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September 11th Curated Exhibit Project: Curatorial Statement

Eric A. Cyr

Department of Humanities, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

HUMN 240: History of Communication Technologies

Meghan Velez, PhD

March 14, 2021

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September 11th Curated Exhibit Project: Curatorial Statement

Introduction

The accompanying exhibit is on the terrorist attacks and aftermath that occurred on

September 11, 2001 in New York City, Washington D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Specifically, the exhibit concentrates on some of the domestic and international communication

technologies used to express the range of emotions that outpoured following the incident.

Immediately following 9/11, as well as the days, weeks, and even months after, there was a need

for information as well as an outburst of various reactions, including grief, anger, unity, and

remembrance. It was all anyone could read about, hear about, watch, and talk about. The world

was flooded with both information and mixed emotion and many needed ways to express those

feelings and cope with the historic event. This exhibit focuses on those methods and mediums

that were used in America and in other countries to communicate people’s overwhelming

thoughts during this unprecedented time.

History and Significance

For those that were alive and remember September 11, 2001, it is hard to imagine that

there are people who do not know what happened that day because it was such an impactful and

significant event worldwide. However, as the years go by and the current population ages, more

and more people are learning about it through history books instead of having it experienced it

firsthand. On September 11, 2001, four hijacked commercial aircraft were flown into various

sites as part of an elaborate attack carried out by nineteen Islamic terrorists associated with the

organization led by Osama Bin Laden, al Qaeda (History.com Editors, 2020). American Airlines

Flight 11 crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center followed by United Airlines
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Flight 175 into the south tower. Then, while everyone was watching what was happening in New

York City, American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the side of the Pentagon. The fourth aircraft,

United Airlines Flight 93, crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania after passengers

onboard heard of the events in New York and Washington D.C., realized their plane was also

hijacked, and overtook the terrorists in the cockpit.

All in all, a total of 2,996 people were killed during the attacks that day, making it the

deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil (History.com Editors, 2020). Those that lived through it

will tell you that everything changed that day. It launched the war on terror, it transformed the

future of air travel, and it forever changed safety and security in America. But more importantly,

it changed lives. The goal of this exhibit is to capture what history books cannot explain; how

communication technologies were utilized to capture the impact September 11th had on

everyone during that time. While many other 9/11 collections exist, they are simply a group of

random artifacts with no common theme. This is a curated exhibit, meant to be viewed in order

from beginning to end, showing the thoughts and feelings of people after 9/11, leading to why

America made drastic changes, forever altering the future of the country.

Artifact Selection

The artifacts for this exhibit were carefully hand-picked from a variety of resources

including the Library of Congress, the National 9/11 Museum, and the Smithsonian Museum of

Natural History, to name a few. Some were chosen specifically for the content while others were

chosen based on the medium used. One of the goals of the exhibit was to display a wide range of

communication technologies instead of relying on all of one type, such as all photographs or all

memorials for example. The newspaper, the artist print, the lithograph, and the tattoo were all

selected, because they provided unique examples of different mediums that were utilized to
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communicate. There were also some artifacts chosen specifically because they represented

international interests. The Colombian flag memorial and the graffiti from Argentina were both

included to show that not only Americans were affected by the attacks. Each artifact in the

exhibit holds a story and is displayed for a purpose. Although only fourteen artifacts were

chosen, if time and space allowed this exhibit could have housed a thousand meaningful artifacts.

Artifact Arrangement

The grouping and arrangement of the artifacts is very important to the overall theme of

the exhibit. The main objective was to illustrate all the different ways people communicated

emotion after 9/11, but the variety of emotion expressed is important to the exhibit as well. In

1969, psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross wrote a book explaining that grief could be divided into

five stages (Holland, 2018). Those five stages are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and

acceptance, although they are not always all experienced and they may not follow a specific

order (Holland, 2018). The exhibit could have been sub-grouped into these five stages verbatim,

however the exhibit should be relatable to the everyday viewer and not feel clinical. Therefore,

common terms were used to replace these, but the exhibit is loosely based off these stages.

The first stage of denial falls under the first part of the exhibit, “Conveying the Facts.”

This was a state of shock for most people. They were watching the events unfold on television,

reading about it in the newspaper the next day, and seeing photographs of the destruction on the

internet, but still many people could not believe what had happened. The next part of the exhibit,

