In his mixed media piece 8:45 9-11 2001, Cleve Overton reconstructs the site of the World Trade Center and the
surrounding areas out of found objects.  In this work, as in his other works, he uses computer parts, cell phone
pieces, clocks, electronic waste and other materials from his  electronics scrap heap.  Overton's conscious use
of technological waste in his mixed media pieces, including this one, is a statement to the lack of an effective
infrastructure for the disposal of e-waste. Looking  at 8:45 9-11 2001, it's not quite clear what makes up the
composition; the surface is layer upon layer of wire, chip, bolt, lid, or ambiguous circle, all covered in a dusty
grayish white that allows distorted shadows to play across the ashen surface.  On some level objects that litter
the surface of the  piece are recognizable, but his decision to cover everything with a later of matte, flat white
paint obscures it just enough that it's difficult to connect with the individual objects.  It is this combination of
cloudy recognition and disconnect with the medium that allows us to immediately feel the destructive, somber
tone of this piece.   The artist is from Staten Island, and though he never visited ground zero, he felt compelled
to capture the destruction in his art.  Upon looking at 8:45 9-11 2001, the viewer is immediately struck with the
messages of waste, the gravity of the theme and the bleakness of the mood on that day; Overton has taken a
mixed media collage that is typical to his style, and by experimenting with paint has transformed it into an
effective representation of the chaotic haze that radiated from that site in Manhattan almost seven years ago.


Cleve Overton was born in New York, and now lives in Washington, DC. He studied at several N.Y. art schools,
working and teaching in a variety of situations with diverse materials. He was a studio partner, an adjunct
professor at New York Baruch College and at the Performing and Creative Arts Department of the College of
Staten Island. Cleve has exhibited nationally and internationally in juried shows, and many of his works are in
private collections in Europe, Africa, and Asia.  

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Artist website: http://www.clevesart.com/