A sense of bittersweet gratitude was a strong undercurrent at the city’s Sept. 11 memorial ceremonies this week, where city leaders gathered to not only pay tribute to victims, their families and other survivors, but also to the Russian government, who presented through various emissaries their gift of an approximately 100-foot tall bronze sculpture that will adorn the Jersey City waterfront at the site of the city’s temporary memorial.
Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham was effusive in his praise for acclaimed Russian artist Zurab Tsereteli and the Russian Federation, who will finance both the construction and transportation of the piece.
“[Tsereteli] is one of the most famous, creative artists in the world,” Cunningham said Thursday morning as he introduced the artist to the public in attendance. “Conceived by Zurab and the Russian people, [the memorial] will be national in scope. We thank Zurab Tsereteli, Russian president Vladimir Putin, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luszhkov and all Russian people for what will be a most remarkable part of our waterfront.”
Entitled “To the Struggle Against World Terrorism,” the sculpture is currently being made at a foundry in the Russian city of St. Petersburg and will be shipped to the United States upon completion. Tsereteli said Thursday that he hopes to unveil it at the city’s Sept. 11 observances next year.
“The mayor was right,” Tsereteli said through an interpreter. “My monument represents the tears and grief of people all over the world. It is dedicated to all victims of world terrorism.”
The sculpture will consist of a large, rectangular bronze block with a jagged, diamond-shaped fissure in the center. In that fissure will be placed a very large crystal tear – in which water will circulate – that itself will shed tears.
“The monument’s clear and harmonious form and outlines are designed to create the image of a calm and peaceful life,” said Tsereteli publicist Carol Beaugard in a release. “The crystal tear reflects the sorrow felt for the victims of the Sept. 11 attack, but the crystal prism also offers viewers beautiful rays of light, representing hope for world peace.”
Reflective ceremony
Before the monument was unveiled to the public, Thursday’s observances were marked by moments of silence to observe the two times at which the airplanes struck the buildings and three musical performances from local musicians who wrote songs in response to the attacks. Paulus Hook resident and musician Carol Lester was one of two guitar-playing performers, singing two acoustic rock elegies about the terror attacks and their impact on people across the world. Her first song, entitled “Questions of the Ages,” was written the day of the attacks as she watched in horror from her apartment several blocks from the waterfront, she said.
“What is there but love?” Lester sang repeatedly as the chorus for the piece. “I never knew what freedom was until the sky fell down today.”
City residents and waterfront employees lined the sidewalks at the foot of Grand Street, watching the ceremonies in introspective silence. Officiated by Gary Nye, co-chairperson of the “9-11 Memorial Committee of Jersey City,” the observances were punctuated by soulful violin performances of patriotic songs and religious hymns like “Amazing Grace.”
Local religious leaders also spoke at the ceremony, offering inspirational words to the audience. In the tone of a dirge, the reverend of a local church asked God to remember everyone who was affected by the attacks. Imam Omar Aziz, of the Communipaw Avenue-based mosque Masjid Al-Iman, led a prayer asking God to serve as “a refuge against the overpowering of diabolical man.”
At the end of the ceremony, observers walked to the edge of the Hudson River to take part in “Petal Passions,” the part of Thursday’s program where attendees were allowed to throw individual carnations into the water. Mourners gathered both individually and in groups, looking across the river at the void in the skyline with solemn expressions.
“I don’t think anybody can ever get over it,” said Lehman Brothers employee Jennifer Zambino as she sat looking out onto Manhattan after the ceremony. “We live in constant fear [of another terror attack].”
While most attendees gathered at the river’s edge, other residents stood before the model of Tsereteli’s memorial. Some expressed approval of the design, saying it accurately reflected their sentiments and would be an appropriate addition to the local skyline. Two Paulus Hook residents and creative professionals, however, said the monumental nature of the design didn’t correspond to what they felt the tragedy of Sept. 11 evoked.
“I wish it was scaled back a bit,” said one local resident who wished to remain anonymous. “It’s reaching, and they’re overdoing it. It would be better if it was more subtle, poetic. Simplicity would be more effective.”