“Grieving”, incorporates the depression stage and the bargaining stage. It also includes a little bit

of the denial stage as well. Letters and makeshift memorials were created by people expressing

their deep sadness even though they did not know anyone involved and lived thousands of miles

away. Missing posters were hung days after the incident looking for loved ones that were never
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going to be found alive, illustrating sadness, desperation, and some denial. Finally, the artist print

by Hilary North represents both depression and bargaining as she questions why she was spared

and tries to cope with the survivor’s guilt. The next part, anger, directly coincides with the anger

stage of grief. Many people all over the world were angry that this happened. They were angry at

the terrorists responsible, angry at the government, and angry at anyone or anything as part of

their grief. The graffiti and the street art shown in the exhibit demonstrates a common theme of

anger directed towards Osama Bin Laden. In some cases, that anger lasted almost ten years until

he was finally caught in 2011. The last two groups, “Being United” and “Leaving a Legacy”

illustrate acceptance. “Being United” shows a time directly after the attacks where people chose

to accept it rather quickly and face it head on as a united front. Instead of being sad or angry,

they wanted to come together as Americans and help each other heal, as shown by the

Colombian flag memorial, lithograph, and mural. This is different from the next section which

highlights acceptance on a greater scale, long-term acceptance. The massive memorial and

museum which took years to build, and commemorative tattoos are displays of acceptance that

will be around forever, so others never forget the history and significance of that day.

Communication Technologies of the Early 2000’s and Before

Communication technologies in 2001 were not the same as they are now in 2021. Smart

phones were non-existent, the internet was still in its infancy, and social media had never been

heard of. In a 2002 article, American Airlines vice-president of corporate communications stated

that during a crisis, they usually rely on the news media for information and to get messages out

(Argenti). Immediately after the events unfolded, communication was limited, and management

of major corporations had to think of new ways to communicate with employees. Many email,

voicemail, and internal websites of companies in the New York and Washington D.C. area were
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down for an extended period. The CEO of Oppenheimer Funds, who normally operated out of

the World Trade Center, published a full-page letter to his employees in the Wall Street Journal,

USA Today, and the New York Times in order to communicate with them (Argenti, 2002).

American Airlines utilized their reservations system, which included the kiosks and machines

located all over airports that can print tickets and itineraries, to send messages that would reach

as many employees as possible quickly (Argenti, 2002). For common people who were not

CEO’s and who did not have access to the media, they had to find a way to communicate as well,

and many reverted back to historical technologies.

While much of the facts and information surrounding the events did come from news

media such as newspapers and television outlets, people needed ways to communicate outward

instead of just receiving information. With much of the current technology unavailable, they

used tried and true methods of creation. One example is missing persons posters. Facebook did

not exist to post a message about a missing person. Authorities and the media were bombarded

with information and missing persons requests. The only option was old fashioned flyers so that

is what people did.

Graffiti and street art, another example, is not new technology. It dates to at least the

1500s Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes used it to offer expression to his silenced soldiers

(McFadden, 2018). What was once considered vandalism was now being sanctioned and even

encouraged throughout the streets in some places. Why? According to McFadden, graffiti was an

early form of social media, where everyone could have a voice and be heard (2018). After 9/11

people had messages they wanted to get out to the world and graffiti was a simple, bold way to

communicate it to thousands of people.

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Other forms of art were popular as well. Everything from makeshift memorials, drawings

and paintings, collages, and lithographs, to photography, homemade websites, and tattoos.

Except for the internet and websites, these art forms date back far before the 21st or even 20th

century. Digital and electronic technology could not be relied upon during the crisis, but people

had a need to communicate and express themselves. As stated by graffiti artist Dylan Bauvez,

“[art heals] in so many ways, mind, body, and soul” (McFadden, 2018). It is a testament to the

significance of these mediums that have stood the test of time. Despite emerging as a

communication technology hundreds, or in some cases even thousands, of years ago, they are

still prevalent, relevant, and making an impact well into the 21st century.

Research Potential and Future Questions

This much needed exhibit could lead to future research both in the areas of

communication technologies and psychology/sociology as it relates to human emotion following

a tragedy. Another aspect that could be investigated more thoroughly is the international

implications. While this exhibit briefly touched on some artifacts found internationally, another

whole exhibit could be done just focusing on how other countries responded after the incident

and what communication technologies they utilized. Finally, the effectiveness of this

communication and the specific communication methods used could be explored. Questions that

could be asked are, was one more technology effective than another, and did communicating the

stages grief help heal the individual creating it or others viewing it or neither? As it stands, there

are many collections of 9/11 artifacts in existence, but more research is needed addressing

specific questions on the aftermath of the crisis, and more curated exhibits are focusing on a

specific topic or theme, such as this one, should be developed to enhance the historical benefit

for future generations learning about this great tragedy.

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References

Argenti, P. (2002). Crisis communication: Lessons learned from 9/11. Harvard Business Review.

Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2002/12/crisis-communication-lessons-from-911#

History.com Editors. (2020). September 11 Attacks. History. Retrieved from

https://www.history.com/topics/21st-century/9-11-attacks

Holland, K. (2018). What you should know about the stages of grief. Healthline. Retrieved from

https://www.healthline.com/health/stages-of-grief

McFadden, R. (2018). Decorating hallowed ground with street art. CBS News. Retrieved from

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/decorating-hallowed-ground-with-street-art/