On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland by Libyan terrorists killing 259 on board and 11 Lockerbie residents on the ground. Of the 259 passengers that were killed, 35 were Syracuse University students returning home from a study abroad program in London. As a result of this attack, Suse Lowenstein, mother of Syracuse University student Alexander Lowenstein, created Dark Elegy, a sculpture garden that captures the raw, emotional impact of this act of terrorism. As a group led by three 2015 Remembrance Scholars, we are asking for your support in finding Dark Elegy a permanent home on Syracuse University's campus.
Dark Elegy is made up of 76 pieces, each portraying a mother or wife at the moment she found out about her loved one’s death on Pan Am 103. Mrs. Lowenstein began her work with a sculpture of herself, when she found out that her son, Alexander, had died on the flight. From there, she invited family members of the victims to come into her studio, relive the moment, and portray the grief that they felt upon learning of their loved one's death.
"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." It is a reminder that we are all human, and the grief we feel is the same regardless of nationality, skin color, political affiliation, or religion.
Dark Elegy is presently located at Peter and Suse Lowenstein’s personal residence in Montauk, NY. The Lowensteins are looking for a permanent home for the sculpture collection, so that it may be more readily accessible to the public to educate about the emotional and human costs of terrorism. They feel that Syracuse University is the ideal and natural location for Dark Elegy, and ardently wish to donate the sculptures to the university.
We are asking for your support in finding Dark Elegy a permanent home at an institution where students are learning and working daily to make our world a more just and peaceful place. Please join us in our mission to continue to remember the lives of those lost, and to work for a world where terrorism is no longer a reality.
To find out more about Dark Elegy, please visit http://www.darkelegy103.com/about.html
Updates
Reached 1,000 supporters
October 16, 2015
Reached 100 supporters
July 25, 2015
July 23, 2015
Seeing the count climb toward one hundred has left me completely stunned. This growth is entirely because of your belief in the importance of finding Dark Elegy a home. If you have a moment today please reach out to one person who should know about this project so we can keep this momentum going.
309 Comments
member of class '89. I knew Alexander Lowenstein and others who perished that day. I have traveled to Lockerbie to visit all the memorial sites. I have seen Dark Elegy in person in NJ many years ago. It needs to come home to SU where it belongs.
I lost my husband, Martin Simpson, on PanAm103 and was very happy to be invited to pose for Suse. I'm a member of PanAm 103 Families and feel it would be very appropriate for the mourning sculptures to be permanently installed on the Syracuse University campus.
My brother was on this flight. Syracuse University has done so much for the families during the past 27 years and the Syracuse students that were on this flight. This would be the ideal spot for the exhibit so that the educational process can contiue
I am the mother of Lynne Hartunian, a student at the State of New York University at Oswego, when she died on Pan Am 103. I have posed for one of the sculptors, and believe it belongs at Syracuse University. It is a powerful tribute to all who died on that terrible day.
I was formerly the Assistant Archivist for the Pan Am 103 collection in the SU Archives. I know first hand the impact of this tragedy and believe that Dark Elegy is poignant tribute to all those lost to senseless acts of terrorism.
These victims should not be forgotten.
Recently learned of this… it needs a permanent home
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On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland by Libyan terrorists killing 259 on board and 11 Lockerbie residents on the ground. Of the 259 passengers that were killed, 35 were Syracuse University students returning home from a study abroad program in London. As a result of this attack, Suse Lowenstein, mother of Syracuse University student Alexander Lowenstein, created Dark Elegy, a sculpture garden that captures the raw, emotional impact of this act of terrorism. As a group led by three 2015 Remembrance Scholars, we are asking for your support in finding Dark Elegy a permanent home on Syracuse University's campus.
Dark Elegy is made up of 76 pieces, each portraying a mother or wife at the moment she found out about her loved one’s death on Pan Am 103. Mrs. Lowenstein began her work with a sculpture of herself, when she found out that her son, Alexander, had died on the flight. From there, she invited family members of the victims to come into her studio, relive the moment, and portray the grief that they felt upon learning of their loved one's death.
"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." It is a reminder that we are all human, and the grief we feel is the same regardless of nationality, skin color, political affiliation, or religion.
Dark Elegy is presently located at Peter and Suse Lowenstein’s personal residence in Montauk, NY. The Lowensteins are looking for a permanent home for the sculpture collection, so that it may be more readily accessible to the public to educate about the emotional and human costs of terrorism. They feel that Syracuse University is the ideal and natural location for Dark Elegy, and ardently wish to donate the sculptures to the university.
We are asking for your support in finding Dark Elegy a permanent home at an institution where students are learning and working daily to make our world a more just and peaceful place. Please join us in our mission to continue to remember the lives of those lost, and to work for a world where terrorism is no longer a reality.
To find out more about Dark Elegy, please visit http://www.darkelegy103.com/about.html
Updates
Reached 1,000 supporters
October 16, 2015
Reached 100 supporters
July 25, 2015
July 23, 2015
Seeing the count climb toward one hundred has left me completely stunned. This growth is entirely because of your belief in the importance of finding Dark Elegy a home. If you have a moment today please reach out to one person who should know about this project so we can keep this momentum going.
309 Comments
I am an SU grad and was on campus the day this occurred. The despair in those who suffered is truly captured in this installation and the University would more adequately bring tribute to those who died and those families who suffered by bringing the installation to campus.
member of class '89. I knew Alexander Lowenstein and others who perished that day. I have traveled to Lockerbie to visit all the memorial sites. I have seen Dark Elegy in person in NJ many years ago. It needs to come home to SU where it belongs.
I lost my husband, Martin Simpson, on PanAm103 and was very happy to be invited to pose for Suse. I'm a member of PanAm 103 Families and feel it would be very appropriate for the mourning sculptures to be permanently installed on the Syracuse University campus.
My brother was on this flight. Syracuse University has done so much for the families during the past 27 years and the Syracuse students that were on this flight. This would be the ideal spot for the exhibit so that the educational process can contiue
I am the mother of Lynne Hartunian, a student at the State of New York University at Oswego, when she died on Pan Am 103. I have posed for one of the sculptors, and believe it belongs at Syracuse University. It is a powerful tribute to all who died on that terrible day.
I was formerly the Assistant Archivist for the Pan Am 103 collection in the SU Archives. I know first hand the impact of this tragedy and believe that Dark Elegy is poignant tribute to all those lost to senseless acts of terrorism.
These victims should not be forgotten.
Recently learned of this… it needs a permanent home
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I am an SU grad and was on campus the day this occurred. The despair in those who suffered is truly captured in this installation and the University would more adequately bring tribute to those who died and those families who suffered by bringing the installation to campus.