| By Sara Pentz
 Noted Southern California Photographer Cliff Wassmann's
stunning photograph of the Tower of Lights taken on the last
day they lit up the sky, has been chosen for a dramatic "Remembrance" poster
honoring the one year anniversary of the terrorist attack
on the World Trade Center Twin Towers.
It was a chance encounter by a printing company (PSG Printing
Services of Greensboro, North Carolina) executive that made
the poster possible - an East Coast meets West Coast encounter
made possible by the Internet.
After searching the Web for the 'perfect' photograph to
illustrate the commemorative poster, PSG's marketing director
Teresa Yeager discovered Wassmann's photo at his Web site,
www.artseek.com . Yeager immediately knew the picture
illuminated just the right spirit and emotion her company,
and other cooperating printing companies, were searching
for to grace the historic poster. Wassmann, a native of Hackensack,
NJ, gladly scanned and graciously donated his photo to the
commercial printer on the other side of the country.
A collection of printing companies led by PSG, Printing
Services of Greensboro, North Carolina, is now offering the
poster free to the public, and Wassmann has graciously donated
his photograph.
If a photographer ever put his heart into a work, this photograph
reveals the emotional passion experienced as he waited through
the dark of night to capture this charismatic last photograph
of the tribute lights. Shot in an early morning mists, the
Tower of Lights reached toward the sky and somehow Majestic ly
carved a heart-like figure against the clouds overhead.
When Wassmann traveled back to New York in April to photograph
the twin beams of light that had been illuminated for the
six month anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, he wasn't expecting
to create an image that was any different than those done
by thousands of other photographers who sought to preserve
the event. But on the final night the lights were illuminated
- and the only night they stayed lit all night - a light
rain began falling and by 1:00 a.m. beneath the Brooklyn
Bridge, Wassmann found himself alone waiting for the right
moment to click his shutter. The clouds and rain helped form
the stunning image, with the faint shape of a heart at the
apex as the lights gently caressed the clouds. "When
I saw the image," says Wassmann, "I found it deeply
poignant. It became a doubly symbolic final tribute, allowing
our hearts to reach out and communicate love to all those
who suffered in this tragic 9/11 event."
"The lights made a powerful statement on several levels," adds
Wassmann. "During wartime cities were told to turn down
the lights and what does New York do? It sets up the brightest
lights in the country, a beacon that could be seen from 20
miles away! It was, at once, a defiant gesture and spiritual
recognition of the lives lost. I believe it was the most
important piece of public art ever installed."
What sets Wassmann's photography apart, in general, are
the spectacular locations as well as his keen eye for using
composition and color to lure the viewer into the scene.
Years of studying painting at the nation's oldest art school,
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia,
have given him a different perspective on the photographic
process. He is known for the stunning clarity of his scenes
of vast Southwest expanses and rich landscape imagery. Rocky
beaches, soaring sandstone cliffs. It is these dramatic vistas
that have become his trademark.
 For the past 10 years Wassmann has been traveling to the
places that linger in our imagination, Easter Island, Chechen
Itza, Chaco Canyon, the lost civilizations and sacred sites
that pull us in for rea sons we can't explain. "Perhaps
it's an ancient memory trying to awaken. It's not hard to
imagine our civilization collapsing the way so many others
have in the past. When I wander alone though some of these
ancient ruins I can feel the ghosts of those that came before," he
philosophizes.
Wassmann's limited edition supergloss prints can be found
in collections around the world. These coveted photographs
include the exotic terrain of Easter Island, the Seychelles,
Christmas Island, Antarctica, Chechen Itza, the Ancient Americans,
Hidden Canyons, Stonehenge, and other mysterious places.
Wassmann's images of Easter Island and Antarctica, places
where most won't go to the trouble to take the bulky view
camera, are astonishing in the depth of color and detail.
There are moments so fleeting, however, when there isn't
time to set up the 4X5 camera. In these cases Wassmann relies
on the Canon A2 35mm camera. This camera has been the portal
for some of his most famous images such as surfing dolphins,
rainbows and spectacular lightning strikes over the Pacific
Ocean.
When Wassmann created www.mysteriousplaces.com he never
envisioned that it would attract such a wide and diverse
audience. Since its inception the Web site, featuring sacred
sites and ancient civilizations from Easter Island to Chechen
Itza, has elicited bravos from such self-described enthusiasts
as a 12 year old from Wisconsin and a prominent UCLA archeologist.
Messages come from around the world, thanks to the Internet.
Owners of a software development company in Ottawa, who chose
an Easter Island statue as their logo, purchased Wassmann's
photos. Others who have marveled at his artistry include
the Discovery Channel Canada, a French software company,
the Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco, Earth Magazine,
the Travel Channel, and Microsoft, which used the Web site
to illustrate a book on Internet Explorer 3.0. Wassmann has
received reams of email messages calling his site 'the coolest.'
Teachers across the United States use www.mysteriousplaces.com
to teach about these exotic locales. "They put my site
up on the monitor in the classroom and go through it page
by page as part of their lesson plan," he adds.
Photographer Wassmann captures light, color and images on
film favoring us with the majesty of his creativity. Pictures
are memory records. "Rembrance," the poster, brings
our hearts together at a time when we will feel the pain
and remember our own memory books of 9/11.
NOTE: Thanks to Wassmann and a group of businesses and printers
in the Greensboro area, PSG will print some 80,000 posters.
The posters will be offered through September 11th or until
the limited quantity is depleted. The "Remembrance" poster
will be available at Wassmann Fine Arts, located at 34118
Pacific Coast Hwy. #1, Dana Point, CA. Visitors may pick
up a poster beginning Aug. 15 and see Wassmann's exquisite
collection of photographs of the memorial at his studio/gallery.
(Newport Beach, California-based Sara Pentz is a writer
with a background as a journalist in TV, radio, newspapers
and magazines. )
© Copyright 2002 Sara Pentz.. No unauthorized duplication
without written consent. |
