The Twin Towers. Remembering 9/11. From Light to Darkness
Since its construction, Mitchell Funk has been chronicling the Twin Towers, of the World Trade Center. More specifically, he has been recording how light affects and transforms the two giant monoliths. Like us all, Mitchell was inspired by the formidable presence of the two buildings. Living in Brooklyn Heights with great views of lower Manhattan gave him a special advantage and opportunity to assemble some of the most iconic Twin Tower images ever taken.
"They were giant mirrors to the sun that beckoned. They reflected the sun everywhere."
To Mitchell Funk, the Twin Towers, of the World Trade Center were the perfect synthesis of commerce and art.
Minoru Yamasaki's Twin Towers were in fact something quite radical. They were a steel and glass expression of Minimalism on the grandest scale in human history. Everything in the towers was stripped down to its essential quality with nothing extraneous added ….. except light. The way the buildings reflected light made them unique and inspired Mitchell to record them in color for 32 years. Although, the exterior was actually made of a very reflective blue/grey stainless steel the warm light of daybreak and sunset could change their color and transform them from buildings into and mystical monumental sculptures. With the help of the sun as a key player, Mitchell’s images of the Twin Towers progress from the mystical to the spiritual as they reflect the sun’s intense golden energy. Under these conditions, one could argue, that the Twin Tower housed the same type of divine energy as the adjacent churches.
In the wake of the 9/11 tragedy, one could interpret Twin Tower sunset images differently. A sunset can be a symbol for the end of the day or simply The End.
The 1969 image “Dead End” is a visual prognostication. The North Tower is under construction in the background and in the foreground, Mitchell has framed it between two street signs that read Dead End.
In Mitchell’s Twin Tower photographs, he is not taking a tourist picture that says “here I am on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade in front of the Twin Towers”. The he is digging deeper and instructing the viewer how to feel about something.
The Twin Towers. Remembering 9/11. A Visual Salute, is an aesthetic and mystical examination into one of the most important buildings and events of our time.
Twin Towers in Angelic Light, 1973
Rising to the sky while reflecting into the waters of New York Harbor, this trailblazing color photograph from 1973 exhibits the new potential of what a color photograph can do graphically and hence emotionally.
Silver to Gold
Twin Towers. In Memory 1974
The symbolism is apparent today but in 1973 when this photo was taken the spiritual significance was not clear.
The Trade Center was surrounded by Churches
Twin Tower with Church Silhouette, 1974
A striking juxtaposition between two architectural styles and both point up.
Secular and Regligous Architure become One.
Church and Towers, 1974
Mitchell returned to this spot at a different time to get a frontal light. The two chuch images work as a pair. The silhouetted verion is foreboding of the 9/11 tragdey.
The old Church acts as a base for the Tower. The tower literally grows out of the Church.
Emering above the Spires, 1975
The sheer size of the towers recontextualized the lower Manhattan skyline. The North Tower does have a radio tower but since it lacks any aesthetic value it was cropped offer. As with all of Mitchell Funks' work this image is skillfully composed and lit with dramatic light.
A Study in Contrasts
A Photograph as a Prediction , 1969
Can a photograph foretell a future event? Street signage frame the North Tower under construction and implying that something bad is going to happen.
Street Signage and the World Trade Center
Twin Towers from Brooklyn Heights, 1975
In 1974, The Twin Towers were the tallest buildings in the world and their presence loomed above everything.
The Tallest Buildings in the World rise about it all and were visble from all 5 broughs of New York
Twin Towers Silhouetted against a Nuclear Bomb, 1975
This was a positive image when it was taken. Today it can be interpreted as negative. Funk's intense lighting is almost apocalyptic. The sunset symbolizes The End.
In this highly dramatic image the Twin Towers anchor the composition. An unearthly light drenches the scene. No actual human beings are visible but their creations are in this End of World scene.
Road was as long as the Towers were high.
Twin Towers from the Graveyard of Trinity Church, 1975
Foreshadowing the 9-11 Tragedy, ominous shapes from Trinity Church burial grounds reach up, grab and entangle the Towers. The image is bathed in an unearthly light while the color of the sky pivots from a natural blue to macabre green.
Reaching up from the Graveyard
A Building is Born, 1969
It's 1969 and both towers are rising. Mitchell Funk, used multiple exposures with magenta and blue gels to create this joyful and celebratory image of birth.
Twins come into this World
St. Paul's Chapel and the Twin Towers, 1974
The Twin Towers were New York buildings rooted in traditions that go back to the settling of the country. St. Paul's Chapel remained standing after the September 11, 2001, attacks and the collapse of the World Trade Center.
St. Paul's Chapel built in 1766. Twin Towers built in 1973.
Twin Towers being Photographed by Mitchell Funk, 1974
Mitchell believes that any subject has to be covered from a 360 POV. Every angle must be explored. He was able to obtain access a 40 floor Brooklyn skyscraper to get the "high view".
Good photography is a pursuit. Every angle must be explored.
