Immediately after the 9/11 attacks, artist and photographer Jonathan C. Hyman embarked on a journey with his car, his camera, and a ladder, on a mission to chronicle the "vernacular" art popping up across the country in response to the tragedy. This journey would last more than 10 years and take him from Maine to Florida to Illinois and beyond, where he photographed tributes on building walls, handball courts, vehicles, tree trunks, construction fencing, and even human skin. Our collection includes a broad cross-section of this series, including two photos that reference Pearl Harbor - attacked 80 years ago today - in their homages to September 11.
Eight decades after the “day that will live in infamy” and two since the one we will “never forget," Hyman spoke to us about his project of 10+ years and the pairing of the two historical events.
Define “vernacular” art, for those who may not know the term.
I would define vernacular art as a genre of artistic expression — often displayed and/or made in public — by people who are untrained and generally do not conceive of themselves as artists. The artwork and public expression in the aftermath of September 11 were the result of an incredible burst of creativity by many people making art for the first time. The common thread among almost all of what I photographed was the use by lay artists of objects, images, and iconography available in our popular culture.