Pyramid of Souls World Trade Center International Monument & Museum
Created Sept. 11, 2001 -Sept. 28, 2004
The Pyramid of Souls,World Trade Center International Monument and Museum was created by Jerry W. Carter during 2001 and 2002 is the artist’s considered response to the murder of 3000 people by terrorists.
The architectural structure Carter created is his invention alone. It is the first monumental translucent pyramidal architectural structure ever created.
The artist’s creation is much more than a translucent pyramidal architectural form. It is a building that stands 218 feet high over a monumental spherical with double glass insulated walls and 8 elevated floors.
Unique Features of The Pyramid of Souls World Trade Center International Monument and Museum:
First architectural monumental translucent glass pyramidal complex.
First architectural pyramid sitting over a below ground spheroid.
Apex Room with clear glass sides.
Circular open space in Apex floor.
Circular desk around circular hole in floor.
Doughnut shaped stifner for diagonal support beams of pyramid.
Library under apex room floor.
Spherical “room” with open ceiling and open floor in the center of the 6 elevated floors.
Spiral Stair Case winding around a hologram of depicting the destruction of the WTC.
A large open meeting room on first floor with cathedral like ceiling.
Circular closable diaphram opening in center of first floor.
Monumental spherioidal space below the first floor to house theater, educational facilities.
Spheroid circled with logistical doughnut shaped transport and utility roundabout.
How the Pyramid of Souls Came in the mind of the artist
Thousands of people jump over 1000 feet to their death around the burning Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Confounded by the inescapable mass death, Carter remembered Picasso said, “To be an artist you have to become a child again.” Carter turn around the people falling to their death. Now they ascended in resurrection to after life. The artist then put the composition on a flat conspicuous architectural surface. The simplest flat sided geometric form is a pyramid, which Carter had created often before as art works.
CARTER AND PYRAMIDS
The artist then put the composition on a conspicuous flat architectural surface. The simplest flat sided geometric form is a pyramid, which Carter had created often before as art works.
Carter made over 100 glass pyramids at the Nuutajärvi Glass Factory, Finland. 1990.
Ancient Atmospheres. 1986.
The fact that an architectural Pyramid is well known as a structure symbolic of after life, is not incidental to Carter’s use of it as the structure to support his theme of universal human salvation. The artist incorporated other cross almost universally accepted cultural religious symbols into the Pyramid for The World Trade Center.
The cultural symbols in the Pyramid of Souls include:
The Pyramid. Pharaonic symbol of after life.
The Cross. The cross marks the special spot or person.
The Circle. Symbol of the divine, god,
Water. Life.
Pyramid of Souls, The revered place where the Souls of the victims of September 11th were surrounded by life in divine eternity.
SPECIAL FEATURES AND STRUCTURES
Entrances to the Pyramid of Souls are Romanesque, and Pharaonic/Egyptian.
Ceremonial entrances to the monumental translucent pyramidal complex are accessed by walking on long marble causeways over the circular water body. The time it takes to cross the long causeways is meant to be meditation period.
Carter created the spiral staircase in an elevated open ended spherical room surrounded by office floors.
Monumental animated hologram demonstrating the destruction of the World Trade Center Twin Towers. Created 2001
Eternal flame with statues. [After Pergamon marbles]
2001-2002 Articulated models in-progress showing domed spherical room, an apex room, and elevated floors.
Visitors walk around the Wall of Names of the victims of 9/11 and over the Water of Life.
This Pyramid of Souls interior view was created when Carter accidentally dropped his virtual camera through the glass roof of the virtual pyramid. The accident documented this enormous resurrection scene. Since Carter studied El Greco and Italian Mannerist painters, he welcomed this accident. This glass pyramidal memorial derived it’s name from this accident.
Carter incorporated fragmented Facades of Destroyed World Trade Center Buildings
Monumental fragments of the facade of the World Trade Twin towers are placed over the causeways to create a sense of reality for the massive destruction.
To access the Pyramid of Souls visitors walk over marble walkways under remnants of the destroyed World Trade Center buildings Carter placed there.
Virtual statues of New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and staff first approaching the destroyed World Trade Center.
The Pyramid of Souls Below Grade
Where the Twin Towers once stood was a large deep crater, a large area of public destruction around the Twin Towers, many private and public businesses were lost. The subway station beneath was destroyed.
Preliminary design for a below grade subway station entrance
Carter designed the subway station to be entered below glass pyramid.
Carter created original virtual buildings to replace the destroyed above ground structures.
The entire World Trade Center block was deeply cratered. The artist created a monolithic spheroid torus to hold offices, businesses, public institutions, and many public amenities that were destroyed. The spheroid is surrounded by torus doughnut shaped ring for transport and logistical service of the entities inside the spheroid.
Site Placement and the Pyramid of Souls
The Pyramid of Souls and the water features are placed overfoot prints of the North and South Twin Towers.
Carter created buildings to surround the Pyramid of Souls World Trade Center Monument and Museum. The buildings’ lower floors face the pyramid. and are designed with loggeta balcony floors containing restaurants, meeting rooms, shopping areas, all overlooking the monumental glass pyramid.
Carter’s painting of the Pyramid of Souls Complex
Cater’s painted composite of the Pyamid of Souls features including an articulation of Carter’s pyramid.
September 11 Peace Dove, is a digital mosaic Carter made at the request of the City of Lenola Italy. It was translated into a pavement mosaic in Lenola, Italy