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| by Jane Pae, |
Sep 27, 2001 |
As New York City reeled from the shock of the World Trade Center tragedy, hundreds of Stuyvesant students gathered in Greenwich Village on Sunday, September 16, to paint two giant murals commemorating the previous Tuesday’s destruction and the lives it claimed.
At a time when volunteers and donations of food and clothing overwhelmed relief organizations around the city, Stuyvesant senior Eden Marx organized an outlet for students, and encouraged everyone from freshmen to seniors to participate in painting.
“It just struck me as a good idea,” said Marx. “I wanted to help out in some way.” By bringing Stuy students together to express themselves in a creative project, Marx hoped to help by both “getting people’s feelings out and doing something nice.”
Marx estimated that over 400 students gathered in Washington Square Village in Manhattan between 10 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. to sketch and paint the two 12-by-80-foot pieces of tarp. The first mural, designed by John Headley, a graduate of Teachers College at Columbia University, depicted a tree growing out of rubble with “Tree of Life” written in over 35 languages. Senior Alzaber Rubayet designed the second mural on the spot. It was a montage picturing a city skyline, an American flag, a police badge, a Red Cross arm band, and an upside-down fire helmet with a sapling growing out of it. At the bottom was a partially destroyed brick wall spray-painted with the words, “New York Thanks Its Heroes.”
Although mostly Stuyvesant students participated in the project, the school’s name was not included in the murals because, according to senior Danny Garwood, to do so would have been “selfish.”
Nonetheless, Marx said he wants the murals to hang on Stuyvesant’s walls. “We need somebody to physically put it up,” he said. For now, the murals are sitting in Marx’s apartment.
In addition to valuing the murals as artwork, many students said they enjoyed how students of all grades and circles cooperated in the face of adversity. “The mural painting was an embodiment of the positive results of this tragedy, in that Stuyvesant students had a chance to reach out to one another and partake in a collective event that I believe gave the school a greater sense of community,” said senior Alice Cao. “I went to the mural painting because I felt that we would be creating a project that represented the togetherness present at Stuy. It was great to see the large turnout and everyone so eager to lend a hand.”
“I really felt we as a school came together,” said senior Ethan Glasser-Camp. “I wanted to come because it was a chance to do something important.”
Marx said he chose the 12-by-80-foot pieces of tarp because he wanted “the dimensions of the murals [to] reflect the image of the two towers and serve as a precious reminder of the immense loss of human life.”
Despite the size of the murals, there wasn’t always enough space to accommodate all the students at once. Marx said he was surprised by the “incredible” turnout, considering the fact that all the information was sent out the night before, primarily by e-mail. Even Principal Stanley Teitel, Stuyvesant Network Administrator Michael Zamansky, and Stuyvesant father and U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer stopped by in the early afternoon to observe the progress.
Marx’s mother, Madeleine, purchased all the supplies, making the event possible. Participants were asked to contribute ten dollars to help finance the project. The profits will be donated to a charity to be selected.
Photos of the murals can be seen at http://www.stuy.edu/mural. Marx was very pleased with how the project ran. “Everything went so smoothly,” he said. “Everyone totally cooperated and were very spirited about the whole thing.”
Mrs. Marx, who also created the Richard Rothenberg Memorial on the fourth floor of Stuyvesant, agreed. “It was a very important day for kids to get together and do something constructive and wonderful,” she said. “And I think the
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Comments
Lauren | Apr 5th, 2002
That was an awesome idea, such a great way for people to rebound after the tragedy. Go Eden!
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