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Artist ‘Still in Shock’ After Trinity Church Uproots, and Damages, His 9/11 Work Artist ‘Still in Shock’ After Trinity Church Uproots, and Damages, His 9/11 Work
(35 minutes later)
It was an unusual sculpture, more roots than branches, a bronze re-creation of a huge sycamore tree that was smashed by debris when the twin towers collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001. And then, in December, it was gone.It was an unusual sculpture, more roots than branches, a bronze re-creation of a huge sycamore tree that was smashed by debris when the twin towers collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001. And then, in December, it was gone.
The sculptor Steve Tobin had delivered and installed it in 2005 in a courtyard in Lower Manhattan at Trinity Church, whose parish includes St. Paul’s Chapel, where the original sycamore stood until Sept. 11. In the spring of last year, Mr. Tobin called Trinity, saying he wanted to polish the sculpture — “re-patina it,” as he put it. He said the church official whom he spoke to told him, after several calls, that that would never happen.The sculptor Steve Tobin had delivered and installed it in 2005 in a courtyard in Lower Manhattan at Trinity Church, whose parish includes St. Paul’s Chapel, where the original sycamore stood until Sept. 11. In the spring of last year, Mr. Tobin called Trinity, saying he wanted to polish the sculpture — “re-patina it,” as he put it. He said the church official whom he spoke to told him, after several calls, that that would never happen.
Eventually, Mr. Tobin said, the official let slip that the sculpture — the first substantial Sept. 11 memorial in the area near ground zero — had been moved to Connecticut.Eventually, Mr. Tobin said, the official let slip that the sculpture — the first substantial Sept. 11 memorial in the area near ground zero — had been moved to Connecticut.
“I’m still in shock,” Mr. Tobin said last month from his studio in Coopersburg, Pa., about 10 miles from Bethlehem.“I’m still in shock,” Mr. Tobin said last month from his studio in Coopersburg, Pa., about 10 miles from Bethlehem.
Last month, he and Kathleen Rogers, who promotes his work and helps arrange his exhibitions, donated a maquette, a small, preliminary model that he used in casting the full-size sculpture, known as Trinity Root, to the National September 11 Memorial Museum.Last month, he and Kathleen Rogers, who promotes his work and helps arrange his exhibitions, donated a maquette, a small, preliminary model that he used in casting the full-size sculpture, known as Trinity Root, to the National September 11 Memorial Museum.
“Trinity Root was an important, early venture to mark what transpired downtown on Sept. 11, 2001, and to extract meanings from the terror and loss we experienced on that awful day,” said Jan Ramirez, the museum’s senior vice president of collections and chief curator.“Trinity Root was an important, early venture to mark what transpired downtown on Sept. 11, 2001, and to extract meanings from the terror and loss we experienced on that awful day,” said Jan Ramirez, the museum’s senior vice president of collections and chief curator.
“While many artists pursued forms that referenced the towers or channeled the most visceral sentiments released by the events, Tobin turned to nature and found an extraordinary metaphor and source.”“While many artists pursued forms that referenced the towers or channeled the most visceral sentiments released by the events, Tobin turned to nature and found an extraordinary metaphor and source.”
The church moved the sculpture to the site of a conference center it owned in West Cornwall, Conn., in December, shortly before the opening of an art exhibition in the Trinity church yard in Lower Manhattan about the Syrian uprising against the government of Bashar al-Assad. Mr. Tobin said the church later “sent pictures of my piece, broken — significant damage — after they had told me it arrived in good condition.” The move was reported at the time by The Wall Street Journal. The church moved the sculpture to the site of a conference center it owned in West Cornwall, Conn., in December, shortly before the opening of an art exhibition in the Trinity churchyard in Lower Manhattan about the Syrian uprising against the government of Bashar al-Assad. Mr. Tobin said the church later “sent pictures of my piece, broken — significant damage — after they had told me it arrived in good condition.” The move was reported at the time by The Wall Street Journal.
Nathan Brockman, a spokesman for the church, declined to discuss the matter beyond saying, “We have great respect for Mr. Tobin and the 9/11 museum.” As for the condition of the sculpture, Mr. Brockman acknowledged that it had not survived the move to Connecticut unharmed, but he maintained that it had been damaged only “very, very slightly.”Nathan Brockman, a spokesman for the church, declined to discuss the matter beyond saying, “We have great respect for Mr. Tobin and the 9/11 museum.” As for the condition of the sculpture, Mr. Brockman acknowledged that it had not survived the move to Connecticut unharmed, but he maintained that it had been damaged only “very, very slightly.”
