My installation, Us & Them, which was exhibited at
dependants, my husband, and myself. We slept on the floor of the
the Napa Valley Museum in 2007, rings a bell in this day and age in
parking lot’s second-level basement for four nights, but we could
which any part of the globe can and does erupt in our private
still hear and feel the bombs. Eventually, we moved to my in-laws’
living space. It is about the fact that we are living in a world where
house, but that was cramped. You can’t go out when bombs are
there is no more “us and them,” only “us,” even if our human
falling, so it was very claustrophobic for everyone.
experiences vary widely.
After two weeks of this, we took a very expensive taxi ride to a
The 2006 war in Lebanon affected me very directly. I was meant
Syrian airport and boarded a plane to Turkey. All the while we felt
to fly to my first solo museum show in the U.S. on the day that the
worried and guilty for not staying with family, friends, and
airport in Beirut was bombed. So, instead of drinking a toast at
colleagues who could not leave, yet we knew we were lucky. We
the opening of my Napa Valley Museum show—aptly titled “1001
are now in Barcelona, Spain, where I was born, but hope to move
Tears”—I had to organize safe living arrangements for my eight-
back to Istanbul soon.
year-old disabled daughter, my three-year-old son, other .
—Ana Corbero, M.F.A. ’88
I looked up and saw the second plane crash into the World Trade Center tower on 9/11. I was only one mile away. I had the feeling that people were dying, one layer on top of another, and that the bodies would eventually be bones and stones taken back into the earth. This painting is a reflection of that vision. After that day, I no longer felt safe in our country. The scribbles and swirls on daniel simon
mary burge
the canvas were part of my anger.
—Harriet Fields, B.F.A. Painting ’75; M.F.A. Fine Arts ’78
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