Has it really been 25 years since 9/11? For many of us, the day is so seared in our memories that its anniversary each year elicits fresh emotions. Scattered Steel takes an unusual and fascinating angle on that day. The steel and concrete debris had to be sifted for human remains, and then the concrete became landfill and the steel mostly got recycled to foreign countries, some of which were not told of its provenance. But some steel did remain, and brothers Max and Samuel Holleran trace how it got distributed around the world for memorials, keeping the memory of that day alive for folks who lived thousands of miles away from New York City.
Scattered Steel smartly delves into topics ranging from the search for micro-remains to the use of memorials in modern times to how the steel relics were used across the country and abroad, most notably in a striking Daniel Libeskind–designed monument in Padua, Italy. But many were also quite simple, D.I.Y. projects that cost less than $5,000 and required no design-approval process. Twenty-five years later, does this steel resonate? The Hollerans answer in their typically stylish way. “No longer in the world’s largest building, but alone, detached, isolated from its larger engineered purpose, twisted, rusting, and gnarled. But still visible.”