“It’s repairable,” he said.“It’s repairable,” he said.
The church owns the statue, according to an agreement that Mr. Tobin signed when the piece was installed. The church sent Mr. Tobin a document several months ago that would transfer ownership to him and return the statue to him at the church’s expense.The church owns the statue, according to an agreement that Mr. Tobin signed when the piece was installed. The church sent Mr. Tobin a document several months ago that would transfer ownership to him and return the statue to him at the church’s expense.
But Mr. Tobin said he was too upset to read it. He also said, “I didn’t want to sign any document because of the condition of the piece.”But Mr. Tobin said he was too upset to read it. He also said, “I didn’t want to sign any document because of the condition of the piece.”
The sculpture rose 18 feet into the air, reached more than 25 feet across the church’s courtyard and weighed several thousand pounds. Creating it involved making more than 200 castings; from start to finish, the project took 20,000 hours. “That’s 10 guys working for a year,” he said. “I shut down my studio to make this. We had to shut down the George Washington Bridge to move it there.”The sculpture rose 18 feet into the air, reached more than 25 feet across the church’s courtyard and weighed several thousand pounds. Creating it involved making more than 200 castings; from start to finish, the project took 20,000 hours. “That’s 10 guys working for a year,” he said. “I shut down my studio to make this. We had to shut down the George Washington Bridge to move it there.”
He took the sycamore’s 600-plus-pound stump and the tree’s roots to his studio for casting, and he later treated the stump for preservation before sending it back to New York. He paid for the project himself, including the raw materials, the foundry costs and the workers’ salaries. He said at the time that he had taken out a home-equity loan to cover what he estimated would be a $330,000 budget.He took the sycamore’s 600-plus-pound stump and the tree’s roots to his studio for casting, and he later treated the stump for preservation before sending it back to New York. He paid for the project himself, including the raw materials, the foundry costs and the workers’ salaries. He said at the time that he had taken out a home-equity loan to cover what he estimated would be a $330,000 budget.
By mid-2015, Mr. Tobin wanted to apply a new coat of patina because the original rough bronze, touched by many visitors, had taken on a high-polished look. “The patina was very old and it looked dark and dingy in comparison to what it should look like,” he said. When he called the church, he said, “they said they were thinking of moving it.”By mid-2015, Mr. Tobin wanted to apply a new coat of patina because the original rough bronze, touched by many visitors, had taken on a high-polished look. “The patina was very old and it looked dark and dingy in comparison to what it should look like,” he said. When he called the church, he said, “they said they were thinking of moving it.”
The same message was conveyed in a call in November or December, he said, adding that when he asked why the church wanted it moved, he was told that it attracted too many outsiders — a point a spokeswoman for the church disputed, saying the church was a welcome place. Mr. Tobin said he would not have undertaken the project if he had not believed it would be a permanent installation. The same message was conveyed in a call in November or December, he said, adding that when he asked why the church wanted it moved, he was told that it attracted too many outsiders — a point a spokeswoman for the church disputed, saying the church was a welcoming place. Mr. Tobin said he would not have undertaken the project if he had not believed it would be a permanent installation.
“I said, ‘Well, they can’t move it,’” he said. “It was made not to be moved, ever. This thing was supposed to be there permanently, and it would be dangerous to move it without my input. I said: ‘If you’re hellbent on moving it, then I have to find another suitable location in Lower Manhattan. It has to be there.’”“I said, ‘Well, they can’t move it,’” he said. “It was made not to be moved, ever. This thing was supposed to be there permanently, and it would be dangerous to move it without my input. I said: ‘If you’re hellbent on moving it, then I have to find another suitable location in Lower Manhattan. It has to be there.’”
But Mr. Tobin said it turned out that by then, the sculpture had already been moved to Connecticut.But Mr. Tobin said it turned out that by then, the sculpture had already been moved to Connecticut.
“It shouldn’t be there,” he said. “It was made for the people who were affected by the events. It’s where the tree was. It was for those who had suffered. So I asked to have it come back, and only then did they send me pictures of it, with huge pieces of it broken off.”“It shouldn’t be there,” he said. “It was made for the people who were affected by the events. It’s where the tree was. It was for those who had suffered. So I asked to have it come back, and only then did they send me pictures of it, with huge pieces of it broken off.”