Shut Up and Forget...

Now this was a lecture I happened to find interesting. 911 is such an interesting topic primarily due to the fact that it is different for everyone. How we see it, look back on it, remember it, etc. When we were showed the picture of the falling man everyone in the room had a different reaction. I was honestly watching everyone else look at the picture because that is what I found interesting. I have seen that iconic image many times; in fact I think it’s sort of embedded into my brain somewhere. We really don’t talk about 911 very much and I believe that is a terrible thing. I never really understood why if we think something is bad we don’t talk about it. Why not talk about just how terrible something is? We are a society that loves to shut up about what bothers us. I think that makes us weak personally. When it comes to 911 yes it was a hurtful tragedy but why in the world would we ever even dream of forgetting it? It was a day that touched each and every one of us in such a uniquely profound way. It is a reason to make art over. Art should be beautiful, and even the most tragic occurrences can be seen as such depending on the depiction. What Grayton Parrish made was an example of such, because it is indeed a beautiful depiction of something horrific. The work titled “Cycle of Terror and Tragedy” is actually astounding in my opinion. It reflects all the lost voices of 911 and even the ones who simply shut up. When I looked at the picture of that painting I thought, I couldn’t help it. It struck me as so powerful a depiction. In my mind this is how it should be. How tragic days such as 911 should be remembered by future generations. It is very hard to recreate the profound feelings associated with that day and I often wonder myself how I will explain it to my hopefully future children, or anyone for that matter. A part of any explanation will be missing. The emotion will be lost, totally annihilated just like the falling man. The only reason he is remembered is by that picture; a mode of cataloging various events in time to suit our needs. Otherwise he would have only been remembered for about ten seconds in the minds of whoever saw him jump. Parrish chose a different route to remember, he painted a picture for us all, both present and future to behold and understand; of a day that we should never forget…