Objetivos del Sistema Nacional de Convivencia Escolar

acquaintance,  also  responded  by  turning  to  art,  and  particularly  art  in  or  for  the   public.  Eric  Fischl’s  public  exhibition  of  Tumbling  Woman  (Ill.  53)  just  one  year   after  9/11  sparked  controversy,  while  the  light  installation  Tribute  in  Light  by   James  LaVerdiere  and  Paul  Myoda  (Ill.  54)  became  an  annual  event  for  a  decade,   succeeded  by  the  dedication  of  the  permanent  National  September  11  Memorial  (Ill.       55-­‐56)  at  the  World  Trade  Center  site  in  2011.  Doug  and  Mike  Starn’s  first  public   art  commission  at  South  Ferry  Station  was  launched  during  the  rebuilding  of  New   York’s  infrastructure  with  the  aid  of  federal  transportation  funding.  Thus,  while   9/11  caused  great  destruction,  it  also  became  a  catalyst  for  major  art  initiatives.    

4.1  Post-­‐9/11  Desperation  and  Remembrance  in  New  York  

 _{The  date  September  9,  2001,  is  indelibly  imprinted  in  world  history,  because  the}  

destruction  of  New  York’s  World  Trade  Center  and  the  loss  of  close  to  3,000  lives   provoked  far-­‐reaching  consequences  not  only  locally,  but  also  nationally  and   internationally.  Ten  years  later,  the  evolution  of  the  9/11  discourse  among   historians  is  moving  toward  a  stance  that  the  impact  has  been  overestimated.     I  disagree  with  the  assessment  by  Matthias  Lorenz,  who  states  that  the  term  9/11   has  become  a  placeholder  that  dominates  the  political  discourse  of  our  times  

without  the  benefit  of  a  clearly  delineated  content.128  _{If  anything,  September  11}  

may  be  considered  a  trigger  whose  significance  cannot  be  underestimated,   continuously  affecting  global  events.  A  clear  definition  of  9/11  is  impossible,   because  it  did  permeate  all  walks  of  life  for  the  period  following  the  incident  when   it  dominated  the  news.    

Following  9/11,  the  question  of  an  adequate  response  to  loss  or  extreme  events  in   public  space  has  been  exhaustively  addressed.  Schlögel  notes  that,  while  the   Islamic  extremists’  anti-­‐western,  anti-­‐capitalistic  symbolism  of  the  attack  is   evident,  a  new,  heightened  awareness  regarding  the  actual  location’s  complex                                                                                                                  

128  _{Matthias  Lorenz.  “Nach  den  Bildern–9/11  als  ‘Kultur-­‐Schock’.”  In:  Lorenz,  Narrative  des}  

reality  could  be  observed.  This  awareness  necessitates  the  direct  interaction  with  a  

place,  demands  Schlögel.129  _{He  further  argues  successfully  that  9/11  threatens  the}  

basic  democratic  principle  of  open  access  to  public  space.130  _{In  Manhattan,  the  urge}  

for  individual  interaction  with  the  urban  environment  following  the  tragedy  was  

great,  expressed  in  countless  temporary  memorials.131  _{Schlögel  and  Danto  both}  

recognize  the  importance  of  a  public  realm  that  is  accessible  for  free  and  

unrestricted  use,  with  Danto  particularly  noting  the  need  for  artistic  expression   and  public  art.        

Following  9/11,  grief  unified  New  York  but  also  prompted  a  critical  reflection  of   the  need  to  memorialize.  Noteworthy  is  the  monograph  Memorial  Mania  by   American  studies  scholar  Erica  Doss,  who  poignantly  observes  that  “the  material   culture  of  grief  […]  embodies  the  faith  that  Americans  place  in  things  to  negotiate  

complex  moments  and  events,  such  as  traumatic  death.”132  _{Associating  physical}  

manifestations  with  mourning  extends  popular  religious  practices  to  place   mementos  at  altars,  burials,  or  gravesites.  Coupled  with  growing  percent-­‐for-­‐art   programs  beginning  in  the  1980s  and  an  urge  to  improve  a  plethora  of  newly   constructed  or  failing  civic  spaces,  memorials  have  become  a  prominent  outlet  and  

cause  for  funding  drives:    

