Future/Past/Present
How do we observe the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States in 2026? How has the Declaration of Independence been commemorated or criticized in the past?
Radical Americana will be a series of exhibitions organized by a consortium of Philadelphia’s extensive collection of arts and cultural institutions celebrating how today’s artists are continuing the city’s unique and rich legacy as a center for creativity and civic engagement. We ask artists to explore the influential historical year of 1776, and the subsequent commemorations in Philadelphia in the years 1876, 1926, and 1976 as points of research for contemporary artists to gain inspiration and add their voices to current dialogue about our nation’s present and future.
Future/Past/Present
This multi-media exhibition features seven InLiquid Artist Members making work about the United States’ past, present, and future. Using photos, sculpture, painting, and other mediums, these artists bring various cultural phenomena to coexist on a single plane. Through this exhibition, we’re reminded that the American political landscape is intersectional and extends beyond our immediate line of sight, our present. As we celebrate the United States’ 250th Anniversary, we take this time to reflect on how we’ve evolved as a nation and who we might dream of becoming.
Each artist examines the American political landscape through a different lens. As viewers move through the gallery, they are placed in different states of time, both factual and imagined. Portraits throughout the gallery depict individuals whose future has been stolen, whose past has been forgotten, and whose history is remembered—three very different outcomes of existence. Portraiture is employed as a means of preserving an identity and reshaping the historical footprint of the subjects they honor.
Sculptures throughout the space draw caricatures of political figures, creating tongue-in-cheek compositions critiquing the lawmakers and the state legislature in the US. Mockery has been a long-standing tool of opposition to identify the downfalls of political figures, typically seen in newspaper cartoons; these narratives shape the perceived effectiveness of government officials.
But what if the past looked different? Artifacts from alternate timelines, items that could not possibly exist in our reality, highlight the obvious: our actions will impact our future. As for the timeline we exist in, there are moments in history that simply can’t be overlooked. The collection of work in the back of the gallery puts viewers face-to-face with the not often-seen lives of Black Americans from the 1800s to the 1950s. As we imagine how our future might be shaped, we must remember what shaped our present.
