National Constitution Center exhibit remember 9/11

By Lisa Angelucci
Collegian Editor
September 13, 2006

I remember I was sitting in my second period study hall when the principal came over the intercom and asked the teachers to put the news on. Someone next to me muttered something about the president being shot. He was wrong.

At lunch, some of the girls at my table debated whether we would have field hockey practice after school. “It wasn’t that big of a deal,” said one girl. She was wrong.

That night, my family ate dinner together in silence while waiting to hear if a family member who works in the vicinity of the towers was safe. This time, we were right.

Five years later, Americans can remember vividly where they were when the 9/11 attacks occurred. Even if the shock has worn off, the picture is still clear.

Photographer Jonathan Hyman has spent the years since the attacks traveling throughout the country in search of the average American’s response. The images he captured are roadside memorials from the rural countryside, personal memorials from American cities, houses painted with flags and other reactions to the attacks.

The result is a collection of 100 photographs currently on display at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. “9/11: A Nation Remembers” opened on Sept. 8 to commemorate the fifth anniversary of 9/11 and will continue through Jan. 1, 2007.

Another exhibit of 63 photographs is also open on the 45th floor of World Trade Center 7 in New York City.

The National Constitution Center describes the photographs as depicting a “new American folk-art.” The patriotic displays found on everything from tattoos to trucks are used as a symbol of Americans everywhere coming to terms with the events from five years ago.

“The compelling and historic subject matter touches every American in a profound way, as seen in the extraordinary response documented in Hyman’s photographs. The exhibition pays tribute to the nation’s collective memory of the Sept. 11 attacks and is an essential source for understanding our shared pride, pain and patriotism during one of the most important anniversaries in our nation’s history,” said Joe Torsella, National Constitution Center President and CEO.

In addition to Hyman’s photographs, the exhibit features an interactive “talkback station” where visitors can add their own personal thoughts and memories in commemoration of the attacks. The station is designed to resemble the “mending fence” depicted in one of Hyman’s pictures. Visitors can bring their own memento from home or make one at the National Constitution Center to add to the fence.

Families of 9/11 victims, as well as members of the police, fire and first responders community, are offered free admission to the exhibition. Other visitors receive free admission to “9/11: A Nation Remembers” after paying regular museum admission.

Additional programming about the creation of memorials and their meaning will be offered daily while the exhibit remains in Philadelphia. The programming is also free with museum admission, but times vary. Interested visitors can find the schedule on the museum’s program sheet.

angeluccil1@lasalle.edu