The art of remembrance

Above, a rendering of the art installation, which uses artifacts from the World Trade Center. It will eventually serve as a sort of gateway to the newly remodeled Fire Station 92.

image credit: Contributed Art

In June, the City of Mercer Island received artifacts from the World Trade Center that will eventually be installed in front of the newly remodeled Fire Station 92. The artifacts -- a part of the floor and ceiling sections of one tower garage and a pillar bisecting the two -- will be cut to size and installed as a gateway to the station. The Mercer Island Fire Department hopes the piece will encourage dialogue about September 11, 2001 and the events that followed.

The Reporter talked with artist John Sisko, who is working alongside architect Jim Brown, to finalize the piece. This interview has been edited for length and coherence.

Q: You attended the dedication ceremony for the 9/11 beams back in June. What was that like?

A. It was really exciting because it was just about one year from when wed first secured the piece. There had been a lot of bureaucracy...We had to do all sorts of things, insurance forms and contracts.

I was just happy to see the picture of the truck in Pennsylvania [after the artifacts left New York], loaded up and ready to go. We had a patient driver, Tommy, and we started to make arrangements [for the artifacts] to stop at fire houses all over the country. It became this big event. We were in little newspaper articles all over the country. I met the truck in Coeur Dalene, Idaho. Then we crossed the border into Washington and we wanted to accompany it across the state.

[In Spokane] we had three state patrol lead us through the town, blocking intersections. By the time we got to Mercer Island, we had 15 vehicles [behind us], it was crazy. That was a work of art in itself.

Q: How is the piece coming along?

A: Its coming along very well actually. The fire department is [helping us] bring the pieces down to [size]. Were working on getting construction permitting. Its just like youd do for any building actually.

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The art of remembrance