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| Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial __ 1998 Granite, marble and concrete. 14 x 43 x 47 feet |
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The "Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial" (1998), was commissioned in 1996 by the regional Archdiocese for St. Joseph's Catholic Church, in recognition of the survivors and in remembrance of the 168 people who were killed in the explosion of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The site is located on the corner directly across the street from where the building once stood. The piece was designed to incorporate a statue of Jesus weeping within the work.
My idea was inspired by the immediate response of individuals who placed items of remembrance near the bombing site. A large arcing granite wall with 168 missing blocks was created to represent the individuals killed and provide a place for people to continue this act of remembrance. The statue of Jesus stands covering his face in front of the wall with his back to the site of destruction. Located around the statue are many columns of black granite. The columns vary in height and are scaled to the proportions of men, women and children. The abstract forms of the columns are left undefined for the viewer to decide their meaning. For some they represent the victims, for others they are the survivors and some interpret them as the destruction of the building. On both ends of the wall are etched granite plaques that give the history of the site.
My idea was inspired by the immediate response of individuals who placed items of remembrance near the bombing site. A large arcing granite wall with 168 missing blocks was created to represent the individuals killed and provide a place for people to continue this act of remembrance. The statue of Jesus stands covering his face in front of the wall with his back to the site of destruction. Located around the statue are many columns of black granite. The columns vary in height and are scaled to the proportions of men, women and children. The abstract forms of the columns are left undefined for the viewer to decide their meaning. For some they represent the victims, for others they are the survivors and some interpret them as the destruction of the building. On both ends of the wall are etched granite plaques that give the history of the site.
St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma