Assemblage, Framed

Twin Towers - Tom Gardner 9/11

Description

Framed haiku with artwork assemblage in memory of Thomas A. Gardner, created by his sister-in-law, Catherine. The assemblage features four photographs of Gardner in his formal FDNY uniform, altered and adhered to the page along with blue feathers to create wings. Blue strips of paper form the sky behind. In the lower left corner, cut from screen material, is a cross amid rubble. A cut-out of a tree is on the right. The haiku reads:

Twin Towers - Tom Gardner 9/11
Up, the stairs he climbed. . .
as the world came crashing down
Now, lies sacred ground.

Thomas A. Gardner, FDNY Hazmat, Special Unit 1
Haiku with love, by Cat Bartik-Sweeney

Historical Notes

Born in Astoria, Queens, Thomas Gardner lived in Oceanside, Long Island, with his wife, Elizabeth, and their two children. After joining the FDNY in 1982, he earned a college degree in biology and education and spoke of teaching high school science after retiring from firefighting. A member of Hazmat Company 1, Firefighter Gardner entered the South Tower with his unit on September 11. He was 39 years old.