Hallowed Ground - Photographs by Martha Cooper

Volume 27
Fall-Winter
2001

Return to Table of Contents

New York Folklore Society
P.O. Box 764
Schenectady, NY 12301
518/346-7008
Fax 518/346-6617
nyfs@nyfolklore.org

Hallowed Ground - photographs by Martha Cooper

There are no prescribed rituals for mourning thousands of people. We invented them as we went along. With a couple of candles and a bunch of flowers we transformed ordinary sidewalks and street corners into sacred spaces. Here friends, family, or passersby could pause to pray, reflect on the tragedy, and leave whatever offerings they deemed appropriate. Visitors left messages addressed to the dead with the shared belief that words, in this newly consecrated space, would somehow find their way.

Photo of memorial from 9/11

Photo of 9/11 memorial

Grief took many forms, from simple and personal shrines for individuals to a gigantic shrine in Union Square dedicated to all. Expressing sorrow or hope, many people created small works of art from whatever markers, crayons, or colored paper and glue they had at hand. Students from all over the world sent cards and banners.

Photo of mural memorial from 9/11

The shrines blended different traditions, both sacred and secular. Saints sat beside carefully selected Beanie Babies. Dotty the Dalmatian, Fleecie the Lamb, and Glory the Patriotic Bear were oddly comforting nestled among candles beside the Virgin of Guadalupe. All offerings were welcome and the resulting installations became intricate creations of communal art, enabling each of us to mourn in our own way in a shared space.

Photo of memorial from 9/11

Photo of Memorial from 9/11

Photo of homemade memorial from 9/11

Also see, 9/11: Commemorative Art, Ritual, and Story by Steve Zeitlin and Ilana Harlow.

"Hallowed Ground" with photographs by Martha Cooper was published in Voices Vol. 27, Fall-Winter, 2001. Voices is the membership magazine of the New York Folklore Society. To become a subscriber, join the New York Folklore Society now.