Too Soon For Burning World Trade Center 9/11 Album Cover?

To commemorate the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, composer Steve Reich is releasing an album fittingly called WTC 9/11, recorded with the Kronos Quartet. According to Nonesuch records, the composition also features recordings of voices belonging to NORAD air traffic controllers, "as they raised the alert that the airplanes were off course; FDNY workers on the scene... and women who kept vigil, or Shmira, over the dead in a tent outside the Medical Examiner's office." (The voices are "elongated in a stop-motion sound technique.") Yesterday the album's cover was released; as you can see here, it's a pretty literal representation of Reich's themes, but it strikes some as tasteless.

"No photo necessary with a title like 'WTC 9/11.' A typographic solution could have been far more powerful," declares Paul Soulellis on Twitter. Caleb Burhans tweets simply, "Dude, really?" Critic Seth Colter Walls opines, "NYC deserves better, and so does the piece." But on the other hand R.D. Burlingame says, "Powerful. Can not wait. Wish I could've seen this live!"—referring, we hope, to the composition, not the events of 9/11.

Reich, for his part, explains that he and his family lived only four blocks away from the site of the tragedy: "On 9/11 we were in Vermont, but our son, granddaughter, and daughter-in-law were all in our apartment. Our phone connection stayed open for six hours and our next-door neighbors were finally able to drive north out of the city with their family and ours. For us, 9/11 was not a media event."

The cover isn't in the same league as The Coup's infamous Party Music album, which was designed in June 2001 but presciently featured the World Trade Center towers burning. Nevertheless, the image obviously is a sensitive one for many people. Though we'll never forget, one wonders if/when we'll reach a point where an artist can use imagery from 9/11 without offending people (and getting the free advertising).

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By John Del Signore in Arts & Entertainment on July 21, 2011 4:44 PM

Comments [rss]

Jante

Kick in the gut again.

canofpeas

If someone made an album with a photo of dead jews from concentration camps on the cover, would Steve Reich mind?

Guest

The cover is about 500 years too soon.

Adrien_V

The weird thing to me is that there are so many people ready to talk about it without having heard the music yet or known who the artist is. Sure if the music sucks I would find it very bad, but many great artists created part depicting awful historical events. If the art is good, I say go for it, I will not be offended.

Andrew Adler

You know what's really tasteless? That the government has sold us bunch of horrible and pathetic lies in their official "conspiracy theory". 9/11 truth is out there and needs to be reported on and exposed until enough people are willing to do something about the government and those in power that are destroying our country. Report on something important instead of a picture on an album no one will buy.

whitecastlerock

This is just as insensitive as those jackals who flash you pictures of the carnage when you are down by the World Trade Center site.

xXxMExXx

Isn’t the appropriate answer something like… “It’s art. It is supposed to inspire feelings."

Emmily_Litella

9/11 what year?

theevilerone

http://cache2.artprintimages.c...

Better cover art.

Lloyd Bergenson

BORING

xXxMExXx

Inappropriate. They hadn’t set up those lights on 9/11/01 yet.

theevilerone

If you're going to use a 9/11 image, you gotta go with the one right before the second plane hits?

BrooklynDnB

Bad taste. That's a terrible image. I'd rather see a different picture used.

Karina

What? An image of someone jumping to their death while the building burned wasn't available? It's not 'being sensitive' to think this is bad taste. .....it is in bad taste.

carrots328

"For us, 9/11 was not a media event." oh. well, then. proceed...

Polite New Yorker

Leftover Crack beat them to it by several years.

LazyNanny

"To commemorate the attacks" should be changed to "some desperate musician desperate for attention".

Roger_the_Shrubber

I'd rather they use a mohammed cartoon.

Dirk

Its an album of music written for the anniversary of 9/11. How does having a photo from 9/11 make it "tasteless"?

Look... I still can't look at some photos from that day as it brings up too many bad memories for me. So I understand how some people may take offense.

However, people need to stop being so fucking sensitive. This is not some shitty composer or some shitty band on mySpace. Both Reich and the Kronos Quartet do amazing work. And though the cover may be extremely literal (and yes, a typographic-only treatment would probably have worked better), I don't consider it exploitative or tasteless.

If anything, people should be up in arms about all the people who have tastely used 9/11 as a justification for their xenophobia and hatred.

Heather Easton

Hi Dirk

I really enjoyed your comment here. Straight to the point. I'm doing my final year thesis on this piece and I would really love to hear your comments on the piece itself. I'm primarily focusing on the text Reich has used in each movement and whether or not it can be deemed appropriate. Your comments would be greatly appreciated.
Heather