Sand Painting Installation at RIT to Honor Victims of Sept. 11 Attacks

Students, faculty and staff at Rochester Institute of Technology will gather for the installation of an unusual memorial commemorating the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Members of the RIT community are invited to participate in the creation of five sand paintings as an outlet for expression of feelings and emotions relating to the first anniversary of the attacks. Installation gets underway at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11, outside the south entrance to the Frank E. Gannett Building on RIT’s Henrietta campus. The process is expected to continue throughout the day, rain or shine.

Five wooden frames, measuring 8 feet by 8 feet, will each support up to 8 inches of dirt. Participants will be encouraged to collaborate on the sand paintings by sculpting 3-dimensional images that, in some way, represent their impressions on this solemn occasion. Colored sand is then added throughout the designs to provide a "painted" appearance.

To conclude the daylong event, each work will be bathed in candlelight, providing a scenic and inspirational setting for personal reflection.

Elaine Defibaugh, a faculty member at RIT’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences and College of Liberal Arts, is coordinating the effort. She hopes the installation will provide a meeting place for members of the campus community to commemorate this anniversary.

"To hear students talk, most feel this is not an occasion to be observed alone," explains Defibaugh. "The goal of this project is to bring people together to deal with our past grief over lives lost and to address how that tragic occasion continues to affect our lives today."

The origins of sand painting date back to the prehistoric era. It has evolved into a religious and artistic ritual, practiced most notably by modern Navajo.

Each of the RIT sand paintings will remain in tact through out the remainder of this week. The public is invited to come and observe the works during that period.