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11 CONCRETE MEMORIAL SCULPTURES COMMEMORATING 9/11 TO BE PLACED STRATEGICALLY ALL OVER THE U.S. BEING CREATED OUT OF PIECES OF THE BATHTUB SLURRY WALL, SURROUNDING THE ORIGINAL WORLD TRADE CENTER

 THE FIRST SCULPTURE IS NAMED, VICTORII REBUILD. IT WAS CREATED FOR NEW YORK CITY AND IT IS CURRENTLY ON LOAN AND HOSTED BY THE CITY OF BETHLEHEM, PENNSYLVANIA. IT WAS INSTALLED NEXT TO CITY HALL AT 10 E. CHURCH STREET ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2011 AND WILL REMAIN THERE, FOR 6 TO 12 MONTHS UNTIL IT IS PERMANENTLY PLACED IN NEW YORK CITY.

Project 11up is about the creation and placement of 11 concrete memorial sculptures around the United States commemorating 9/11.  The first sculpture named, VICTORII REBUILD, is a 10 year anniversary piece created for placement in New York City.  It includes engraved binary code for NY, NY, DC and PA.  Now that this first sculpture is complete, she has been given the remaining blocks to sculpt and place in the ten other locations around the US.  San has named this Project 11up which is about 11 Blocks coming up and out of the ground as a positive message of hope and rebuilding of the foundation of our nation.  (See the #1 VICTORII REBUILD tab to the right of this webpage.  Note: this first sculpture is placed on loan to Bethlehem, PA at 10 E. Church Street next to City Hall until it is placed permanently in New York City)

To take 4 foot thick, 45 year old, cured concrete out of the ground and sculpt it, is a type of artwork that has never been done before.  Most artists, if they work with concrete at all, make a mold, pour in a wet mixture and wait until it cures in a day or two and break off the mold to reveal its shape.  But the concrete for Project 11up is unique, for it was poured in the mid 60’s as the foundation wall for the World Trade Center.  It had a long time to cure, under great pressure from the towers and all the other buildings in the area.  Parts of these blocks are as much as 14,000 PSI in density.

Many parts of this concrete, including the large aggregate stone came from the once thriving concrete quarries in the Allentown, Pennsylvania area of the Lehigh Valley.  San lived in Allentown for almost two years in 2005 to 07, with her now ex, Simon Priest, the former Dean of the Wescoe School at Muhlenberg College.  It was in 2006 that she came up with the idea of placing 11 concrete memorial sculptures around the US and the Morning Call Newspaper did a story on it.  She sculpted/engraved street sign symbols that tell the story of 9/11, on a concrete pipe that was donated by Vince Bussio, the owner of Geneva Pipe.  This was showcased at the World of Concrete in Las Vegas, NV as a test sculpture for San to see how well it would be received.  This sculpture is now in Moapa, NV at Geneva Pipe and can be viewed there.   San tried to get the project off and running at that time, but the concrete pipe, walk through experience sculptures were harder to get placed than she thought they would be.  San then built a website around this concrete pipe project in 2007 and left it up and running to hopefully spark some interest in her project.

It wasn’t until someone found that website in December of 2010, that she received an email and phone call, from the CEO of a large company out of NYC.  He let her know that he had something of great interest for her to create out of the concrete slurry wall from Ground Zero.  He stated in his email that his company had the honor of working at the site for a few years and ‘As part of the cleanup, we were required to take portions of the concrete slurry wall around the trade center out to make room for the underground rail that will now pull into the new trade center complex. The slurry wall is interesting in that it is the only piece of the trade center that actually still exists from the first buildings. Thus, it is the only surviving artifact. Recognizing the historical significance of these concrete pieces, we stored some for the future…….’

Later that day, when San finally got a chance to speak with him, she asked where the concrete blocks were and he said in the Allentown, Pennsylvania area!  That is where San came up with the idea of doing concrete sculptures in the first place.  This was the concrete she needed to make her dream come true.  A full circle of events had just happened.

After traveling all over the US on extensive trips by her vehicle, San already knows that many of the people she has talked to, feel a sort of disconnection from NY, DC and PA and long to pay their respects, but do not have anything nearby, to be able to do that.  When these blocks are placed strategically, all over the US, they will be within driving distance to many that could have the experience of healing from 9/11 without having to go to NY.   San feels this concrete does not belong to any one entity now, it belongs to everyone.  Her first concrete, tube sculpture project had that idea, but now, to have the actual concrete from the 911 site is incredible.  She does not believe there are any accidents in life.  The first block #1, made its’ way down here to Florida, the 1st of March, women’s history month.  Not too many women get an art project of this importance and San is humbled by that alone.

