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From Mona Lisa to 9/11, artist reaches out to community
By Ed Runyan
911 Art Memorial
Video
Local artists are creating a mural dedicated to events of September 11, 2001.
WARREN
After the success of the 2009 mosiac mural of the Mona Lisa, artist Susan Jacobs of Cortland has launched a second mosaic mural called “9/11 ... Never Forget.”
Jacobs, a retired art teacher for the Mathews school district, brought together area artists who each contributed one of 70 24-inch square canvases for the Mona Lisa project.
The canvases were eventually assembled into one mural, but each artist’s work also reflected his or her personal view of the community.
Jacobs engineered the Mona Lisa project by producing a drawing of the mural and sketching an outline on each canvas, she said. She provided each artist with three specially selected tubes of paint, depending on the part of the mural the person had.
The mosaic was the first project undertaken by Jacobs’ non-profit Community Artworks foundation.
This year, Jacobs decided to tackle a different type of mosaic mural — one focused on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America.
“I wanted artists to search their memory and feelings to create a piece that pays tribute to the people who lost their lives on 9-11 and also to pays tribute to our nation for enduring the attacks,” Jacobs said.
Though the mural has a theme, there is room for each artist to put his or her own interpretation into it, Jacobs said.
“It’s whatever connection the artist wants to put into the piece,” Jacobs said.
At 32 pieces and 12- by 6-feet, the 9/11 mural will be smaller than the Mona Lisa, which was 14- by 20 feet. Each canvas will be smaller as well — 18 inches instead of 24.
The 9/11 mural will be made available for public viewing, starting with the unveiling on Sept. 11, 2011, at the Trumbull Art Gallery on East Market Street downtown.
Jacobs started the 9/11 project by receiving sketches from 48 artists and selecting 32. The artists are from Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties, plus one each from New Castle, Pa. and Akron. Jacobs and other jury members selected the 32 artists in April.
The 32 artists, including Jacobs, are working on his or her canvas now, with a deadline of Aug. 1 to finish.
Jacobs said she believes the murals are helpful for encouraging the artistic talents of adults, who Jacobs feels didn’t have a lot of outlets for their talents in the past.
As for the theme of this mosaic, Jacobs said she feels Americans need to be reminded of the what happened nearly 10 years ago.
“I sense a bit of complacency,” Jacobs said. “Some people have said they want to just forget about it. I’m taking a different route.”
Jacobs said she hopes the project will encourage people to appreciate what we have in America and to be vigilant against a tragedy like the Sept. 11 attacks from happening again.