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 Little did Stephen Shaheen ’95 dream that his brief flirtation with
art as an undergraduate student would lead to national recognition for
a breathtaking sculpture created to commemorate those who perished in the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But that’s exactly what happened.
Graduating with a double major in visual arts and classics, Shaheen pursued
his artistic aspirations first as a musician. He and his college band buddies
moved their renditions of rock, folk and alternative tunes, as well as
some original songs, from Mount St. James to the nightlife scene in Boston.
But when the lead singer’s departure initiated the break up of the
band, Shaheen accepted a teaching post at Christian Brothers Academy in
his home state of New Jersey.
After his first year of teaching, Shaheen booked a backpacking trip to
Italy that would eventually redirect his future. Museum visits and his
travels in and around Tuscany and Florence fed the starving artist inside. “My
interest was catalyzed after my first few months in Italy, especially being
surrounded by the finest examples of stone sculpture that exist in Western
art,” he says. Enamored with the country, its language and culture,
he contemplated canceling his return ticket to the United States, but reconsidered,
and completed a second year of teaching before pursuing his artistic goals
in Europe.
Before Shaheen could begin Italian language classes at Sienna University,
he found himself faced with the opportunity of enrolling in a sculpting
program. Always fascinated by stone sculpting—“It’s a strong
and good way to express yourself in a natural material without getting
into welding and steel”—and a diehard Michelangelo fan, Shaheen
wanted to play a role in preserving this demanding, complex, dying art. “Most
people have forgotten the proper techniques for carving stone,” he
says. “I wanted to regain some of that knowledge and open up a door
through which I’ve always wanted to pass.”
Alongside a mix of people, some of whom were interested in artistic applications
of stonework and others who leaned toward more commercial purposes, Shaheen
began basic, but intense classes. “It was like Sculpture 101. How
do you wield a chisel? How do you cut stone? How do you make planes? How
do you measure? There’s a progression you go through,” Shaheen
says. “You start with simple forms, then graduate to more classical
sculpture, reliefs, capitals for columns. Then, after making copies, you
make originals.”
When the terrorist attacks occurred in the United States, Shaheen was
still in Italy. The full impact of the tragedy didn’t penetrate until
he was back on American soil in his Sandy Hook neighborhood. Where once
he could view the Twin Towers from across the wide stretch of water, he
now saw an empty sky. The inspiration to fill that void sprung from his
passion for sculpting and a strong desire to memorialize the victims of
the tragedy, including the 150 people from his county who perished that
day. With no fund-raising experience and a mere two-year training in the
art of sculpting, Shaheen embarked on a monumental task. As president of
the Memoria Project, he approached several government agencies for permits
and a number of companies for services and goods. In May 2002, Vermont
Quarries Corporation donated four blocks of Imperial White Danby marble,
weighing 20,000 pounds each and worth approximately $31,000. The Virginia
Mist Group Inc. contributed granite worth more than $60,000 to the project.
Within an incredible two-month period—from June 6 to July 25—Shaheen,
together with his master teachers from Tuscany, Marcello Sennati and Ampelio
Rinaldi, worked six-day weeks of eight-to-10 hours a day to complete the
centerpiece of the project before the self-imposed deadline of the tragedy’s
first anniversary. From the raw materials, a male and female figure materialized,
communicating transition, ruin, entrapment, emergence and awakening, all
dependent on the viewer’s perspective, according to Shaheen. Five
granite boulders on which the names of all the victims will be carved will
encircle the monument. A number of families and individuals affected by
the attacks also stepped forward to offer assistance.
Shaheen chose to work on the sculptures on the beach at Sandy Hook to
give the general public a chance to view art in the making and to participate
in a project intended to commemorate as well as to promote healing. Due
to government regulations, the project has been moved temporarily to nearby
Highlands, N.J., an important evacuation site following the terrorist attacks. “More
than any other town around here, Highlands played a major role in Sept.
11. It was a major triage and evacuation set-up point because there are
two ferry services that go right into downtown New York,” Shaheen
says. “They got 10,000 people out of the cities that day. The townspeople
felt that event as participants.”
Shaheen admits that his training as a sculptor is incomplete. The unfinished
Memoria Project still needs a permanent home, and a bust of Michelangelo
sits in the studio in Italy awaiting completion. To round out his education,
he is required to perform an internship with experienced sculptors as he
develops his own style and technique. For now, Shaheen is trying to make
sense of the creative evolution he has experienced in the last several
years. “It’s been an interesting journey,” he says. “In
some ways, it’s probably just beginning.” To read more about
the Memoria Project, log on to www.memoriaproject.com.
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