This summer, the Parkway Central Library will showcase a remarkable artistic endeavor. As part of the Philly 250 initiative, Mural Arts Philadelphia has collaborated with the Free Library to commission a new series of banners for the library’s facade. The artist, sāgar kāmath, delves into America’s foundational ideals, examining their incomplete realization and contemplating future possibilities.
Artistic Vision: Past, Present, and Future
The banners, titled Reconciling Time: in pursuit of Tomorrow with dreams of Liberty in hand, draw inspiration from the library’s architectural elements, the mission of libraries, the unfulfilled promise of liberty, and the Mural Arts’ Printmaking by the People program displayed at Parkway Central’s Heim Center.
This work is a triptych of triptychs, capturing the development of democracy, liberty, and curiosity from three time perspectives: the Past (Red), Present (Blue), and Future (Yellow). Different characters throughout the artwork represent the contributions of Philadelphians and Americans in these endeavors, observing from the past, present, or future perspectives.
The Red triptych symbolizes the Past, referencing the creation of the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the American narrative. It features a bell tolling for liberty and an eagle’s wing symbolizing the ambitious aspirations of the nation’s founders. A fantastical, three-headed creature emerges from a Constitution-shaped neck, gazing into past, present, and future, while the fractured Liberty Bell resonates with both potential and persistent exclusion.
The Blue triptych embodies the Present, illustrating a shift from singularity to plurality, as various figures come to terms with the current state of democracy, the passage of time, and the unfulfilled promise of Liberty for all.
The Yellow triptych envisions the Future, with three observer characters dreaming of a future that acknowledges past and present realities. The rightmost banner features a repaired Liberty Bell and additional bells, alongside an eagle-scribe character that documents, repairs, and illustrates history, dissent, dreams, and ideas.
Meet the Artist: sāgar kāmath
sāgar kāmath is an interdisciplinary artist whose work spans painting, sculpture, installation, sound, video, collage, public art, and dance. He explores the complexities of his identity as an Indian-born American through narrative construction, materiality, line, space, and movement. His research-driven approach examines his own body, the landscape around him, and colonial histories using non-linear time. sāgar’s public art practice emphasizes storytelling, mythmaking, and community-informed design.
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