Photo credit: Michael Hnatov
Accession Number: C.2016.198.37
Dimensions: 15.5 in X 11.5 in
Dimensions (Metric): 39.37 cm X 29.21 cm
Dimensions (Metric): 39.37 cm X 29.21 cm
Source: Brenda Berkman
Credit Line: Collection 9/11 Memorial Museum
2001
Keywords
Artistic Response
First Responders
New York City Fire Department (FDNY)
Rescue and Recovery
Survivors
Artistic Response
First Responders
New York City Fire Department (FDNY)
Rescue and Recovery
Survivors
Description
Lithograph print titled 2001, created by Brenda Berkman (b. 1951). The print depicts a self-portrait of Berkman standing with her hands covering her head. The print is signed.
Lithograph print titled 2001, created by Brenda Berkman (b. 1951). The print depicts a self-portrait of Berkman standing with her hands covering her head. The print is signed.
Historical Notes
This self-portrait created by Brenda Berkman expresses her witness to the collapse of the North Tower on September 11. Along with this portrait, a series of prints titled 36 Views of One World Trade Center follows construction of the new One World Trade Center building from 36 vantage points around the city. For Berkman, printmaking became a path through the trauma she had experienced on 9/11 and in the subsequent months that she spent at Ground Zero.
This self-portrait created by Brenda Berkman expresses her witness to the collapse of the North Tower on September 11. Along with this portrait, a series of prints titled 36 Views of One World Trade Center follows construction of the new One World Trade Center building from 36 vantage points around the city. For Berkman, printmaking became a path through the trauma she had experienced on 9/11 and in the subsequent months that she spent at Ground Zero.
Curator's Comment
A pioneering member of the first class of women to join the FDNY, Lieutenant Brenda Berkman learned of a plane crash at the World Trade Center while off duty. She reported to Ladder Company 105, near her home in Brooklyn, and borrowed spare bunker gear that would enable her to join the firefighting. A police officer drove Lieutenant Berkman and others from the firehouse across the Brooklyn Bridge, where they witnessed the collapse of the North Tower and became engulfed in dust. Lieutenant Berkman formed a small team of firefighters and focused their efforts first on the fires burning at 7 World Trade Center and then on searching for survivors. She returned to her own firehouse, Ladder Company 12, around midnight.
Berkman spent much of the following nine-month recovery period at Ground Zero. Working with hand tools and scrutinizing the wreckage for the remains of those who had been killed, Berkman occasionally observed remnants of what had been daily life at the World Trade Center. A crushed fragment of a fire sprinkler, boxes of note cards, and scented bath products that likely had been for sale in one of the concourse level shops were among the artifacts she thought worthy of preservation. By the time of her retirement from the FDNY, Berkman had been promoted to the rank of Captain. Since then, she has pursued her passion for art, including studying at the Art Students League, where she learned various printmaking techniques.
HIDE
A pioneering member of the first class of women to join the FDNY, Lieutenant Brenda Berkman learned of a plane crash at the World Trade Center while off duty. She reported to Ladder Company 105, near her home in Brooklyn, and borrowed spare bunker gear that would enable her to join the firefighting. A police officer drove Lieutenant Berkman and others from the firehouse across the Brooklyn Bridge, where they witnessed the collapse of the North Tower and became engulfed in dust. Lieutenant Berkman formed a small team of firefighters and focused their efforts first on the fires burning at 7 World Trade Center and then on searching for survivors. She returned to her own firehouse, Ladder Company 12, around midnight.
Berkman spent much of the following nine-month recovery period at Ground Zero. Working with hand tools and scrutinizing the wreckage for the remains of those who had been killed, Berkman occasionally observed remnants of what had been daily life at the World Trade Center. A crushed fragment of a fire sprinkler, boxes of note cards, and scented bath products that likely had been for sale in one of the concourse level shops were among the artifacts she thought worthy of preservation. By the time of her retirement from the FDNY, Berkman had been promoted to the rank of Captain. Since then, she has pursued her passion for art, including studying at the Art Students League, where she learned various printmaking techniques.
HIDE
