2012 VCP at LCP Intern Jesse Lentz

During the summer of 2012, the Library Company hosted 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 designed 10 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.

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 served as primary resources for the young artist’s research.

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

The Visual Culture Program (VCP at LCP), founded in 2008, 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