Memorial  mania  is  shaped  by  individual  impulses  and  factional  grievances,   by  special  interest  claims  for  esteem  and  recognition,  and  by  efforts  to   symbolize  and  enshrine  the  particular  issues  and  aspirations  of  diverse  and   often  stratified  publics.  Today,  the  pace  of  commemoration  has  quickened,   and  the  number  of  memorials  has  escalated,  because  growing  numbers  of   Americans  view  public  art  as  a  particularly  powerful  vehicle  of  visibility  and  

authority.133  

In  the  case  of  the  World  Trade  Center  site,  a  plethora  of  ideas  and  concepts  quickly  

circulated,  including  the  proposal  to  dedicate  the  entire  site  to  the  victims.134  _In  

129  _{Karl  Schlögel,  Im  Raume  Lesen  wir  die  Zeit  (Frankfurt/Main:  Fischer  Taschenbuch  Verlag,  2011).}  

31-­‐32.    

130  _{Ibid.  23.}  

131  _{Arthur  Danto,  "The  Art  of  9/11,"  The  Nation(Sept.  5,  2002),}  

http://www.thenation.com/article/art-­‐911  (Oct.  6,  2013).   132  _{Doss,  Memorial  Mania:  Public  Feeling  in  America.  71.}   133  _{Ibid.  37.}  

134  _{Paul  Goldberger,  "Groundwork  :  How  the  Future  of  Ground  Zero  Is  Being  Resolved  "  New  Yorker}  

Oklahoma  City,  the  federal  administration  set  this  precedent  following  the  1995   terrorist  bombing.  Doss  decries  the  public’s  reaction:  “Never  was  there  any  doubt   that  there  would  be  a  permanent  memorial  at  what  was  quickly  dubbed  ‘Hallowed   Ground  Zero,’  an  assumption  that  tells  us  how  prevalent,  and  how  sacrosanct,  

issues  of  memory  and  acts  of  commemoration  have  become  in  America  today.”135  

Memorialization  and  memory  are  at  the  center  of  Assmann’s  research,  whose  

anthropological  point  of  departure  is  rooted  in  the  memory  or  cult  of  the  dead.136  

She  introduces  the  term  “functional  memory”  to  convey,  for  instance,  the  interest  of   the  ruling  to  set  monuments  to  cement  their  own  remembrance:  functional  

memory  collects  and  stores  information  and  events.137  _{As  a  complement,}  

“repository  memory”  competes  as  a  collective  memory,  including  tradition,  

perhaps  expressed  as  oral  history.  Following  9/11,  functional  memory  evolved  as  a   simple  mechanism  of  recording  events,  which  Assmann  would  have  considered  an  

imbalance  of  the  two  strands.138  _{Since  the  expectations  of  functional  memory  have}  

been  and  continue  to  be  fed  by  the  cycle  of  self-­‐propelled  interests  and  funding   mechanisms  in  public  art,  recording  takes  precedent.  On  the  other  hand,  cultural   production  is  and  should  be  a  reflection  of  society.  American  culture  can  be  

characterized  as  generous  and  loyal  while  also  being  transient  and  ever-­‐changing,   making  a  permanent  landmark  that  the  public  can  return  to  highly  desirable.  With   individualism  as  a  core  value,  the  commemoration  of  single  persons  or  incidents   finds  its  highest  expression  in  collective  recognition,  leading  to  competitive   recognition  of  inclusive  representation  in  this  multi-­‐ethnic,  multifaceted  society.      

135  _{Doss,  Memorial  Mania:  Public  Feeling  in  America.  6.}   136  _{Assmann,  Cultural  Memory  and  Western  Civilization.  23  ff.}   137  _{Ibid.  128-­‐129.}