February 26
...serving up your daily dish.
Baristanet reader John Tracey sent us this picture last week of the view from the Eagle Rock Reservation. But he wasn't satisfied with just the pretty panorama.
...And What You're Not
February 26, 2005 in Seen around town | Permalink
that looks like insulation gooo.
Usually in basements - they must have had some ' spaces' to fill in.
aot
Posted by: adriana otoole | Feb 26, 2005 5:55:30 PM
Does anyone besides me think that the sculpture with the girl and the book and the eagle is simply dreadful?
Posted by: latebloomer | Feb 26, 2005 8:53:20 PM
latebloomer: yes, yes, yes!! Utterly and profoundly hideous. The statue of the girl reminds me of those paintings of the big-eyed, sad-eyed children from many years ago. In a word: kitsch.
Posted by: Antikitsch | Feb 26, 2005 9:38:18 PM
That site was the place I instinctively drove to on the morning of September 11, as soon as I learned of the attacks. Every time I drive through there it brings back awful memories of that horrendous day. Too bad a more fitting tribute could not have not devised to those who were so suddenly torn from this life that morning.
Posted by: latebloomer | Feb 26, 2005 11:38:12 PM
I wish there weren't any memorial there. I used to like the view, but now the memorial is always in your face. You're forced to remember the day, as if anyone in our area could ever forget it.
To me, it would have been much better to install something simple and low-key ... something you need not give your attention to each time ... something you are drawn to and go out of your way to experience.
For me, the skyline is enough. Sometimes I can enjoy it for what it is, what's there; other times, probably most times, it evokes thoughts and memories of what was.
I don't need to be grabbed by the lapels and told, "Remember this!" -- especially when what is used to jog the memory lacks a sense of dignity and solemnity.
Posted by: Chris | Feb 27, 2005 7:44:20 AM
The photo refers to shoddy workmanship and cheap shortcuts, with the idea that an unsuspecting public would not take notice. If this is supposed to be a permanent reminder to the horrific event, then let the focus be on that, rather than the wasted money spent on a quick slap-up shrine, that's insulting to anyone's aesthetic sense and causes distraction from the original intent.
Posted by: John | Feb 27, 2005 9:22:10 AM
That memorial is a monument to the politicians who built it, specifically JoeyD and the sculptor's ego.
It is ugly and it has destroyed a beautiful location. It is difficult to decide which is worse, the daytime view where visitors are forced to confront the 'art' or the nighttime view which has been washed out by the light.
I hope that oooze is the first sign of decay, and that we can look forward to a cheap job that will not last long.
Posted by: Kevin Lee Allen | Feb 27, 2005 9:56:05 AM
I always drive through the reservation on my way to and from work. After September 11, I remember the dried up flowers, the burnt out candles, the notes and pictures taped to the wall. They were truly heartbreaking. I was going to take some pictures of these impromtue memorials, but it somehow at the time it seemed indecent to me to do so. I regret not doing so now. If some one has some of this pictures, perhaps they could post them here some September 11. That would be a fitting tribute
Posted by: bitpusher | Feb 27, 2005 2:07:20 PM
I have to agree with the posts above. I remember riding my bike up to the reservation before after the attacks and before the memorial and being genuinely touched by the handwritten letters and notes, the candles and the farewell notes scawled on the existing wall. This girl with the book and the eagle -- it just doesn't seem a good fit. I think it would have been appropriate to let the wall stand as it was or, if JoeD was hellbent on slapping something up there months latter, making an interpretation of the memorials people had set up there earlier or, better, something where families and mourners could leave a mark of their own whenever they visited. The insulation seems to stem from a typical Essex County half-assed rush job.
Posted by: notteham | Feb 27, 2005 2:24:09 PM
