The Red, White, and Blue

The Statue of Liberty has many important meanings to her presence and is known all around the world. She was originally called Liberty Enlightening the World. Her statue in New York has her wearing an elegant robe and spiked crown that has seven spokes branching from it, which represent the seven oceans and continents. Her right hand holds up a torch while her left hand grasps a book of law that reads, “July 4, 1776.” At her feet lie busted chains, showing the United States’ conquering of tyranny. France gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States as a gift of friendship, but since, it has become a well-known, world-wide representation of freedom. The message the statue of liberty is trying to relay to the audience is much more than just freedom. When many look at the Statue of Liberty, they think of the United States of America. It brings makes foreigners imagine life in the States filled with freedom and happiness. It is known as the first sign of American that immigrants see on their way to America.
September 11, 2001 was a horrible day in the United States. It now marks the anniversary of when terrorists destroyed the two Towers in New York by running into them with planes. Hatred and spite made many American’s blood boil while people at home were watching the tragedy on their television sets. Many rescue teams risked their lives, and many gave their lives, trying to save people trapped in the burning buildings. The terrorists who did this were trying to tear apart the United States, thinking these acts would cause conflict among citizens; however, it did the opposite. Rather than turn United States residents against one another, it made them closer, stronger. The flag had been neglected, but once these acts happened, everyone brought back their patriotic spirits and came together, united, as a nation.
Ione Citrin is an artist who has based some of her work on world catastrophes. She focused this piece of work on the tragedy of September 11, 2001. She used many different techniques to reveal a meaningful message through her artwork. In this piece, she depicts the message through analogy and use of widely-known symbolic images like the Statue of Liberty and the American Flag.
By bringing out select colors, Ione Citrin illustrates analogy in her artwork titled 9/11/01. The first object brought to attention is the red, white, and blue American Flag. This icon brings out ethos. It is draped over the statue of liberty like a sort of poncho, covering everything but her two hands, neck, and head. The way it wrinkles and does not lie flat shows that it is not perfect, just as though the United States is not perfect. Many people come to the United States thinking that this country is perfect, but it is far from. The next color of importance is gold, and this is where pathos shines through. The statue’s hands, neck, face, and crown are shown in gold. The real Statue of Liberty appears to be a tint of green, so why is she gold? This is an instance of conflating icons. If one compares this to a picture of Christ on the cross, he or she will see a resemblance. The way at which her arms are stretched open are the same as Jesus’ were on the cross. As she stands there, holding onto what’s left behind of the Twin Towers, she is representing a higher standing that just any ordinary statue. The sky behind the statue is blue, and it goes from being darker at the bottom to getting lighter towards the top. This goes along with the religious view of the picture. With the light shining from the top, it’s as if the heavens are shining down on her. The color red, which is also present in the flag, is also seen on the remains from the Twin Towers. The red is showing that it is still glowing with warmth from the fire that was set to the two buildings. Although the red could possibly be standing for the fire, it could also be symbolizing all of the deaths that were caused on that tragic day of September 11, 2001. This is how the color is an aspect of Ione Citrin’s artwork, but the objects in this artwork are very symbolic, as well.
The real statue’s crown has seven spokes, but the one in this picture has eleven. This could be symbolizing the eleventh day of September, the day of the terrorist attacks. The way that they are extending out from her crown is much like rays of light from the heaven are shining down from on her, helping her bring out unity among the citizens of the United States. Both her left and right hands are grasping the two pieces left of the Twin Towers. The flag that is covering her is filling the gap between the two weak structures. This is much of what the United States had to do after the terrorists invaded the country. They were torn apart by the devastating acts and harm done to the United States, but it was not a time for them to go their separate ways. Instead of driving the United States away from one another, it actually brought them together. Many more residents of the United States pulled through for their country, becoming more supportive of the colors of the flag: red, white, and blue. This is what the nation did; it did not get torn apart, but it did become closer as a whole. The focus of this picture is Lady Liberty bringing the two structures together, holding them together by the flag. Two things that distinguish the United States are the flag and Statue of Liberty, and those two objects are centered in this art.
The 9/11/01 picture reveals more than one might realize at a glance. To figure out the entire message, one must closely examine it from all directions, picking it apart and looking at it in a different perspective. Ione Citrin created this piece of art with great care, and now that one has done that, they will be able to look at 9/11/01 with great thought.

Works Cited
“World Catastrophes.” Ione Citrin. 16 Nov. 2008 .

“9/11 By the Numbers: Death, destruction, charity, salvation, war, money, real estate, spouses, babies, and other September 11 statistics.” 2008. 18 Nov. 2008 .