Michael Holman Family Home Movie #15: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This film is from a collection of home movies filmed by the family of Michael Holman, an important figure in the history of hip hop. It consists of a single reel of 8mm silent acetate film with color (a), an original metal film reel (b), and an original cardboard film box (c).

The film begins with a series of shots depicting tourist sites around Barcelona, Spain. Included are many shots of the Sagrada Familia. Next is a series of shots taken on an unidentified beach, though several signs are in French. Many of the shots contain a young girl in a bathing suit and conical sun hat. This is followed by shots of the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland and shots of Lake Geneva and its famous Jet d'Eau. The film ends with multiple shots depicting street life from a balcony in an unidentified location.

The standard yellow Kodachrome 8mm film box (c) that accompanies the film has handwritten mailing addresses for processing film. It also includes a brief handwritten content note.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1963
• Created by: Pauline Thompson Wood, American, born 1901
• Owned by: Michael Holman, American, born 1955
• Subject of: United Nations Office at Geneva, Swiss, founded 1929
• Type: silent films
• Type: silent films
• Type: home movies
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Type: 8mm (photographic film size)
• Medium: acetate film, plastic and cardboard
• Dimensions: Duration: 3 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 50 Feet
• Place depicted: Barcelona, Spain, Europe
• Place depicted: Geneva, Switzerland, Europe
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Recreation
• Topic: Travel
• Object number: 2016.31.3.15.1abc
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Michael Holman Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.