Ground Zero, New York City, 2006 by Phil Douglis

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08-AUG-2006

Ground Zero, New York City, 2006

Five years after terrorists toppled the twin towers of the World Trade Center, Ground Zero remains a sobering, heart wrenching sight. On the northern rim of the vast space that once held the towers stands another lofty office building, smaller yet somewhat similar in design to those that were destroyed. The world would never be the same after September 11, 2001, and to make that point, I juxtaposed three strands of barbed wire on the top of fence that rings the site, against the neighboring skyscraper looking much like those that fell. I am juxtaposing symbol against symbol – the barbed wire representing curtailed freedoms and new restraints, and the building representing a world that is lost forever. In juxtaposing a negative against a positive symbol, I contrast then to now.

Leica D-Lux 2
1/640s f/5.6 at 16.7mm iso80 hide exif

Full EXIF Info
Date/Time	08-Aug-2006 09:58:47
Make	Leica
Model	D-LUX2
Flash Used	No
Focal Length	16.7 mm
Exposure Time	1/640 sec
Aperture	f/5.6
ISO Equivalent	80
Exposure Bias	-0.33
White Balance	(10)
Metering Mode	multi spot (3)
JPEG Quality	(6)
Exposure Program	program (2)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium large original auto

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Phil Douglis		22-Apr-2007 18:57
Barbed wire, Charu, is, as you point out, a symbol of separation, distrust, coercion, protection, danger and hatred. It is designed to tear the flesh. Whatever we juxtapose with barbed wire becomes something either guarded or excluded. Thanks for coming to this image and responding to it as you have, Charu.

Guest		22-Apr-2007 05:01
This is a very powerful image, Phil - I agree with what others have already said hereand in great detail. All that I can add, given my cultural context is the way the barbed wire speaks to me of increasing paranoia - man against man, distrust - "dont come closer to me, you are the other" - the wire is to me a symbolod not just shutting off the world, but drawing closer to the self, a protective dangerous layer...

Phil Douglis		07-Oct-2006 01:20
You are right, Xin -- my lens is my eye here, and I am hoping that my vision will stir the thoughts of those who see this image. If those thoughts are painful, so be it. It is only right to grieve, and also to ponder the reasons for such a tragedy as this.

Sheena Xin Liu		06-Oct-2006 04:26
I almost see your eyes and emotions from the reverse direction of this picture, Phil, as you glared in grievance at the skyscrapers from those harsh wires. Likewise, I can imagine the sadness from many other eyes casting through the wires. You now create this picture, also providing the vision for more people here to echo the pain, and reflect this historical strategies.

Phil Douglis		03-Oct-2006 06:23
You always make sense to me, Zandra. You just let it go, and it always works for me. You speak here of boundaries that separates individuals, groups, and nations. Boundaries symbolize division, fear, hate, and ignorance. I placed a boundary in the foreground to suggest restraint. The more walls and fences we build between each other, the more we curtail knowledge, understanding, and ultimately freedom. And that is what this image is all about. Thank you for seeing it.

Guest		28-Sep-2006 15:26
A symbol of todays world in more then one scence Phil. Not only is it a symbol of the sad events of 9/11 but aso of the world as a whole. How we tend to live behind a protective fence...is it to keep strangers from peaking on or keeping ourselfes not to venture to far out in the world. More then a fence covering cround zero, a fence to divide people, nations, religions...It reminds me of how small the world becomes if you refuse to look beoynd your own nown and familiar barriers...you can see the workd, the sky scrape out there but the fence, your own bounderies, keeps you frpm exploring it...Just look at all that you are missing...by a first glanze you only see the sky...but inside and in the suroundings ther is a whoel new world to exploer. Not sure if i make any sence here but...

Phil Douglis		31-Aug-2006 16:59
Negative space is critical here, Chris. It creates tension all the way around the building, and this juxtaposition is largely based on the tension between implied freedom and restraint.

Chris Sofopoulos		31-Aug-2006 09:24
Strong image and very good photographing eye. You used the wire but with great use of contrary light. This is the fantastic to this photo. The negative space.

Phil Douglis		24-Aug-2006 17:53
Thanks, Celia, for this thoughtful and beautifully written analysis. I think the barbed wire seems to trap us because it keeps us apart from the building. We are constrained and can't go there. The barbed wire also echoes the shape of the building within those panels of negative space between the strands. It is a very simple juxtaposition, but as you've pointed out, it is a potent expression of the question you ask: do the steps we take to defend ourselves from terror protect us, or do they trap us? I wanted this image to confront its viewers with that question, one that is very much at the center of our debates over national security and the war on terrorism.

