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Lineage
The Library Company of Philadelphia, 15 October 2024 - 17 January 2025

Lineage: The Library Company of Philadelphia

Past exhibition
  • Overview
  • Installation Views
  • Works
  • News
  • Press release
Overview
Samuel Jennings, Liberty Displaying the Arts and Sciences, or The Genius of America Encouraging the Emancipation of the Blacks, 1792, Oil on canvas, 60 1/4 x 74 (3 x 5) inches
Samuel Jennings, Liberty Displaying the Arts and Sciences, or The Genius of America Encouraging the Emancipation of the Blacks, 1792, Oil on canvas, 60 1/4 x 74 (3 x 5) inches

Through four large scale paintings, Mark Thomas Gibson’s Lineage examined the proposition of “the future of humanity” proposed by Samuel Jennings’ 1792 painting Liberty Displaying the Arts and Sciences (or The Genius of America Encouraging the Emancipation of the Blacks). The paintings were informed from Library Company holdings depicting the figure Liberty and listening sessions with Philadelphia high school history teachers; high school students from the social justice media program POPPYN; community leaders attending the political education program Du Bois Movement School for Abolition & Reconstruction; and volunteers from the Paul Robeson House and Museum. The works represent the session participants’ envisioned futures for humanity. Gibson’s paintings were composed as retellings of historical events within the western narrative painting tradition and sought to reorient viewers to understand our fictional relationship with our perception of history and potential outcomes.

Installation Views
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: 2024 Library Co Mark Thomas Gibson Lineage W 9
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Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: 2024 Library Co Mark Thomas Gibson Lineage W 13
Works
  • Weathering the Storm, 2024 ink and acrylic on canvas (H) 55 7/8 x (L) 77 1/2 x 1
    Weathering the Storm, 2024
    ink and acrylic on canvas
    (H) 55 7/8 x (L) 77 1/2 x 1
  • A New Republic, 2024 ink and acrylic on canvas (H) 58 1/4 x (L) 73 1/2x 1
    A New Republic, 2024
    ink and acrylic on canvas
    (H) 58 1/4 x (L) 73 1/2x 1
  • We Are A Constellation, 2024 ink and acrylic on canvas (H) 57 3/4 x (L) 73 1/2x 1
    We Are A Constellation, 2024
    ink and acrylic on canvas
    (H) 57 3/4 x (L) 73 1/2x 1
  • Plan In One Hand, Hope in The Other, 2024 ink and acrylic on canvas (H) 58 x (L) 73 1/2x 1
    Plan In One Hand, Hope in The Other, 2024
    ink and acrylic on canvas
    (H) 58 x (L) 73 1/2x 1
  • Town Crier Lineage, 2024 drawn collage printed on paper 18 x 24
    Town Crier Lineage, 2024
    drawn collage printed on paper
    18 x 24
News
  • Lineage at The Library Company of Philadelphia Opening

    Lineage at The Library Company of Philadelphia Opening

    October 14, 2024
    Lineage Opening Reception: Tuesday, October 15 | 5:30 pm The Library Company of Philadelphia 1314 Locust Street Philadelphia, PA 19107 US 2155463181 We hope you...
    Read more
Press release

Lineage

Opening Reception: Tuesday, October 15 | 5:30 pm

The Library Company of Philadelphia

1314 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107 US
2155463181

We hope you will join us for the public exhibition opening of Lineage, a Beyond Glass Cases exhibition by Mark Thomas Gibson. Through four large scale paintings, Mark Thomas Gibson'sLineage examines the proposition of "the future of humanity" proposed by Samuel Jennings' 1792 painting Liberty Displaying the Arts and Sciences (or The Genius of America Encouraging the Emancipation of the Blacks).

The paintings are informed from Library Company holdings depicting the figure Liberty and listening sessions with Philadelphia high school history teachers; high school students from the social justice media program POPPYN; community leaders attending the political education program Du Bois Movement School for Abolition & Reconstruction; and volunteers from the Paul Robeson House and Museum. The works represent the session participants' envisioned futures for humanity. Gibson's paintings are composed within the western narrative painting tradition and seek to reorient viewers to understand our fictional relationship with our perception of history and potential outcomes.

Beyond Glass Cases: The Library Company of Philadelphia's "Collections Lab,"supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, represents the Library Company's ongoing commitment to boldly, honestly, and thoughtfully interpret challenging, and at times harmful, collection items. Three projects in 2024 and a culminating exhibition in 2025 form the scope of Beyond Glass Cases. Click here for more information about the Beyond Glass Cases series.
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