The way I saw 911on that day
Date: 2002
Region: North America
Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion
Medium: Painting
Artist: Paul D. Trice
Confronting Bodies: Heritage Bank employees
Date of Action: February 2002
Location: Heritage Bank in Ocean View, Newport, Virginia, USA
Description of Artwork: The way I saw 911 on that day (all rights are reserved so it cannot be shown here), commemorating the World Trade Center tragedy, showed several scenes of the disaster: a view of New York harbor with the smoke-engulfed towers in the distance; a close-up of a plane striking one of the towers; and a rescuer workers searching the rubble as fire-fighters raise the American flag. Paul D. Trice, a self-taught oil painter copied the images from newspaper photos, avoiding blood and gore.
The Incident: The way I saw 911 on that day was pulled from the bank after a few days on display because a customer found it offensive. The employees at the Heritage Bank and Trust branch told the artist that a customer objected to the work, perhaps because it included an image of Osama bin Laden on a poster reading “Most Wanted by FBI Dead or Alive”.
Results of Incident: London Bridge Trading Co. in Virginia Beach, a company that makes military gear, offered the painting a place of honor in its store after the painting was pulled from the bank.
Source: Newport News, NCAC