A Memory Misplaced

I was a high school freshman the first time I visited New York City. Over a couple days, we saw a Broadway show, wandered around Chinatown for a couple hours, went up the Empire State Building and World Trade Center, and took a boat ride out past the Statue of Liberty, which was undergoing renovations and not open for visitors.

When we were walking around the area of the Twin Towers, I snapped a photo of a strange sculpture that I liked. It was stark black and white and from a certain angle, there was a bright mural on a nearby building that contrasted with it in a way that struck me as cool.

Last year, I took my mom on her first trip to New York City to visit my daughter Kelsey. Mom wanted to see the September 11 Memorial, among other things, and while we were there, I thought I’d see if I could find the spot where that sculpture had stood. Knowing that there were several large-scale pieces of art that were lost in the 2001 attacks, I asked one of the nearby guides if he knew what I was talking about, and where it had once stood.

He had no idea, but was intrigued enough to track down a docent. I gave him all the details I could, but he also had no memory of such a sculpture. Knowing that I had a picture of it back home, I took his card and said I’d email him an image, because he really seemed interested in finding out more about the piece.

I caught up with mom and Kelsey, and we headed down toward The Battery for our scheduled ferry ride to LIberty Island, with a quick detour to walk past the school Kelsey was attending at the time. As we passed Zuccotti Park, I happened to look down a narrow street and catch an unmistakable glimpse of…

…that sculpture. That sculpture. I recognize it immediately even though it’s a couple football fields’ distance away, and have a good laugh while I tell mom and Kelsey, “Hey, that thing I was just bugging those guys about? It’s down that way.”

About eight months later, Jenn and I were in the neighborhood again for Kelsey’s graduation, and I made time to go visit the sculpture up close. It’s Jean Dubuffet’s “Group of Four Trees,” and it’s been in that spot for about half a century now.