Avedon helped define what makes New York just as much as New York defined who he was. Like Andy, he was so utterly recognizable, a walking, talking lodestar of glamour, beauty, art, culture, mega-success, and sophistication.

Before the tragedies of September 11 were endlessly analyzed and theorized, artists responded to the event in ways that were by turns fearful, optimistic, impassioned, unresolved, and complex. As the decennial of 9/11 approaches, these intuitive, virginal artistic responses begin to resurface across the city’s galleries and museums. Late artist and filmmaker Bruce Conner’s Falling Leaves: An Anonymous Memorial is merely one of many elegiac pieces the tragedy’s aftermath engendered. In conjunction with a Bruce Conner retrospective at the American University Museum, Chelsea’s Paula Cooper Gallery showcases Conner’s drawings through September 24. They are juxtaposed with HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW (2006), one of Conner’s later short films. Together, the works provide an introspective look at how the American conscience weathers loss.