(TwinTowers Painting by Christiaan Bekker – TwinTowers, 2011)
In the painting title “Twin Towers by Christiaan Bekker” the artist fills the canvas with exquisite detail of the attack on the United States on September 11th 2001 (TwinTowers Painting by Christiaan Bekker – TwinTowers, 2011). This day marked the birth of America’s “War on Terror”. Bekker displays the horror of the tragedy, the pure evil of the enemy, the destruction and devastation left behind and the hope created by a free nation looking forward of.
In my initial look at Bekkers oil painting my eye was quickly drawn to the statue of liberty crying. Her mouth wide open, eyes clinched shut as she tears her garment and exposes her heart, which is a burning American flag. This imagery alone conveys the oppressing sadness of this event.
Above lady liberty we see the twin towers backed by darkness or in my opinion smoke, We see the artist has slipped in a few more details here as we see the clouds next to the top of the tower appear to have evil eyes looking at the towers and lower we see two giant hands with claws gripping the tower. The artist wants us to see the evil intent of those how took the lives of many innocent Americans that day.
In the lower right hand corner we see the devastation of the event. Tangled metal, smoke and rubble. The artist pays tribute to those who fought to save lives with is including of the somber looking firefighters. He also pays respects to those who lost their lives in the event as the firefighters are lowering the flag to half mass.
While 911 was a day of horrible destruction and sadness, many clung to hope. I believe this is displayed in the top right corner where we see the sun and the firefighter pointing on to the US flag, which appears to be held by many. I think this shows our hope in our country and its freedom.
Other more subtle items Bekker added to this piece are the tail of the American Airlines airplane. This reminds us of those hostages and the terror that was experienced before they collided with the towers. We also see a small section of the pentagon below the towers, to remind “At 9:43 a.m., a third passenger plane crashed into the Pentagon” ( September 11th, 2011). Finally, we see the bald eagle in the center. I believe this is symbolic to show that even when we are attacked we are a strong nation that comes together.
Works Cited:
"September 11th." Digital History. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.
"TwinTowers Painting by Christiaan Bekker - TwinTowers Fine Art Prints and Posters for Sale." Fine Art - Art Prints - Fine
Art Prints - Greeting Cards - Posters - Originals - Buy Art Online - Sell Art Online. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.