at Town Hill in Norfolk, Massachusetts. The piece is made from cast bronze and granite and has dimensions of 78" x 30" x 30". Three arms of donated engraved brick walkways radiate from a small round plaza which encircles the sculpture. His artwork is topped by an Earth globe about 20 inches in diameter and made of bronze. The current positions of continents and major land masses are depicted on this stationary rendering. A cast bronze plaque mounted to the north side of its granite base reads:
Originally unveiled and dedicated on September 11, 2003, a more physically robust form of the monument was installed and detailed in a September 10, 2011 note from Alfano posted on the Hopkinton Public Access Television website:
Hello friends and art patrons,
On Sunday, 9/11/11, at 1:00, the Town of Norfolk, MA will be holding a ceremony to reflect on the tenth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
It will include an unveiling of the new bronze version of the 9/11 Memorial I created for the town, "One World United for Peace". In 2002, the town commissioned the sculpture, but funding issues prevented a bronze rendition at that time. I was able to provide a bonded bronze version, which was beautiful, but not as durable outdoors. Bonnie Dittrich, who spearheaded the efforts for Norfolk, never lost sight of the original intention and saw the tenth anniversary as an appropriate opportunity to complete the bronze casting.
Creating this sculpture was very moving for me--I was born in Queens and worked in New York City before moving to Boston. Its design just flowed as I developed it. The main form implies the Twin Towers, and it rests on a pentagon-shaped base. Atop the tower are 13 figures representing different groups of people affected by the disaster and their various reactions, from fear to grief to determination. My hope was that viewers could recognize themselves and others in the sculpture, and in so doing it would help them come to terms with the emotions and find some inner peace.
"One World United for Peace" is more than a memorial, also asking us to look beyond the history of the events to what now? In the sculpture, the figures support the globe, representing that peace around the world requires everyone - me, you, everyone. We all want peace, of course--how do we live so as to attain it?
Michael Alfano Sculpture
www.michaelalfano.com