ROTTERDAM Art project creates Sept. 11 legacy Teacher, students erect memorial at Mohonasen BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net.
When Lars Turin retires from Mohonasen High School this summer, he’ll leave behind a shining example of his knack for tapping his students’ artistic abilities. The 58-year old art teacher inspired three students to volunteer their time, effort and artistic talents into designing a Sept. 11 memorial in a courtyard in the center of the school. The students, seniors Joe Jasenski and Nick Tommasone and junior Devis Ceci, are now constructing a pair of mirror-covered pillars that will soon rise high above the classrooms. Once completed, the twin 14-foot-tall columns will rest on a concrete base in a large rectangular planter in the courtyard. Each column will be fitted with mirror shards; larger pieces will be used at the base and smaller at the top to create an optical illusion of even greater height, Turin said. “The emotion is going to be strong toward the [World Trade Center] towers and 9/11,” he said Monday, as the students hammered away at the sculpture’s wooden framework. “Yet I think people will be able to see many things in it.” For nearly six years, Turin toyed with the notion of building a memorial in the courtyard with his students, but never approached anyone about the idea. Then last fall, he saw how well the three worked together in his art class and suggested the idea. “And it sounded good,” Ceci recalled. “Even if you didn’t know anyone who passed away on 9/11, it still affected you.” From initial models of clay and cardboard, the students began building the framework for the towers inside the school over the winter months. When balmy weather returned they cleared and excavated the planter, unused for years. The group even devoted time to construction over the Memorial Day holiday last month. While many of their classmates were enjoying time off from school, Ceci, Jasenski, Tommasone and their art teacher were hauling dozens of wheelbarrow loads of concrete to the courtyard. “I can’t even calculate how many hours we’ve spent,” said Jasenski with a smile. “It’s been a lot.” But in the end, the students said they’re excited to be leaving a legacy at the school. Jasenski said the completed sculpture will be well worth their effort. “I can’t wait until it’s done,” he said looking toward the one erect column. “We’re going to be able to look down the road and say ‘We built that.’ ” The high school plans to recognize the artists and the sculpture next fall during the annual Sept. 11 remembrance. Afterwards, Turin hopes the courtyard will become regarded as a sculpture garden for Mohonasen’s young artists. “The more attention it’s given artistically, the more pleasing it will be out here,” he said, surveying the collection of student sculptures already in the courtyard. “It’s got so much potential.” Both Jasenski and Tommasone plan to enroll at Hudson Valley Community College in the fall to study civil engineering. Ceci said he’s undecided about his own career plans, but intends to further the artistic inspiration Turin helped to awaken. For Turin, working with the young artists has left him with a lasting memory of why he spent more than 35 years teaching, nearly 20 with Mohonasen. “The relationship I’ve developed with them is what being an educator is about,” he said. “I’ve learned from them and they’ve learned from me.” ANA N. ZANGRONIZ/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Mohonasen High School student Devis Ceci measures the base of one of the “towers” of the 9/11 sculpture that he and two other students are constructing in a campus courtyard .
Is this Steve Tommasone's son and Tony Jasenski's son as well?
Weather it is or not doesn't much matter since they are doing a great job anyways! Good job!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I thought that too. Perhaps they didn't want their pic's in the paper or this is just the way it turned out for some reason.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
So, we have a 9/11 memorial but kids in California cant show support of our troops and the realities of war......I dont get it.....
Quoted Text
Main Entry: 2memorial Function: noun Date: 14th century 1: something that keeps remembrance alive: as a: monument b: something (as a speech or ceremony) that commemorates c: keepsake, memento 2 a: record, memoir b: memorandum, note; specifically : a legal abstract c: a statement of facts addressed to a government and often accompanied by a petition or
alive---why? for the war--that no one should tell the kids about?? The elephant in the room.....a lie is also a half truth--too bad for those kids....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
See, that's where you make your mistake. They're blaming the war on the Elephant in the room, err...the oval office. The adults think that if you put up a memorial, it's like giving him credit for the fact that the war in Iraq is a just war.
Mohonasen Sept. 11 sculpture dedicated Posted on: 09/14/07 Written by: Jessica Harding, Schenectady County Reporter email: hardingj@spotlightnews.com Mohonasen graduate Nick Tommasone, from left, senior Devis Ceci, graduate Joey Jasenski and retired art teacher Lars Turin stand in front of their “Perpetual Rejuvenation” sculpture in the Mohonasen High School courtyard. (Jessica Harding/Spotlight)
Three Mohonasen students and one teacher were given the ultimate districtwide recognition Tuesday, Sept. 11, for their efforts in building a sculpture memorializing the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
After nearly a year of work, including weekends, holidays and summer vacation, Mohonasen senior Devis Ceci and former Mohonasen students Joe Jasenski and Nick Tommasone along with former art teacher Lars Turin put the finishing touches on their large-scale sculpture Tuesday morning.
The sculpture, called Perpetual Rejuvenation, sits in the high school’s courtyard. It consists of two large towers made of wood that sit in cement. The wood frame is covered in broken glass. The glass is meant to reflect everything around it, including the light.
On Tuesday, the school held a dedication ceremony to recognize the efforts of the four men and remember the Sept. 11 tragedy and its effects on everyone.
Because of the rain, the ceremony was broadcast to classrooms throughout the district, and students in classrooms surrounding the courtyard hung out the windows to watch.
“Sept. 11 is an event that has affected the lives of every high school students,” high school principal Patrick McGrath said. “This monument is a way to capture and remember Sept. 11 in a way that tries to highlight the positives that came out of such a catastrophic event.”
In McGrath’s view, the glass covering the sculpture represents how something broken can become stronger and beautiful again through hard work and determination.
Director of the Schenectady City Mission and former deputy mayor for the city Mike Saccocio was the ceremony’s keynote speaker. He urged students to think about their choices as they look at the sculpture.
“You can’t choose what happens to you, but you can’t choose how you respond,” he said.
Turin still has not felt the weight of retirement because he hasn’t spent more than a few days away from the high school since he retired at the end of last year.
Along with his three students, Turin worked through the summer to complete the sculpture. The project was his way of leaving something behind for the school where he taught for 30 years.
“Today is a day of thanks,” Turin said. “It has been a privilege for me to be a teacher and an educator for over 35 years.”
Throughout the process the artists ran into many hardships, which had to be overcome before the projects completion.
Ceci said they at first wanted to build the sculpture to a point to make it look taller, but it didn’t work. They also didn’t realize how much grunt work would go into digging a large hole, pouring cement and raising eight walls.
While the community and the school district were in full support of this project and Turin received glass donations form various companies including City Glass, Best Tile, Niskayuna Glass, and Precision Glass and Aluminum, he still had to dip into his personal accounts to keep the project moving along smoothly.
Turin also received financial support form the Grand View Concrete Corporation, Larned and Sons, Inc. and the Mohonasen Teachers Association. Turin especially thanked his three helpers, Ceci, Jasenski and Tommasone, who he said taught him more than he taught them.
“I am so grateful for what these three men taught me,” Turin said. “I encourage all the students to come out and see their work.”
You can contact hardingj@spotlightnews.com with any questions
Logged
