Artist’s Foundation Seeks Return of ‘Sphere’ to World Trade Center Site - NYC, NY - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

On September 28, 2012, the New York Times ran the following story:

"Artist’s Foundation Seeks Return of ‘Sphere’ to World Trade Center Site
By DAVID W. DUNLAP

The chorus voicing a pledge for the return of the ‘Sphere’ to its original place at the W.T.C. has reached as far as Landshut, Lower Bavaria, Germany,” the letter begins. That’s a consequential destination because it is the home of Fritz Koenig, the sculptor of the World Trade Center “Sphere,” and of his museum and foundation.

The “Sphere” and 1 World Trade Center.The letter..., sent Tuesday, states that the Fritz and Maria Koenig Foundation is “officially joining the growing number of people and personalities who want to help to bring the ‘Sphere’ back to its rightful place, the W.T.C. site.”

This puts Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor Patricia A. Harris, who have prided themselves in their commitment to public art, in the potentially awkward position of appearing to turn deaf ears to a request relayed on behalf of an internationally celebrated, 88-year-old artist.

Mr. Koenig’s 25-foot-high “Sphere for a Plaza Fountain” was commissioned in 1968 for the World Trade Center. It stood for three decades as the centerpiece of the vast plaza, framed by the twin towers. Though badly damaged on Sept. 11, 2001, it survived in recognizable form and has been seen by hundreds of thousands of visitors to Battery Park, where it has stood since March 2002.

It is understood that Mr. Bloomberg and Ms. Harris oppose returning the “Sphere” to the trade center site, an opposition that carries extra weight since the mayor is the chairman of the foundation for the 9/11 Memorial now there and Ms. Harris serves on the foundation’s board. They have not publicly explained their position, though Mr. Bloomberg volunteered in May that the “Sphere” looked beautiful in Battery Park.

The park is scheduled to undergo a renovation that will displace the sculpture. But no city or state agency has taken responsibility for deciding where the “Sphere” will go, now or in the long run. This month, a group of guerrilla volunteers felt compelled to clean the sculpture of bird droppings and a dead pigeon before the annual Sept. 11 observance.

Reinhard Sax, the general manager of the Koenig foundation, said in his letter (co-signed by the mayor of Landshut) that the “Sphere” belonged at the site for which it was designed:

We strongly feel the need for the victims’ families and friends to be able to not to lose sight of the only witness that represents the workplace of their loved ones. It needs to be present, as a touchstone, as a direct visible link to their personal history and the history of New York and the world.

We think that this sculpture, in its brutally transformed shape and state, needs to be exposed to the touch of people. It holds the power of a witness, of a victim and ultimately of a survivor.

Although top officials will say nothing publicly about the “Sphere,” back-channel communiqués suggest some movement. The chief curator for the 9/11 Memorial, Jan Seidler Ramirez, responding to a letter from Mr. Sax, wrote that “there are a number of ideas in serious discussion regarding the relocation” of the sculpture and that “some of the most viable of these options” were described in a City Room post on Aug. 17 that raised the possibility of relocating the “Sphere” to a small plaza alongside 1 World Trade Center, within view but outside the grounds of the memorial proper."

Type of publication: Newspaper When was the article reported?: 12/28/2012 Publication: New York Times Article Url: [Web Link] Is Registration Required?: no How widespread was the article reported?: local News Category: Arts/Culture

Visit Instructions:
Give the date of your visit at the news location along with a description of what you learned or experienced.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   01/25/2023 moelsla visited it 10/23/2022 adgorn visited it 09/03/2022 Blanko36 visited it 07/31/2018 Butch09 visited it 07/29/2018 LeviSat visited it 06/25/2018 bluesnote visited it 05/18/2017 Castor007 visited it 08/13/2016 ToRo61 visited it 04/16/2016 jezevcik visited it 07/31/2015 Graham-Crunch visited it 12/28/2013 Eibacher Kuckuck visited it 12/14/2013 jumiki visited it 07/25/2013 Metro2 visited it 08/03/2012 chrissyml visited it 10/03/2009 railroad visited it 01/29/2004 blackjack65 visited it

View all visits/logs