Introducing Artist-in-Residence Jessica Lentz

Jessica Lentz, Moore College of Art, Class of 2013

This summer, the Library Company will host Moore College of Art student Jessica Lentz as the Visual Culture Program’s artist-in-residence intern. A junior majoring in 3D Fine Arts with experience in sculpture, Ms. Lentz will design ten kinetic, three-dimensional art works based on research in our holdings related to the production, marketing, and popular culture of toys from 1850 to 1950.

Cover and illustrations from Illustrations of Schoenhut's Marvelous Toys the Humpty Dumpty Circus. (Philadelphia: The A. Schoenhut Co., 1918)

Persuaded to apply for the internship during a class orientation about our visual culture collections, Ms. Lentz’s initial inspiration for her project was our illustrated catalog for the Philadelphia toy company A. Schoenhut & Co. issued in 1918. The catalog, as well as children’s picture books, photographs and prints of toys and toy stores, and paper dolls in our collections will serve as primary resources for the young artist’s research. 

Jessica Lentz, "Homeward Bound foxes" wood, wire, kinetic, 2011.

Ms. Lentz’s internship will also entail the visual documentation of her process, an artist’s statement about the Library Company collections that influenced her work, and an illustrated history of the toys popular during her studied time period. Her multi-dimensional project will conclude with the display of her works at the Library Company and on the website.

The Visual Culture Program (VCP at LCP), founded in 2007, aims to promote the richness of the Library Company’s visual collections to a diverse patron base. Through the VCP internship and Ms. Lentz’s artistry, our juvenilia collections will be represented in innovative ways that will inspire scholars and artists alike. We could not be more pleased.

Erika Piola

Co-director, VCP at LCP