©2007: Vics Magsaysay
Date: September 11, 2001.
I woke up early that morning to finish the sculpture I was working on for almost two months. I was so excited the sculpture would be erected that day. All it needed was a coat of paint for the four pillars. It was around 8:30 in the morning when the first dab of paint was applied to one of the pillars. The color I chose? It was a dark gray. More than an hour later, I went inside the house for a glass of water. To my amazement, the TV’s volume in the living room was unusually loud. My mom and sister were shocked by the news: One of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York was burning. Soon after, another plane hit the second tower. It was a sight we could not forget—people plunging to their deaths to escape the burning building. Later on, the whole mass of the two towers crumbled from within spewing tons and tons of dust and debris. It’s unbelievable to see the icon of America’s financial might disappear in such a short time. This day, like December 7, 1941, will be long remembered as a day of infamy.
For me, I could not help wondering why I chose dark gray for the sculpture’s four pillars that had an uncanny resemblance to the World Trade buildings. It’s as if there was a foreboding—a dark foreboding—of the somber or grim things to come that day. I love bright colors—but this time, something dark caught my fancy possibly to give contrast to the center sculpture that has the seven colors of the rainbow and a gold on top.
When the sculpture was finished that tragic day, without much thinking I named it, “A Tribute to Humanity: Ever-Growing…Ever-Unfolding…Ever-Evolving.” It’s dimension: 10 feet high, 6 feet wide, and 5 feet across. The four towers are made of wood, concrete and acrylic paint. The ten-feet colorful leaf-motif center is made up of 46 slats painted with the seven colors of the rainbow. The topmost slat is painted gold. A copper tube painted with gold spirals the center from ground to the peak.
I had no idea yet what the whole sculpture meant. (Definitely, in the back of my mind, some ideas have been formed). That day it dawned on me that the four pillars symbolize our physical nature. They speak of the four elements of nature that affect us. They also posit the four directions in space: North, South, East, and West. Our physical body is very much affected by the dualities in life, hence, the suffering and coarseness at the beginning aptly depicted as the roughness at the base of the pillar. Then we learn and learn and learn from our mistakes. This continuous learning elevates our physical, mental and spiritual attributes thereby signaling our refinements in the process of life. The dark color gray signifies our struggle while in the dark searching for that elusive meaning of life. It is not by coincidence 9-11 tells us we are not connected to one another when we terrorize or inflict harm to our brothers and sisters. Our life becomes muddled in darkness when we think the other is separate from us. When we are in unison or in harmony with our fellow human beings, we are in the light. God, Allah, Christ, Nature, The Universe or whatever you may call it, is truly wonderful: Through pains, sufferings we learn and grow. Our life is an “Ever-growing” process, thus, the several heights of the four pillars.
Though we are surrounded with tragedies, pain and sufferings, there is something within us that does not succumb to these frustrations of living. This is the non-changing repose where we turn when we feel exhausted. This is our center. This center is the colorful “Leaf-motif,” our spirit, standing proud at the middle of any mayhem, the pivotal point in our learning and growth. It’s an impregnable fort of anyone. Nothing can move it though the storm of life seems unbearable. Those who perished or survived the 9-11 tragedy have shown what this center meant. Ditto to their loved ones. Ditto to all Americans. Ditto to countless peoples in this planet. The tragedy even made us more united…and more resilient. It is this unfettered optimism that gives color to the “Ever-unfolding” of the spirit, thus the prismatic hues emblazoned on the 45 slats. In each and every one of us dwells this divinity, this unwavering spark of light that is infinite and immortal. It is “Ever-evolving,” spiraling upward longing for its higher connections…the topmost golden 46th slat.
Life is art; art is life. Whether we are aware of it or not, we are sculpturing ourselves through our thoughts, feelings, words, and actions.
(Vics Magsaysay is an artist, fine art nature photographer, and alternative healer. His website: www.vicsmagsaysay.com and Email address: vicsmag@yahoo.com
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Copyright ©2007: Vics Magsaysay