Photograph of a theater marquee promoting Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A close-up color photograph captured by Melvin Van Peebles of a movie theater marquee promoting its showing of Van Peebles' film Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. The image depicts a close-up view of the proper left panel of the marquee of the Loew's State Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California. The marquee appears along the lefthand side of the image, with only a portion of the marquee panel visible. Only "Angeles" of the "Los Angeles" across the top of the marquee appears in the image and the visible text on the marquee panel reads [SWEETBACK's / (B)ADASSS SONG / WAKE UP AND DIE]. Additional banners and posters promoting the film are visible on the theater's street level facade beneath the marquee. Along the righthand side of the image are portions of the sign, awning, and shop window of the neighboring Eastman Liquors. On the verso is a handwritten inscription in black ink reading [L. A. Downtown].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1971
• Photograph by: Melvin Van Peebles, American, 1932 - 2021
• Type: photographs
• Medium: dye and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W: 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. (8.9 x 8.9 cm)
• Place depicted: Downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Advertising
• Topic: Blaxploitation films
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Independent films
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2012.82.9.5
• 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: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.