EXHIBITION PROPOSAL

Remembering: The People, The Places, The Memorials

TITLE:             STAR-SPANGLED,
                       Picturing America after 9/11,
                       From Cape Cod to the Santa Monica Pier

MEDIUM:         B/W Photography by Roger Arvid Anderson
                       * Note: museum settings are Photoshopped examples

DESCRIPTION:

WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN... September 11, 2001... History happens. Hi-jacked planes smash into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and then the Pentagon. Fast-acting heroes prevent another plane from hitting the White House. Not only is the nation shocked, it is watching... 9/12, the day after... Overnight, ordinary Americans all over the country put up spontaneous placards and memorials to those who had sacrificed their lives. As photographer Roger Arvid Anderson discovered, you couldn't aim a camera without finding a flag, that one common but mighty thread that united the country as we mourned the dead, saluted the brave and reaffirmed our enduring commitment to the ideals of freedom.

STAR-SPANGLED is a look back at 9/11, but with a national perspective. For those who never got to walk among the memorials at Ground Zero, this will be their chance, and for those who never left Manhattan this will be their chance to see how the rest of the country responded: the people, the places, the insightful crayon drawings of children, the desperate messages of hope for the missing followed by the inevitable memorials posted in door wells and windows all across America. In his yearlong journey recording this heartfelt phenomenon Roger Arvid Anderson packed two cameras and wore out three pairs of sensible shoes. He walked through cities, towns and villages from as far as Cape Cod on the Atlantic, to Minneapolis and St. Paul on the Mississippi, to the Santa Monica Pier on the Pacific... join him as his remarkable photographs take you step by step from sea to shining sea.

IRS STATUS: 

As a historical and artistic document meant to benefit the General Public this project has been approved for fiscal sponsorship by Artspire, a program of the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA). The Foundation is a 501c# corporation: under IRS regulations it qualifies as tax-exempt.

BUSINESS MODEL:

This is a charitable project meant to honor the heroes of 9/11. It seeks to cover production and administration costs required to digitize 3500 primary images for an online Image Bank, for sets of master prints for archives and for underwriting exhibition and publication opportunities.

TARGET AUDIENCE: 

The General Public as well as Museums, University Galleries, Libraries and History Centers.

FUNDING:

We seek Corporations, Foundations, Government Agencies and Patrons with an interest in Public Affairs and the Arts. Donations through Artspire would be tax-exempt.

OUTREACH: 5 ways to share this VISUAL DOCUMENT with the General Public

1. TRAVELING EXHIBITION, titled STAR-SPANGLED

250 IMAGES: available in a variety of configurations, that is singly or as triptychs, or as multiples in groups or grids. The images will be digitally printed, including the possibility of wall-sized murals printed on sheets of vinyl.

DESIGN: The organizing VISUAL of the exhibition is the American flag. Mural sized prints will recall the giant flags and banners put up after 9/11. It also means those photographs with messages and words can be easily read. Visitors should feel they are on a stroll with the photographer through the streets and towns of America.

VENUES: The exhibition has the potential to travel widely across America to museums, university galleries, libraries and history centers.

2.  EXHIBITION CATALOG

Selected images with an introduction by the photographer followed by a scholarly essay.

3.  INTERNET IMAGE BANK

3500 digitized primary images drawn from over 32,000 B/W negatives taken over the course of a year on 35 mm and 120 mm film. The Image Bank will be administered by the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City. The goal is to make the images easily available to the General Public as well as scholars and curators. To reach this goal the project requires the assistance of digital specialists experienced in Photoshop as the negatives need to be edited, scanned, dusted and perfected for website posting and for making prints for exhibition, publication and archiving.

5.  THE STAR-SPANGLED ARCHIVESat accredited institutions

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City from a Statement of Understanding made in 2015 is committed to become the primary archive for the Star- Spangled project, and will administer the online Image Bank and house a set of master prints. A second archive, Special Collections and Rare Books at the Andersen Library of the University of Minnesota, has agreed to house a set of master prints as well as the original negatives. We also seek other regional and institutional archives with an interest in preserving this historical document.