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

The object in the museum catalogue

A 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 entrance and a portion of the marquee of the Loew's Holly Theater in Hollywood, California. The portion of the marquee visible has red text on a white background reads [(V)AN PEEBLES / "SWEET SWEETBACK'S / BAADASSSSS SON(G)"]. The marquee appears above the street entrance of the red brick building, which also displays posters for the film on either side of the door. Two individuals can be seen walking in front of the theatre on a sidewalk painted with white stars. A handwritten inscription on the verso reads [Hollywood].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: ca. 1971
• Subject of: Loews Cineplex Entertainment, American, 1904 - 2006
• 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: Hollywood, 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: 2012.82.9.6
• 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.