Entitled "In Remembrance of Our Family", artist Matthew Baker's installation to commemorate alumni lost in the World Trade Towers attack is also a tribute to all who died on that terrible day, September 11, 2001.
Against the backdrop of the American flag, the names of all victims are inscribed on the red and white stripes. On the field of blue each white star is named for a state, with a large star in the middle labeled New York and two slightly smaller stars representing Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. The positioning symbolizes the other states rallying around the most affected regions of the nation.
In the foreground, to the right of the flag display, are photographic portraits and biographical information about the five alumni members of the NYIT family lost in the attack on the World Trade Towers. Centered, on transparent paper, is the story of NYIT and how the tragedy has affected the faculty and students.
Born in Los Angeles and raised in Salt Lake City, Matthew Baker attended the University of Utah. Before coming to live in New York, he resided in San Francisco. He has worked in many mediums and visual disciplines including ceramics, illustration painting and photography.
Baker found inspiration for the installation in such earlier commemorative symbols of this nation's loss as the National Memorial Aids Quilt and more recently, the Firemen's Memorial Quilt.
"It is an honor to be invited to take part in NYIT's memorial to their alumni lost last September," notes Baker. "Participating in this project has been extremely humbling for me and it is my sincerest hope that In Remembrance of Our Family pays a patriotic tribute to those affected by the events of September 11."
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