October 12, 2001

3:16 PM

in the wake of the september 11th attacks, people have found many different ways of grieving and dealing with the loss of life and impact of those events. 1000 I's is an ongoing collaborative project initiated by d.s. hendler to "collect 7000 copies of the 9th letter of the alphabet as a living memorial to those now gone". i think it's a beautiful idea and encourage you all to participate (you don't have to be an artist!)
posted by nyomi (18 comments total)

Is this a joke? Because it sounded really silly when I read your post. And it sounded really silly when I read about it on his site. But I just don't get it. Am I dense?

This is really silly.

We all need to find our own way to deal with the situation. But 7000 pictures of the letter I??? That is...... silly.

(and of course, my apologies to all who find this "I" quest really wonderful and fulfilling)
posted by y6y6y6 at 3:35 PM on October 12, 2001

y6y6y6, you cannot deny the fact that 7 people have committed 61 I's so far. It's not as silly to those 7 as it is to us. I don't know when this project was initiated (my guess is it's been a couple weeks), but I think it'll fizzle.
posted by msacheson at 3:42 PM on October 12, 2001

42
posted by terrapin at 3:49 PM on October 12, 2001

so we have the answer, what was the question?
posted by th3ph17 at 3:53 PM on October 12, 2001

(warning - Self-blog): I had to do a sort of self-visualization like this too. So I did. More here if you're interested. It's not a community thing, it was just a 'me' thing.
posted by kokogiak at 3:56 PM on October 12, 2001

Why the arbitrary number? Doesn't picking a random number of "I"s sort of negate the idea that they represent individuals?

And, since the numbers reported in the US media are only representative of american deaths in the towers, isn't that kind of .... mean? "Here - here is a memorial to Joe, and Susan, and Kevin, but Mary, who worked in the same office, well, she was from the UK, so why bother memorializing her senseless death?"
posted by kristin at 4:01 PM on October 12, 2001

Reminds me of the campaign to get 'W's off all the keyboards. I feel like Y6. What a silly way to "deal with the loss of life and impact of these events". *Shrugs*

I guess I'll move onto the next silly thread: "Silly Protest Signs".
posted by bloggboy at 4:14 PM on October 12, 2001

Perhaps they should talk to the folks at Sesame Street about a donation.
posted by ilsa at 4:27 PM on October 12, 2001

"you cannot deny the fact that 7 people have committed 61 I's so far."

I also can't deny that my referrer logs today contain searches for:

"home enema recipe"
"pulling over to park your car pictures"
"kafka ecstasy rolls feet"

I'm not saying it didn't happen. I'm saying that I feel like I should laugh. But then I think it's not suppose to be funny. But then I think how cool it would be if it *was* suppose to be funny. But then I worry that I'm cruel and maybe I should try and get someone else's opinion.
posted by y6y6y6 at 4:33 PM on October 12, 2001

I think it's silly to say, "We all need to find our own way to deal with the situation," and then calling people silly for doing just that.
posted by Doug at 5:03 PM on October 12, 2001

Why the arbitrary number?

I think 7000 is just a rough estimate of how many people were killed/are missing. I don't find this particularly silly - I've also had a hard time wrapping my mind around just how many people lost their lives. If these 7000 entires could be put on display in a single place, I think it'd be a pretty powerful way to put the sheer size into perspective.

But then, YMMV. ;)
posted by brookedel at 5:46 PM on October 12, 2001

yes, i suppose it is silly. so is putting up tombstones for empty graves in arlington national cemetary. (in some ways, this project is simliar. how do you mourn someone's death when there is no body? you erect a symbol.) but then again, i think that something can be both silly and meaningful at the same time. and i won't knock anyone who feels differently.
posted by nyomi at 6:01 PM on October 12, 2001

ha, even sillier is that no one has noticed so far that when i put the link in my text, i wrote 1000 instead of 7000. :D
posted by nyomi at 8:44 PM on October 12, 2001

And, since the numbers reported in the US media are only representative of american deaths in the towers,

i don't know where you got that. i don't think it's true at all. I think the number is 7000 total.
posted by jpoulos at 9:01 PM on October 12, 2001

nyomi, would you believe me now if I said I noticed that when I posted the 2nd comment? I just didn't want to nitpick on top of my cynicism.
posted by msacheson at 1:05 AM on October 13, 2001

and i suppose the majority of you thought the aids quilt, vietnam memorial (the wall), and such memorials were trite and silly as well?

if that's true, i must say that i feel sorry for you. last semester, i was lucky enough to get to see a few pieces of the aids quilt and while i've been fortunate enough to not know anyone personally to die of the disease, the symbolism brought a tear to my eye. it's art of the best kind. full of raw emotion and with a personal attachment to a real human being.

i'll be doing a few I's. one for each person i know that was present in manhattan at the time of the attacks and one for my hope that everyone who was affected will be able to rebuild and be strong.

maybe it is trite. but it's something i can do to contribute to a greater piece of art and that's good enough for me.
posted by amandaudoff at 1:17 AM on October 13, 2001

Oh, god, another one who feels sorry for me. Whenever someone says that, it's not pity they feel, but contempt.

and i suppose the majority of you thought the aids quilt, vietnam memorial (the wall), and such memorials were trite and silly as well?

No, I thought those were incredibly powerful. Drawing "I"s, I just don't get. But then, I really don't have a problem with the "I" thing.

it's art of the best kind. full of raw emotion and with a personal attachment

That stuff is memorial of the best kind, but art of the worst.
posted by jpoulos at 7:50 AM on October 13, 2001

jpaulos- no, it's pity. probably misplaced, but pity nonetheless.

and to be perfectly honest, i don't see where you've ever really mentioned in this thread your not getting it. i was speaking more to comments such as:

"Reminds me of the campaign to get 'W's off all the keyboards. I feel like Y6. What a silly way to "deal with the loss of life and impact of these events". *Shrugs*"

and how do you really differentiate (sp?) between memorial and art? graphic design/painting/drawing/whatever stands on it's own regardless of its intent.
posted by amandaudoff at 5:52 PM on October 13, 2001