Based in New York City, Charles Renfro, Diller Scofidio + Renfro is a design firm where art, architecture, and performance meet.
“We’ve done every conceivable kind of project,” says partner Charles Renfro. “We did the Highline, and also the runaway Lincoln Center.”
A resident of Cherry Grove since 2012, Renfro was invited to be part of the AIDS Memorial Task Force by former Fire Island Pines Property Association President, Jay Pagano towards the end of his term.
“Jay was shocked that there was no tribute memorial to the AIDS crisis that occurred in Fire Island, especially because so many were impacted by it out here,” he added. “He did not bring me on as a designer, but as a design consultant. However, as we got into the process of site selection; it was clear that some design work had to be done. So, I agreed, along with my colleagues, to advance the design in earnest.”
Unlike traditional memorials, there is no plan to list names or other word inspirations a deliberate move on the part of the task force says Renfro.
“What we wanted to do is to make a place of memory and create a space that draws that memory and the feeling directly from the nature of the island,” he said.
The monument is not just about sight, but sound.
“It’s a sound reflector that amplifies the rhythm of the waves curling straight from the beach through a parabolic arch to focus on a single point where just a few people can gather together.”
Renfro compares that modest quantity of gatherers to the number of people who might inhabit a Fire Island share-house.
“When the AIDS crisis was still among us. The houses were insular. It wasn’t a time for parties out on the island. Many of the victim’s ashes were dispersed in the ocean along the beaches of the Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove. This makes the ocean the final resting place for these people, so we wanted the memorial to have a visual connection to the ocean.”
There will be a website online in connection with the memorial to serve as an outlet where people can share their memories and reflect, but a prime factor of this design is its simplicity.
“It’s not to say that the memorial won’t be something striking to look at, by the virtue of its parabolic reflector, it will look a bit like a wave itself.”
…or perhaps a seashell both in appearance and metaphor.
