COLUMNIST

As some of you may know, world-renowned street artist and social commentator Banksy has been spending the last month in New York City producing some miscellaneous pieces referring to the United States’ political and social situations. Recently, the artist who, astonishingly  still remains anonymous, took a stance on the design of One World Trade Center.  An art piece he released on Sunday that looked like a New York Times op-ed was titled “The Biggest Eyesore in New York is not the Graffiti. It’s Under Construction at Ground Zero.”

As harsh as the title is, his argument was actually quite compelling and reminded me what it was like to be an American before 9/11. In the piece he said “That building is a disaster. Well, no, disasters are interesting. One World Trade Center is a non-event. It’s vanilla. It’s something they would build in Canada. The attacks on September 11 were an attack on all of us and we will live out our lives in their shadow. But it’s also how we react to adversity that defines us. And the response? 104 floors of compromise?”

Brutal, I know, but it does remind me of when they were deciding on how to design WTC 1, and the different ideas that were rejected in favor of the current design. I remember when the Port Authority announced that it was changing the plan for the building to include a cement blast shield around the base of the building for security reasons. A building meant to be completely inviting became a tower with a 103 ft bunker at the base, much to the dismay of the architect and supporters of the project. Do we need to build a building around our fear or should we have designed it as a triumph of our collective strength over our enemies? I agree with Banksy that we should have designed a building that said we are American. We are strong and no one can change us.

WTC 1 is a pretty building, but it is very “vanilla.” There was a real chance to build something showing our resolve after the attack, but it fell by the wayside. Banksy closes his piece with arguably his most powerful and controversial statement, “One World Trade declares the glory days of New York are gone. You really need to put up a better building in front of it right away. Or better still; let the kids with the roller poles finish it off. Because you currently have under construction a one thousand foot tall sign that reads “New York — we lost our nerve.”

Although Banksy’s words are harsh, there is some truth. Is the construction of WTC 1 just a response to having lost ourselves as a people following 9/11? Are we living our lives letting the government decide of what we should be afraid? This piece has garnered criticism, causing some of Banksy’s art showings in NYC to be canceled, most notably one at the department store Century 21. The commentary is just another reason why Banksy is one of the most influential political artists of recent time and his time in NYC is something that all should be enjoying.