Area artists contribute to exhibit honoring 9/11

By Sandi carpello
Staff Writer

Area artists contribute
to exhibit honoring 9/11
By Sandi carpello
Staff Writer


JERRY WOLKOWITZ Lisa Marie Eisenhauer’s “Freedom Goddess Lament.”JERRY WOLKOWITZ Lisa Marie Eisenhauer’s “Freedom Goddess Lament.”

An art exhibit opened this week at Milltown Borough Hall featuring the works of five Middlesex County artists who have snapped photographs, painted, sculpted and etched as a tribute to the heroes and victims of Sept. 11.

"The Year After," a patriotic exhibit organized by Milltown Recreation Department Coordinator Julie Petry, presents several works of art, including icons of the American flag, photographs of local memorials, and a pen-and-ink portrait of the Statue of Liberty cradling the body of a fallen firefighter.

The latter piece, titled "Freedom Goddess Lament," was created by Lisa Marie Eisenhauer, 34, of South Main Street in Milltown. Eisenhauer, a teacher’s aide and freelance artist, began working on the portrait in March using an acrylic technique on black paper.

She said it was inspired by the widows and mothers left behind by the more than 300 firefighters killed Sept. 11.

In her photograph titled "America’s Promise," Dr. Susan Thierry, an optometrist who resides in Sayreville, captures a moment that occurred at an air show several weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks. The moment, which depicts a little boy running on the beach with a rainbow and planes overhead was "very serendipitous," said Thierry. The rainbow, which biblically symbolizes God’s promise to never flood the Earth again, inspired Thierry, who said it offered her a glimmer of hope.

Milltown artist Barbara Eggerman displays her photo titled "Our Flag Was Still There," which shows a lone, tattered, weather-beaten flag at Island Beach State Park.

The exhibit will be on display at Borough Hall, Washington Avenue, through Sept. 30. The public is invited to attend a special reception Sept. 10 at 8 p.m. All of the artists are expected to attend, Petry said.

Other contributing artists include Madeline Molinari of East Brunswick and Larry DeMatteo of Milltown.

In addition to the art exhibit, the borough will hold a Candlelight Ceremony of Remembrance Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Borough Park, Violet Terrace. Local officials, clergy, police, fire and rescue teams, and the American Legion are expected to participate.