By Shana Thornton
Hearts, broken and held back together, and flags with lines of red and white stripes, and stars on fields of blue dominate the imagery on the ceramic tiles covering the two columns of a sculpture at Veterans Plaza. Nature symbols in the form of flowers, rainbows, and landscapes are the dominant subjects of other tile paintings. The twin towers themselves are often rendered with smoke billowing from the tops. Some of the students who completed these artworks weren’t born when the 9/11 attacks happened. However, because we weren’t born during a particular period in history doesn’t stop us from honoring those who were and their sacrifices during conflict.
Two public art initiatives at Veterans Plaza honor service to the United States and those who lost their lives, including those during the multiple tragedies of 9/11.
Blue Star Memorial
The Blue Star Memorial located at 1290 Madison Street, directly across from Trahern Terrace, displays a statue and monuments for soldiers who lost their lives in wars, from World War I to the War on Terror. The kneeling statue of a soldier, Reverence: A Tribute to All Who Served by Scott Wise (2005), commands a moment of silence, especially as it is suspended in the center field of a large bright blue star. This is “A Tribute to Gold Star Families whose loved ones paid the ultimate price defending the United States of America, sponsored by the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc., District II, in cooperation with the City of Clarksville and Montgomery County.” Names of soldiers who lost their lives are engraved into monuments dedicated to each war.
Pillars of Hope
Pillars of Hope is a sculpture that includes the combined talents of many community members and represents the twin towers destroyed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The sculpture contains tiles on all sides of the two towers. It is located in front of the courtyard at Veterans Plaza, near the entrance to Common Ground coffee shop. This public art is at a prominent location where the community often gathers. Appropriately, as the plaque in front of the sculpture states, “Pillars of Hope is a community-created memorial to honor victims, survivors, and all who volunteered help in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks on our country.” Led by sculptor Dr. James Diehr, Pillars of Hope was made possible by a collaboration of several organizations and student groups: Arts & Heritage Development Council, Arts for Hearts Program, Volunteer Clarksville, F&M Bank, and the ceramic students of Dr. Ken Shipley from Austin Peay State University, who created the tiles.
Courtesy of Shana Thornton.
As we approach the 25th anniversary of 9/11, these two areas of public art and what they represent deserve our reverence. There are other patriotic public artworks, and we will feature those in a later article.
This article is part of a series on Public Art in Clarksville. Check out the articles below to read more in this series:
ART + DESIGN with the Public in Mind – Customs House Museum & Cultural Center
Importance of Preserving Clarksville/Montgomery County’s Public Art
Two Trails to Explore for Connected History – Customs House Museum & Cultural Center
Public Art in Clarksville: 4 Outstanding Statues
Public Art in Clarksville: 4 Amazing Murals
Shana Thornton is the Marketing & Media Manager and Managing Editor of Second & Commerce, the Customs House Museum & Cultural Center’s arts, history, and culture magazine. She is an author and publisher, Founder of the Clarksville-Montgomery County African American Legacy Trail, and the Montgomery County Deputy Historian.