Sign
- Description
- Polyurethane foam insulation board with painted lettering, applied interchangeable numerals, and associated hardware; with inscription: "x YEARS xxx DAYS SINCE 9-11-01 | WHERE IS OSAMA BIN LADEN?" Red-painted number cards are hung from hardware above the year and day countdown to indicate the years and number of days since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. A paper note applied to the bottom edge of the board with black adhesive tape reads: "DEAD."
- Historical Notes
- Brooklyn resident Cheryl Stewart placed a sign in her yard to count the days that bin Laden remained at large. By the morning of May 2, 2011, a passerby had taped a note to the sign to share the news.
Curator's Comment
On September 11, Cheryl Stewart watched in disbelief from the roof of her Red Hook, Brooklyn, home as a plume of black smoke wafted across the sky from lower Manhattan. Despite the horrific view, she felt confident that the Twin Towers would be standing tall when the smoke cleared. It was days later before she could register the enormity of the event.
In 2003, with war declared in Iraq, the politically-conscious Stewart decided to create a sign posing the question, "Where is Osama bin Laden?" The sign tracked the number of years and days the world’s most elusive terrorist remained free.
Late on the night of May 1, 2011, in a televised address, U.S. President Barack Obama announced the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. Navy Seals in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Stewart finally received the answer to the long-standing question posed on her sign.
In May 2011, Stewart donated her sign to the 9/11 Memorial Museum, marking the Museum’s first artifact dramatizing the historic milestone of bin Laden’s capture and death.
In 2003, with war declared in Iraq, the politically-conscious Stewart decided to create a sign posing the question, "Where is Osama bin Laden?" The sign tracked the number of years and days the world’s most elusive terrorist remained free.
Late on the night of May 1, 2011, in a televised address, U.S. President Barack Obama announced the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. Navy Seals in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Stewart finally received the answer to the long-standing question posed on her sign.
In May 2011, Stewart donated her sign to the 9/11 Memorial Museum, marking the Museum’s first artifact dramatizing the historic milestone of bin Laden’s capture and death.
- Accession Number: C.2011.1014.1
- Dimensions: 31 in X 44 in X 2.5 in
- Dimensions (Metric): 78.74 cm X 111.76 cm X 6.35 cm
- Source: Cheryl Stewart
- Credit Line: Gift of Cheryl Stewart
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