Dark Elegy Collection, 1995-2015

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Summary

Creator:
Syracuse University.
Abstract:
Materials relating to the exhibition of Suse Lowenstein's Dark Elegy sculpture collection on Syracuse University's campus
Extent:
1.25 linear feet
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Dark Elegy Collection,

Background

Scope and content:

The Dark Elegy Collection contains six series relating to the exhibition of the statues on the campus of Syracuse University during the 1995-1996 academic year and the subsequent effort to find a permanent home for Dark Elegy.

Within the Audiovisual materials series is a DVD with an eight-minute video from Suse Lowenstein on Dark Elegy.

Clippings contains newspaper clippings from 1990 to 2008 about the creation and exhibition of Dark Elegy.

The Correspondence series contains internal Syracuse University correspondence as well as external communications with Suse Lowenstein and others.

The Photographs series contains photographs of the exhibition of Dark Elegy on Syracuse University's campus during the 1995-1996 academic year.

Within the Printed material series are fliers, announcements, programs, and other visual materials about Dark Elegy exhibitions and the search for its permanent home.

The Subject files series has materials on various topics related to the exhibition of Dark Elegy. These topics include the opening and closing events for the 1995-1996 Syracuse University campus exhibition, lectures and speakers' notes, and the Syracuse University College of Law symposium on international terrorism.

Biographical / historical:

Dark Elegy in front of Lyman Hall

Dark Elegy is a sculpture collection created by Suse Lowenstein, mother of Syracuse University student and victim of the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing, Alexander Lowenstein. It consists of 75 larger-than-life individual sculptures depicting women at the moment they learned their loved one had been killed in Pan Am Flight 103. The statues are typically arranged in a circular pattern about 65 feet in diameter, but they may be rearranged for display at different sites as Dark Elegy does not yet have a permanent home. The artist's goal is to donate the work for display in a public place where anyone may view it. If a public site is found, Suse and her husband Peter would use the money given them as reparations by the Gaddafi regime of Libya to have each statue cast in bronze.

Although Suse's personal tragedy arose from the bombing of Pan Am 103, she has dedicated Dark Elegy to all victims of terrorism. In her own words, "This sculpture needs no language, it is understood by all. It is not political in any partisan sense. It knows no borders. Today, people all over the world are affected by terrorism. DARK ELEGY is a universal appeal for peace and dignity for all victims of senseless hate and vengeance called terrorism and will be a beacon for all peace loving people. DARK ELEGY stands as a reminder of that hatred."

Acquisition information:
Transferred from the Office of Undergraduate Studies in 1996 and the Office of Institutional Advancement in 2016.
Processing information:

Materials were placed in acid-free folders and boxes.

Arrangement:

Materials are arranged alphabetically.

Access and use

Restrictions:

School, college and department records are restricted to the office of origin for 30 years. Requests to use restricted records must be obtained in writing from the office of origin.

Terms of access:

Written permission must be obtained from the Pan Am Flight 103 Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Preferred citation:

Dark Elegy Collection,

Location of this collection:
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries
Bird Library, Room 600
Syracuse, NY 13244, United States
Link to repository site
Contact:
315.443.2697
scrc@syr.edu