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American Morning

September 11 Memorialized in Miniatures, Paint Jobs

Aired January 11, 2002 - 08:55   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: As you know, the terror attacks of September 11th have produced all kinds of reactions from people trying to make sense of the tragedy in their own way. Some artistic, some opportunistic, and some somewhere in between.

Our Jeanne Moos makes the most of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: First it was burned into our memory. Now it's been turned into art from macabre miniatures to a monument on wheels, a pickup truck with a paint job unlike any other.

CODY LENTZ, SON OF TRUCK OWNER: My dad's truck is, like, cool. I can't wait -- when I saw it, I was like, "wow."

MOOS: It was 6-year-old Cody Lentz who inspired his father to get his Ford pickup painted.

TIM LENTZ, TRUCK OWNER: Our son's birthday was on 9/11. He came home from school very upset and crying, told me that his birthday was ruined.

C. LENTZ: I feel really bad what happened on my birthday.

MOOS: So Florida plant operator Tim Lentz dedicated these images to his son and others whose lives were affected by the attacks. An automotive artist worked from news photographs depicting events ranging from the removal of the body of Fire Department Chaplain Father Judge, to President Bush's visit to Ground Zero.

There's even an image of Flight 93 before it crashed into the Pennsylvania countryside. The paint job stops traffic and pedestrians, says Tim's wife, Lisa.

LISA LENTZ: It's really comforting, and really cool.

T. LENTZ: I'll have the biggest, toughest looking guy just break down and cry when they read the back of that tailgate.

MOOS: The tailgate tells the story of Cody's spoiled 9/11 birthday.

C. LENTZ: I knew I was going to be on the back, but I didn't know there was reading on there. I'm like "whoa," that thing is awesome."

MOOS: The bill was likewise awesome.

T. LENTZ: 27,000 and change.

MOOS: If 27,000 is too steep, how about 95 bucks. That's what this miniature of the damaged twin towers sells for.

CONSTANTINE BOYM, BOYM PARTNERS, INCORPORATED: I wanted very much this building to be dignified.

MOOS: Constantine Boym is a New York designer who several years ago created a series of miniatures called "Buildings of Disaster." From the shack used as a hideout of the Unabomber, to the Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The World Trade Center was included, based on the 1993 bombing. In the wake of September 11th, Boym updated the twin towers miniature, though at first he worried it might seem unseemly.

BOYM: When I received orders from people whose offices perished in the towers, something clicked in my mind.

MOOS: People who barely got out in time ordered the miniature. Boym is having trouble meeting demand, with part of the proceeds going to the September 11th fund. You could also purchase the Pentagon.

BOYM: In fact, we call it the "September 11th Memorial Set."

MOOS: From eerie miniatures to painted pickup, some folks seem driven to drive home a point.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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