost their brothers and for others who lost husbands, fathers, sons, siblings, partners and friends, to commemorate and celebrate those men who
gave their lives that day.
The memorial will be comprised of 343 individual paintings of the helmet of a fallen firefighter who died on 9/11, painted by 343 different artists that range from prominent
painters to high school students. We chose the helmet because with its well-worn grooves from years on the job, it is a treasured item to a firefighter. Each painting will be the same size and composed in a realistic style with the insignia indicating the firefighters rank and company. Many of the firefighters’ families have agreed to speak with the artists to help them recreate what was particular to their loved one’s helmet such as a Yankee sticker, a shamrock, or any other symbol they displayed on their helmet that will gives those who come to view the memorial a sense of who that person was.
The artwork will be displayed in a four-sided pavilion, hopefully on a pier in Brooklyn that has a view of the World Trade Center site. Each of the four sides will have separate panels to represent each firehouse that lost firefighters and the “houses” will be arranged in the order they responded. Fittingly, we call it the House of Houses. The pavilion can be disassembled so that it fits on the back of a flat bed and can tour as an educational tool for the country to learn not only about the firefighters, but the history at that time.