Better Angels
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better angels: the firefighters of 9/11 is a large multi-part oil painting of all 343 New York City firefighters who died on 9/11. Each portrait is painted intimately onto a small burned block of wood. Assembled, the work is 4’ high by 21’ long. There is a compelling personality in each face that leads the viewer to imagine the individuals – the lives they lived, the people they loved – while the sheer volume of faces measures the enormity of the tragedy. Although I had lived in Manhattan for 22 years, I was in my new home in Colorado in 2001, frozen by shock in front of my TV. Around three o’clock that afternoon someone said, “We think that more than 300 firefighters died today.” That one sentence suddenly brought all the horrors of the day emotionally home for me. They were the ones who ran into the buildings. Twelve days later when The New York Times printed a two-page spread with all 343 pictures, this project began. better angels was born from the desire to honor those who died in the attacks of 9/11. It has been a long road from then to now. More than 3000 hours wereu0026hellip;
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better angels has come to fruition only with the support of many, many people along the way. I would like to thank the following people and organizations for their support: Rachel LaBarre was an art major and intern from the University of Colorado, Boulder, who burned and meticulously prepped 350 wood blocks for me to paint. Karsten Balsley has helped at every step along the way from cutting the original wood blocks to designing and supervising manufacture of the presentation wall, and devising technical solutions to a range of challenges that the display of 343 fragile paintings provided. Ed Shure provided the space and the acetylene torch to burn the wood blocks. Alan and Stephanie Rudy graciously opened their home for an early project fundraiser that was co-hosted by Mark and Polly Addison. The Boulder County Arts Alliance provided the initial 501(c) 3 fiscal agency for better angels which gave the project a legitimacy and non-profit status that was vital to early fundraising. Randy Zahn scanned each and every painting over the course of three years. Chief Ron Siarnicki, the Executive Director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, became an indispensable project partner and strong advocate for better angels, andu0026hellip;
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Pappageorge, James
