Tribute in Light Image © Charles Nesbit/The Municipal Art Society

Two temporary memorials to the World Trade Center disaster are being unveiled in New York today, the six month anniversary of the September 11 event.

This morning, a memorial sculpture implementing the 1971 Fritz Koenig sculpture "The Sphere" was unveiled in Battery Bark. The 15-foor, 45,000-pound steel and bronze sculpture, which had originally stood in the World Trade Center plaza, sustained a gash in its center on September 11 but remained structurally intact. Koenig had created the sculpture as a monument to fostering peace through world trade.

At dusk tonight, the Tribute in Light memorial, essentially two parallel beams of light, will be projected into the air from a site a few blocks from Ground Zero. The light beams will be on from dusk until 11 p.m. for the next 32 nights. The Tribute in Light was conceived by a creative team including John Bennett, Gustavo Bonevardi, Richard Nash Gould, Julian Laverdiere, Paul Marantz, and Paul Myoda. The Municipal Art Society of New York helped organize for the Tribute in Light, with artistic support by Creative Time.

Like the World Trade Center towers, the lighting designers say the beams of light will be best viewed from a distance. A total of 88 fixtures will project beams of light 20 inches in diameter, and the height of the light beams will depend on atmospheric conditions each evening. The lighting designers say the light beams will be monitored by the FAA, as well as the Audobon Society, which will be noting bird migration patterns in the area.

Financial support for Tribute in Light has been provided by General Electric, Deutsche Bank, and AOL/Time Warner. Con Edison is a contributing sponsor. The electricity and assembly costs of the Tribute in Light memorial were not available.

John E. Czarnecki, Assoc. AIA