In the second presentation of The Robert E. Meyerhoff and Rheda Becker Biennial Commission, multimedia artist, performer, and musician Raúl de Nieves invites visitors to explore the wonder, beauty, and chaos of the natural world through the themes of emerging and becoming.

Born in 1983 in Michoacan, Mexico, and based in Brooklyn, de Nieves learned traditional Latin American sewing and beadwork in school and alongside family members, and uses those approaches in his work, which pays tribute to his family, his homeland, and Mexican folk art. He also accumulates and adorns every surface of his sculptural figures—both human and animal—to create fantastical creatures immersed in deeply narrative environments, imbued with both Catholic imagery and Mexican folklore motifs. The embellished figures also refer to another central tenet of de Nieves’ aesthetic: self-expression within queer club culture, such as the glitter and glitz of drag pageants.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Words can change the world. On July 4, 1776, the members of the Second Continental Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence. The document laid out their case for separation from Great Britain and asserted the natural rights of the American people, accorded to them by their Creator, against a king who pursued “absolute Tyranny over these States.” The Declaration’s 1,337 words bound thirteen disparate colonies into a nation.

The Declaration’s principles became the shared vision of a new democratic way of government. Its ideals of equality, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness place human dignity and the rights of the individual at the forefront of our national consciousness. In its language, Americans have heard a call to rally for independence and self-government, to right longstanding injustices, and more. This exhibition shares collections from the Library of Congress that demonstrate Americans’ engagement with the Declaration. The scope of that engagement reflects the richness and complexity of the American experience.

We invite you to examine the ideas behind the Declaration and how Americans have taken its words for their own. What inspiration will you take? How will the Declaration shape the next two hundred and fifty years?

The Library of Congress gratefully acknowledges the generous support of David M. Rubenstein.

The David M. Rubenstein Treasures Gallery is dedicated to sharing the rarest, most interesting, or significant items created across the globe and drawn from every corner of the world’s largest library.

This exhibit is made possible through the generous support of:

• The Boeing Company