Local photographer captured 9/11 memorials

Sept. 11, 2001 is remembered through art on the tenth floor and East Meadow resident Robert Harrison is among the artists participating in the exhibit. While he did not submit the images specifically for the display, a Hofstra representative asked Harrison to photograph the memorials just after the attacks.

Immediately after the attacks, Hofstra began collecting photographs, e-mails, official documents and newspaper clippings. “When it was apparent that we were going to be receiving quite a lot of material, we then decided to try and document the memorials that were also going up on Long Island at that time,” said Assistant Dean of Special Collections Geri Solomon.

The current exhibit is the third Sept. 11 exhibit featured at Hofstra University and each has a specific theme. “Hope and Healing” is on display through October and features images that reflect the events of Sept. 11, as well as “propel us forward.”

The images chosen for the project portray multiple viewpoints. The visitor looks to the sky as doves dance in the blue background, then to the ocean where children embrace and then through colorful stained glass glistening in the sun. Other emotionally moving images depict the bronze “Angel of Hope” statue dedicated to Nassau County residents who died that day, white carnations floating in a crystal clear bed of water and the brick path in Farmingdale listing the names of Port Authority officials who perished.

In total, 17 photographs and one painting are on display, as well as an un-edited video from ground zero shot by then Hofstra student Lenny Mulhurn.

Harrison said he has photographed 180 memorials in Nassau and Suffolk counties and knows of at least 35 more. “Hofstra probably has the most complete collection,” he said referring to their thousands of Sept. 11 documents.

The other artists on display include John Matteva, Len Jacobs, Joseph Haviland and a photograph of a painting by Michael Perez.

“While we shouldn’t lost sight of what happened, the exhibit reminds us how far we’ve come in ten years and the important role that art has played in our healing process,” said Solomon.