I'm from NYC. I bought a poster of downtown Manhattan at sunset when I started college in 2000. I hung it a year later, too. I was in my dorm room when I learned what had happened. I kept the poster up. People enjoyed seeing it. People wanted to talk.

Hang the art, OP. A beautiful image of the twin towers is a good thing.

I am from NYC. The intact towers do not bother me at all.
In fact I smile every time I see it on Friends (which is incidentally often).

What bothers me is images from the day. These still make me cry.

Display it proudly and enjoy it both for the art it is and the memory of your grandmother.

Anonymous wrote:I'd put it up in a heartbeat.

But then I lived in NYC when the towers came down, dh was a first responder, it was the first time we'd ever experienced such nasty hate for having brown Indian skin, but also felt an amazing sense of community. Lots of memories.

Hit send too soon..

It's something that your grandmother made, so it should be sentimental to you. I wouldn't worry about whether others might like it or not.

I'd put it up in a heartbeat.

But then I lived in NYC when the towers came down, dh was a first responder, it was the first time we'd ever experienced such nasty hate for having brown Indian skin, but also felt an amazing sense of community. Lots of memories.

Anonymous wrote:We have an amazing photo of the twin towers, from the 80's which is already framed. We keep it in a box. If we had it on the wall I would feel really uncomfortable, like we were making some kind of weird statement. Also you don't know people's connections to the towers falling - it could cause someone personal grief.

Sensitivity is good. But the chances of this are slim, and it's not a showy or tasteless image.

Frame it and enjoy it.

People are far too worried nowadays about offending others. Don't worry about it, OP, it's meaningful to you, and you absolutely should frame and ENJOY it.

We have an amazing photo of the twin towers, from the 80's which is already framed. We keep it in a box. If we had it on the wall I would feel really uncomfortable, like we were making some kind of weird statement. Also you don't know people's connections to the towers falling - it could cause someone personal grief.

Frame it

Yeah, unless it upsets you, I'd frame it and put it up. There's nothing political about it. It's just a nice drawing from a certain period in history. No one thinks we need to pretend that the twin towers never existed.

^ especially if it's in the privacy of your own home.

I guess I don't understand your hesitation. If seeing the twin towers brings up painful memories, I would understand you not putting it up, but if for you it's just a lovely piece of art that your grandmother made... why not?

^^ near ... v. weird autocorrect.

I think unless it has an eagle hovering neer the towers, crying a single tear, wrapped in an American flag, people are not going to perceive it as "stuff" re: 9/11. You are way overthinking this.

Frame it.

My Grandmother was a talented artist (not in any way "famous"!), but I still maintain that she should have been! My Gram sketched it in the late 90's, and passed away in May 2001, so (for me and my family) there was never any political connotation. I recently discovered it buried in an old box of art supplies...she'd evidently set it aside for framing but never got around to it.


The thing is... It's really wonderful.... If it had been a sketch of the Chrysler Building or any other NYC landmark, it would already be on my wall. However, there's so much "stuff" around the Twin Towers (and I'm deliberately using "stuff" because I don't want a political/religious/moral connotation), that I'm hesitant to display it. On the other hand, it's a really wonderful display of my Gram's love of art.

To answer the first question that will come up...Yes, I have other pieces displayed, so I don't need to display this to remember my Gram. This is just a cityscape from across the river, the Towers are just part of what she saw.

So... WWYD? Frame it and hang it without making a big deal (probably with other black and white photos or drawings...haven't worked it out yet)? OR should I just preserve it for personal family history?