Bravest face forward

When speaking with New Yorkers, one realizes that there exists a time before and a time since September 11th. The event that caused ripples of consequence across the planet has changed the face and heart of a city that is perhaps the greatest icon of America. As many of us who were geographically removed from the site slip back into normal consciousness, New Yorkers are faced daily with reminders. References continue to appear in every conversation. It is no surprise, then, that Faces of Ground Zero, an exhibition of photographs of New Yorkers involved in the September 11th disaster (shown at the Vanderbilt Hall of Grand Central Station in New York from January 7–20, 2002) was a source of renewed emotion.

Figure. Joe McNally, Faces of Ground Zero, Grand Central Station, New York, NY Photo by: Canapress

This project, conceived by photojournalist Joe McNally, is intended to celebrate courage and humanity. The images pay homage to those who were the common heroes of a tragedy and provide a vehicle for many to navigate through their grief.

The photos are giant Polaroids taken in the weeks after the disaster. Made using a room-sized Polaroid camera (the world's largest), each picture measures about 40 х 90 inches, creating a larger-than-life size image of a wide range of people involved in the tragedy, from firefighters and clergymen to volunteers and window washers. Taken in the studio using powerful flash lighting, each image is a sharp colour portrait against a stark white background.

I had seen tiny reproductions of these prints before entering the public exhibition space at Grand Central. They had reminded me in a certain way of the glamorous still-life photos of Irving Penn in Vogue or the crisp fashion images of Richard Avedon in Harper's Bazaar. I didn't understand how they could represent the humanity of such a horrible day. But when I walked into the striking Vanderbilt Hall, with its creamy marble walls and golden lighting, the aim of this exhibition truly came into focus.

The giant Polaroids were placed back to back between glass and mounted on bases that allowed them to be free-standing. As a result, rather than hanging on a wall, they were scattered throughout the room, integrated into the large crowd of people viewing them. Elevated slightly, the portraits stood head and shoulders above the crowds, like the larger-than-life sized heroes they'd become. The stark white of the backgrounds took on a creamy appearance with the available light and seemed to disappear, leaving only a series of staring, almost three-dimensional figures attempting to convey what they had experienced. In fact, their faces do convey the breadth of emotion that many of us felt that day — some of them saddened, some shocked, some strong, some angry.

A video in the corner of the room demonstrates how these enormous photographs were made. Using a souped-up version of a common instant-camera, we see “instant” pictures of “instant” heroes: everyday people brought to remarkable stature through remarkable events. Viewers can celebrate the common hero by sharing in the common grief, and by feeling the swell of pride that these were New Yorkers like themselves who earned greatness by rising to the challenge of the moment. As former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani said, “We have met the worst of humanity with the best of humanity.”

During my visit to New York in January, I saw the swell in American patriotism that followed September 11 reflected in other exhibitions in the city. At the Ariel Meyerowitz Gallery, photos taken from 1981–2001 by Meyerowitz' father, Joel, showed the New York skyline, the World Trade Center a prominent feature. Star Spangled Spirit at the Bonni Benrubi Gallery showed images of the American flag taken by photographers as diverse as Diane Arbus and Robert Frank. And an eight-minute film by Jason Kliot at the International Center of Photography recorded close-up images of people's faces as they look at Ground Zero, the catastrophic scene sometimes reflected in their glasses.

But the huge portraits at Grand Central Station are a more direct reminder of the events of that day. And while this show has not created images that redirect the future path of photography, it is difficult not to feel a chill of remembrance when viewing them. These photographs jab at some still-raw emotion.

Some of the photos are included in the Life magazine book, ONE NATION: America Remembers September 11, 2001. The exhibit will be touring to London, England, San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles in the coming months.

Jonah Samson Fourth-year medical student Dalhousie University Halifax, NS