Michael Holman Family Home Movie #22: 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 plastic film reel (b), and an original plastic cover (c).

The film begins with shots of an unidentified historic building in Italy and the souvenir vendors set up around the staircase leading to the building. Next, a large group of people gathered in front of an airplane pose with a banner that reads in part "Loving Greetings from the Baha'is..." Next, a series of shots depict a visit by a group of people to the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. The series also includes wide shots of the surrounding landscape and a shot of a sign pointing to the Ancient Agora. The film concludes with a series of wide shots of people enjoying an unidentified beach.

An original white plastic film reel (b) with a brief content note and an original blue plastic film container (c) with Technicolor markings also accompany the film.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: after 1965
• Created by: Pauline Thompson Wood, American, born 1901
• Owned by: Michael Holman, American, born 1955
• Type: silent films
• Type: home movies
• Type: color films (visual works)
• Type: Super 8
• Medium: acetate film and plastic
• Dimensions: Duration: 3 Minutes
• Dimensions: Length (Film): 50 Feet
• Place depicted: Athens, Periféreia Protevoúsis, Greece, Europe
• Place depicted: Italy, Europe
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Religion
• Topic: Travel
• Object number: 2016.31.3.22.1abc
• 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.