Ground Zero may not have a permanent 9/11 memorial yet, but across the harbor in Bayonne, New Jersey, artist Zurab Tsereteli’s 100-foot-tall, bronze-clad sculpture enclosing a 40-foot steel teardrop, entitled “To the Struggle Against World Terrorism,” was dedicated on the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks.The sculpture is gift to the people of the United States from Russian President Vladimir Putin, the people of Russia, and the artist, and its dedication ceremony attracted a roster of boldface names, including Bill Clinton and LeAnn Rimes.
The event kicked off with a police, fire department, and veteran color guard salute, followed by the singing of both the Russian and American national anthems. Politicians and government officials, including Clinton and New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, spoke, and 9/11 widow Julia Collins led a moment of silence, followed by Rimes’ rendition of “Amazing Grace” and the Jubilation Choir’s “America the Beautiful.”
Dalzell Productions senior producer Brigid Walsh and creative director Joshua Cicerone worked with Tsereteli to produce the 90-minute event.
“It was a lot of coordination between city management, the site supervisors, and the construction workers that were still completing the monument and park, and then managing the guests,” Walsh said. “We reached out to everyone at the United Nations, ambassadors, senators, all of those offices. We had a great response. There were a lot of important people in the audience.”
The event also involved an extensive load-in. “We basically had to build a city out there. It was just an empty park,” Walsh said. Over the course of two and a half days, Dalzell Productions brought in tents and flooring, built a stage, and covered an entire dry dock building with banners showing a collage of images of the artist at work on the monument.
—Erika Rasmusson Janes
Posted 09.13.06
Photos: Courtesy of Dalzell Productions
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The event kicked off with a police, fire department, and veteran color guard salute, followed by the singing of both the Russian and American national anthems. Politicians and government officials, including Clinton and New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, spoke, and 9/11 widow Julia Collins led a moment of silence, followed by Rimes’ rendition of “Amazing Grace” and the Jubilation Choir’s “America the Beautiful.”
Dalzell Productions senior producer Brigid Walsh and creative director Joshua Cicerone worked with Tsereteli to produce the 90-minute event.
“It was a lot of coordination between city management, the site supervisors, and the construction workers that were still completing the monument and park, and then managing the guests,” Walsh said. “We reached out to everyone at the United Nations, ambassadors, senators, all of those offices. We had a great response. There were a lot of important people in the audience.”
The event also involved an extensive load-in. “We basically had to build a city out there. It was just an empty park,” Walsh said. Over the course of two and a half days, Dalzell Productions brought in tents and flooring, built a stage, and covered an entire dry dock building with banners showing a collage of images of the artist at work on the monument.
—Erika Rasmusson Janes
Posted 09.13.06
Photos: Courtesy of Dalzell Productions
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Bloomberg Swears In With Homey Touches
Artist Zurab Tsereteli's sculpture, "To the Struggle Against World Terrorism," was dedicated on the shores of New York Harbor on the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Former President Bill Clinton was a featured speaker at the ceremony.
A dry dock was covered with custom-made banners depicting the title of the sculpture.
