Spike Lee: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photograph of Spike Lee, by Platon. The close-up of Lee only shows his face which is heavily shadowed. Lee is looking directly at the viewer and has a serious expression on his face. His eyebrows are slightly raised, and he is wearing black, round frame glasses and a stud earring in his proper left ear. He has a beard and mustache. His hair, the sides of his face, and the bottom of his beard are heavily shadowed. The background of the photograph is black. The photograph has a thick white border. The edition number, [5/12], is printed in the bottom left corner. The photographer’s signature and date, [Platon 19], is handwritten in the bottom right corner. Inside the border, at the bottom center, is the photographer’s embossed mark: [PLATON ? / EDITIONED ? / PRINT ?[encircled between two bands of embossed dots]]. The back of the photograph is plain and white.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2008; printed 2019
• Photograph by: Platon, British, born 1968
• Subject of: Spike Lee, American, born 1957
• Type: pigment prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: pigment on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (image): 18 15/16 × 15 5/16 in. (48.1 × 38.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (sheet): 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (matted): 22 × 28 in. (55.9 × 71.1 cm)
• Place printed: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Photography
• Object number: 2021.33.39
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Platon
• 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: © Platon Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.