The
following is a statement by the artist, Linda Puiatti on
the September
11 paintings. Each canvas is 40"x30", and they are
titled, left to right, Sorrow, Anger, Hope, Fear.
These
four paintings were created in the three days following the attacks
of September
11th. Unable to sleep in the aftermath, I awoke each morning before
dawn to paint in the studio adjacent to my home. Although normally
inspired by joy and nature, this was different. In my studio,
I
listened constantly to Public radio for information while I painted.
As a native New Yorker I knew the World Trade Center, the buildings,
the subways beneath. I knew its people.
The first painting
titled Sorrow, recalls an image of the twin towers on
fire the day before: pillowy smoke with orange flames against a
brilliant
blue sky. While I was painting, I heard news that several people
were still alive in the underground area and had contacted their
families with cell-phones. I was ecstatic. I wanted to help them
somehow and altered the painting on the canvas to stabilize the
structure, to make a way out for the people…to keep them
safe until help could come. I think of the time then and how helpless
we all felt. This was my prayer for those people.
On Thursday,
I painted Anger. It began with a tinge of nationalistic
furor. At mid-day I heard a news report stating that there were
people from at least fifty countries killed in the attack. I now
saw it as a crime against humanity and changed the focus of the
painting to remember all the people, from all over the world, that
were lost that day.
On
Friday I began to feel as though I, we, could go on again. I
painted Hope.
For the first time since the attack on Tuesday, I felt as though
I could somehow continue. It was a tempered emotion. Although the
painting is the most colorful and pleasant of the series, my husband
pointed out to me that it was still hope contained within
a box.
Later
that day I painted Fear. I didn’t know it was
about fear when I began, the painting showed itself to me slowly.
It frightened
me and I decided to stop the series at that point.
These paintings
reflect my deepest emotions and fears. After painting them, I thought
I should keep them to myself. They were so personal, so full of
grief, so unlike the pleasant pictures I normally make. But I was
convinced that they are something to share. These emotions were
felt by us all, all over the world.
- Linda
To
Top |
