Gustav Potthoff's latest painting, New York, New York: Lest We ForgetWho Needs Art at a Time Like This?
In the aftermath of the September 11th attacks in this country, it is so hard to know what to write, what to do, what to say. This is embarrassing to admit, but, after watching the second plane crash into the second tower of the World Trade Center, I actually thought for one tenth of a second, "Wow. What are the odds that two planes would accidentally crash into the same very large, occupied building?" I am still as naïve as a child, and the more I consider the complexities of religion, foreign policy, and human nature, the less I understand.
Still, there are a few basic ideas I could wrap my mind around. Number one, I had to do something. For starters, I could give blood. I called up my local Red Cross, and the nurse on the other end of the line gave me good news and bad. That I must take anti-depressant medication would not affect my ability to donate. Good. But, I would have to weigh at least 110 pounds. I do not—but just by a gnat's eyelash. The nurse said she wouldn't fudge the numbers for me because I could become very ill and that whoever wound up with my sad bit of blood probably wouldn't benefit much from it anyway. It was hard for me not to feel extra helpless right then.
I am not a soldier, nor a doctor, nor a firefighter, not even a farmer. In times of conflict and war, I wondered, who needs me? I am just a writer and an artist. My work and most everything else seems so trivial when compared with this atrocity—and so many other human rights violations around the world that I know shamefully little about.
I asked the director of our local university art museum about the value of art now, and she said she believes the arts are more important than ever. She told me, "I think in times like these especially it's been so important to have the arts to turn to for inspiration and comfort. . . . You know when you do the very best you can to create something positive it is the best thing you can do in the most difficult times. And of course artists are creating, on the most part, positive things for us to experience."
With that in mind, I am doing what I can as an artist to help. At a recent art festival, my family and I handed out colorful mail-art envelopes that were pre-addressed to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund in New York. People could take as many as they liked-as long as they promised to enclose a donation and drop them in the mail. It doesn't seem like much, I guess, but it's a start. We passed out lots of envelopes that afternoon, and if even a handful of people use them to send in donations, that's certainly better than nothing.
If you want to help, you can volunteer your creative talents or time to raise money and/or awareness for the victim's families, the Salvation Army, the American Red Cross, or other organizations. Some addresses for you:
American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund
P.O. Box 3756
Church St. Station
New York, NY 10008
New York Times Fund for Victims
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/13/nyregion/13NEED.html
September 11th Fund
(The New York Community Trust and the United Way of New York City)
http://www.uwnyc.com/epledge/sept11.cfm
International Association of Firefighters
http://www.helping.org/wtc/iaff.adp
International Association of Firefighters 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund
1750 New York Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20006
New York Fraternal Order of Police Fund
http://www.nysfop.org/WTCdisaster/Fund.html
New York Fraternal Order of Police Fund
Attn: Robert Lucente
911 Police Plaza
Hicksville, NY 11801
Salvation Army
http://www.helping.org/wtc/sa.adp
Salvation Army
P.O. Box 269
615 Slaters Ln.
Alexandria, VA 22313
National Organization of Victim Assistance
http://www.try-nova.org
National Organization of Victim Assistance
1730 Park Rd. NW
Washington, DC 20010-2101