sarah- Art response

The National Liberty Museum is a great place that features exhibits on diversity, acceptance, peace, and pays homage to well known Americans that had to overcome obstacles to reach their goals. Almost all of their exhibits feature beautiful sculptures from artists all over the world including Dale Chihuly, Czeslaw Zuber, John Knowles. Although most of the sculptures are glass, there are several made from stone, metal, and even candy. The work that really stood out for me was a sculpture by American artist Sandy Skoglund of two children made entirely of jellybeans. It may sound silly, but all the colors and the glossy texture looked really beautiful. It’s a visiting exhibit dedicated to teaching children that even though we all look different, we are all made from the same stuff. A sign hanging next to the exhibit really summed it up:

“Although they come in many different shades and sizes, every jellybean contains exactly the same ingredients inside. All human beings are also the same inside….just like me, just like you.

The next time you see someone different from yourself, try to be aware of your feelings about that person. Instead of thinking about what makes you different, think about what makes you just the same.”

The jellybean kids were just so unpretentious. They were fun and different, not just there to look pretty, but to give children a visual representation of harmony. I’ve seen so many “serious” paintings and photographs; it was nice to see work that was serious while not taking itself to seriously.

It was so different to see artwork in a context other then a gallery or traditional art museum. It gets a bit aggravating to see work I just don’t understand, and frankly just don’t care about. I think the sculptures in The National Liberty Museum really got to me because of the exhibits they’re placed in. For example, an exhibit on the 3rd floor about children killed by gun violence was accompanied by a large metal sculpture titled “Victim.” Placed in a contemporary gallery, surrounded by nothing but other sculpture, I might not have given it another look. But surrounded by sad statistics and sobering photographs, it took on a whole new meaning and I looked at it much closer.

Although the museum is geared towards children, I enjoyed it a lot. They claim to house one of the largest and most important collections of glass sculpture in world, but I feel like it’s very under the radar in Philadelphia. I had never heard of it until I stumbled across it during a walk, but I’m so glad I did. The artwork was beautiful, and it complimented the exhibits perfectly. The message of the work and the museum was really great, and I would suggest everyone go experience it for themselves.

See the website here.