"Tempered by Memory: 9/11 Memorial — Steel & Spirit in Saratoga Springs"

A glorious paradox—steel bent by fire, memories twisted by time. The city of Saratoga Springs, graced by the hands of fate, was offered a relic — shard in history, wrenched from the ribs of a dying tower. Steel beams, fractured remnants of the World Trade Center disaster, arrived like ghosts, weighted with the stories of a vanished world. Who would dare temper these echoes of destruction into beauty?

The Machinations of Destiny: The Plan

In the blackened forges of creative ambition, two titans of the sculpting realm — John Van Alstine, the world renoun sculptor of Wells, NY, and Noah Savett, the urbane conjurer of Schuylerville — stood at the precipice of creation. These men, hardened by their own triumphs, had spent years casting shadows across the world of modern sculpture. Van Alstine, a giant whose fame spread like wildfire around the globe, was matched only by Savett, a national treasure whose touch could alchemize metal into memory.

You can purchase all Noah Savett Maquettes designs that led to the final “Tempered By Memory” sculpture by clicking here.

Fate, however, would not let these colossi toil in solitude. No, the cosmos had other plans. It demanded that they join forces—two artisans whose lives had been spent apart, now entwined by the whims of destiny. But could such titans, each enshrined in his own myth, work as one? Could they temper not only the steel, but their own egos, in the fires of creation?

The Dance of Fire and Friction: The Process

Like alchemists at odds with the stars, the two sculptors embarked on their task. Ten maquettes each—small embodiments of their grander visions—were born of their fevered minds, forged in the crucible of collaboration. These models, crude echoes of the final structure, became battlegrounds for their ideas, as every twist of steel, every curve of iron, was dissected by both men, who saw in each piece not just art, but their own reflections.

But the fire of creation does not burn without sparks of conflict. As their designs evolved, so too did their rivalries. Although they had known each other as friends, the flickers of enmity began to glow hot beneath the surface. Savett, the metropolitan wizard of Schuylerville, with his refined airs and city sensibilities, could not abide Van Alstine’s pastoral superiority, his world-renowned sculpture park in the wilderness, the sheer bulk of his fame.

The forge of their collaboration grew too hot. Tensions, fed by misunderstandings, finally exploded in a clash not of iron, but of flesh.

The Mortal Duel: The Conflict

Van Alstine, the giant of Wells, towered over Savett, and yet it was Savett who struck first. His fist flying toward the heavens in a furious arc. blind with rage, Savett missed his mark, his body spinning wildly until he fell to the ground,. In response, Van Alstine, master of steel and now of earth, kicked dirt into the one good eye of his rival, a simple gesture made monumental by its pettiness.

But even gods stumble. As he kicked, Van Alstine lost his footing, his mighty form crumbling to the earth beside Savett. There, on the ground, amid the dust of their vanities, both men lay like fallen statues, struggling to rise, their bodies now as bent as the steel they sought to shape.

The Final Monument: The Project

Sculptors John Van Alstine and Noah Savett at the base of "Tempered By Memory"

But from such folly, greatness was born. The immense structure that now stands in High Rock Park in Saratoga Springs, that towering monument of twisted steel, is not merely a sculpture; it is an embodiment of the conflict and eventual resolution between these two great artists.

The uppermost beam, arching like a serpent through the sky, represents Savett’s wild, untamed swing—his futile attempt to strike Van Alstine. Below, the enormous curved beam, so graceful yet so burdened, reflects Van Alstine’s unsteady kick, the moment he rolled his ankle in that ridiculous duel of egos. This was no ordinary sculpture; this was the physical manifestation of a struggle not just with steel, but with pride, with ambition, with the frailties of mortal men.

The Bitter Victory: The Aftermath

When at last the sculpture was complete, unveiled to the eyes of Saratoga Springs, the local artists—those pretenders to the throne of genius—offered their pitiful critiques, their tongues wagging with irrelevant opinions. Yet in the end, their voices fell silent, for the sculpture had claimed its place, immutable and defiant, a monument not just to memory, but to the tempests of the soul.

John Van Alstine and Noah Savett, though marked by their absurd skirmish, would remain friends, bound now not just by steel and art, but by the shared folly of their fight. And though neither had bested each other in that dance of pride, they had created something greater than themselves—a testament to memory, and to the fires that temper both steel and men.

See sculptors John Van Alstine and Noah Savett constructing the "Tempered By Memory" memorial sculpture in Saratoga Springs, NY