Cecilia Lim		24-Aug-2006 13:26
I feel so trapped looking at this image - the barbed wire makes me wonder if we are keeping harm out or are we really trapping ourselves in. Standing behind the barbed wire, the freedom and ambition that is symbolized by the bright blue skies and the shiny, towering building - standing dead-center like a pillar of faith - seem so out of reach, yet I feel that if I were on the otherside, it would be no better because it appears that man has trapped themselves in - in cages made of steel and glass in the guise of financial domination and success. Wars have been fought in the past over wealth and economic gains, and still nothing has changed today. It makes us question what our values really are, the price that we are willing to pay to attain them and how this will impact the rest of the world and its future. I think this is a superb piece of photojournalism and personal expression Phil - the brilliance & power of its evocative message lies in your masterful juxtaposition of visually striking and meaningful symbols - by forcing opposing ideas together, you too force us to think if these can really exist together. A truly memorable image Phil!

Phil Douglis		21-Aug-2006 23:37
This image continues to make us think about juxtapositions of evil and good, terror and peace, isolation and world understanding. This is what I intended. Thank you, Jenene, for seeing this image as a metaphor for the strength and resilience of the human spirit facing a world changed forever by terrorism. If it can inspire thoughts of commonality and cooperation such as yours, I will regard it as a successful expressive image.

JSWaters		21-Aug-2006 20:20
This image can represent not only a world changed forever by evil, but the strength and resilience of most people who live in that world. The sharp, unyielding barbs of evil and terrorism can only be erradicated by a world community that acknowledges such evil exists - and band together to counteract it. As our world becomes smaller, there is a pressing need to accept our cultural differences and put them to use to better our lives. You've seen alot of the world, as I have Phil, you know we have far more in common with the people of the world than we have differences. I can't not place my faith in a global decency, although I acknowledge it may get a whole lot worse before it gets better. Jenene

Phil Douglis		17-Aug-2006 03:37
I agree with your view on the role of the barbed wire here, Ceci -- it symbolizes restraint, or loss of freedom. Thanks for pointing out the ironic nature of using a product designed to restrain livestock to also restrain human beings. The attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 will no doubt mark a turning point in geopolitical history. War has been redefined. Alliances are altered. "Security" moves from a specialized business to a way of life. It is ironic that as just as we truly become a "global village," this event and its aftermath have produced more to divide us than unite us. I won't get into the politics of it here -- this image is intended to be apolitical. I had hoped that viewers would, as you have, use it to ask questions of themselves about the nature of freedom, restraint, and the kind of world we have and will inhabit since 9/11/01. Thanks, Ceci, for your impassioned response.

Guest		17-Aug-2006 03:16
Such an extraordinary, gut-socking image, conjuring up many thoughts: 9/11, with its attendant horrors and slaughter of innocents, was a cataclysmic call for America to awaken from a long sleep of isolationism, in my humble opinion. The world has shrunk as quickly as populations have grown exponentially--and we have today the opportunity to become truly global beings, if only we have the imagination and heart for it. The "collateral damage" on September 11th has given new meaning to one of our military's most insensitive and disturbing euphemisms. How interesting that barbed wire -- an invention dating from 1874 when it was dubbed "The Devil's Rope" from the injuries it inflicted upon livestock -- has been strung in a modern city to restrain people, most of whom have dubbed the perpetrators of the Twin Towers tragedy "devils".

Phil Douglis		16-Aug-2006 22:05
Glad you see so much in this image, Ai Li. That was my intention. I am hoping it will provoke thoughts such as yours and will draw many different interpretations. The elements in juxtaposition here are charged with symbolic meaning on their own: barbed wire, an office building with clouds reflecting off its surface, and a pure blue sky. Each of us will see our own meaning in these symbols and in the juxtapositions I create here.

AL		16-Aug-2006 08:33
A sad but real image. A meaningful yet provoking one. The world belongs to all of us. But separation, conflict and even terrorism are tearing us apart. More "lines" are being drawn, further exposing the vulnerability of our lives. The more many of us ascribe our apathy to the dearth of time, the pressure to get ahead, the needs of our families, a growing trend towards an individualistic society, and a burgeoning cynicism towards the possibility of change in the world.

Phil Douglis		13-Aug-2006 22:24
I was delighted you noticed those clouds juxtaposed on the skyscraper, Tim -- they do symbolize a window of opportunity, a ray of hope, perhaps even a way out of the present horrors. Perhaps we can eventualy stop putting up fences, walls, and barbed wire, and instead find ways to constructively address the causes of terrorism, rather than just dealing with its effects.

Tim May		13-Aug-2006 19:44
Aside from your elements I also respond to the clouds reflected on the buildings - these lead me to hope that there may be a way out of this present world terror - I don't know that we any of us know how or where that may be - dare I hope?

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