The block#1 was delivered to her studio in Florida, as will all the rest as they are created outdoors in the Florida sunlight.  That first block arrived, incognito, with only a few close family members, friends and work associates.  It was draped in the American Flag, where 4 Marines were on hand to fold that same flag in a great ceremony.

San has contacted local family run businesses, who have donated all their time and effort as has San, to get this first sculpture created as a gift to NY. They are, Cougar Cutting, a large concrete cutting company, the Allied crane company who had to lift it, landscapers, Kelly’s and Lombardo Landscaping, to beautify the outdoor area where it is being created in, A Plus Plumbers, to get our water hook ups for our wet saws/grinders/tools, electricians Glen Abbot for safety, a April Clary and Nocera Photography, professional photographers, and Quality Service Pros, a large network group San belongs to for business associates.  The national company Husqvarna, shipped a brand new commercial grade, wire saw prototype just now on the market, to make its maiden cut, on the first block, as a surprise to San.  She did not know they were coming and three National reps came, to run the machine and make the first main cut to split the concrete block.  No other machine could have cut this large 10,000 pound piece of concrete.  The one rep from Husqvarna, Clay Morphis, said he already knew the concrete blocks for he was the rep who supplied the Ground Zero site with all of its wire cutting saw wires, to cut up the wall where Sans concrete has come from.

This first piece was commissioned as a gift, but the next several sculptures will be created for a fee determined on an individual basis by size, design complexity and time factors needed to create.  San is also compiling HD film starting from her first journey to visit the blocks on that cold day up north, to make a documentary film, through the completion of the first VICTORII REBUILD sculpture that is now complete.

There are so many things that have happened out of pure synchronicity that it is almost uncanny which are:

• San already had the idea to place 11 concrete sculptures in the US, when she lived in Allentown, PA and it was documented on her website in 2006.  She moves back to Florida just to find out a few years later that the concrete she really needed for the project was now sitting in the Allentown area.

• The main Husqvarna rep who as a gift brought in a portable wire saw to make the first cut on the sculpture block, by coincidence, is the man who for years, has provided all the diamond wires for the cutting process of the blocks at Ground Zero for several years.  Not to mention that the exact week I needed this cut made, he was already scheduled and flew in from North Carolina for the National Concrete Cutting Convention at the Hyatt, here locally.
  

The number 11 is very powerful.  The project stands for 11 pieces coming up out of the ground, the 11th day of the month that this happened and this year 2011, the anniversary.  Most artwork created after 911, is of grief and sorrow, understandably so.  We have mourned and been sad, but this art project takes us out of that and into the future of rebuilding.  San likes the building block theme for it resonates with the original shape of the concrete blocks she has been working on.  She chose the style of artwork to keep flat sides to the abstract forms, so that the viewer can relate to the wall itself where it came from.

When the first cuts were made, we could now see just how amazingly beautiful this concrete was.  It has large aggregate stones in it, showing various colors of brown oxide, red sienna, white quartz, yellow ochre and even some green and black stones.  The guys locally here, gasped, when we wet it down after it was cut.  They are used to only seeing white limestone concrete.

The rebar in this is priceless.  They don’t even make rebar like this anymore.  To be able to see it out of the ground, would not happen under normal circumstances and that style of rebar would have been lost.  Now it can be appreciated for its beauty and artistic qualities.  Some of that rebar shows through the sculpture as circles of beautiful metal, not oxidized at all and holding the concrete together very well.  This concrete slurry wall is full of the history of the area surroundingNY and the first concrete mines in PA, its mud’s and rock found nowhere else in the US.

San is now looking for the remaining 10 sculptures and where they will be placed.  She wants sculptures in Hawaii and Alaska, the two most remote areas and one placed at a University or College in any state.  San already is talking to two different entities around the country requesting information on placing a sculpture in their city.

San has a collection of thousands of photos she has taken all over the US relating to places and things regarding the number 11 and 9/11, has some paintings on this subject and smaller sculptures from the cut offs of this first block one of VICTORII REBUILD.

Any speaking or consultation on Project 11up is upon request through San directly at:  239-269-5733