50 cent: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photograph of 50 Cent, by Platon. The photograph of 50 Cent depicts him from the legs up, in a seated position with his arms wrapped around his knee, and his hands crossed in front of him. He is seated with his proper left knee drawn up and his proper right leg extended out to his right. The elbow of his upper right arm is resting on top of his proper right thigh. His proper left arm is wrapped around his drawn-up knee. His forearms are lifted and are crossed at the wrists. His fingers are curled under exposing the back of his hands. The thumb and index finger of his proper right hand are pinched together forming a circle. The photograph was taken from near his proper right hand which appears large in the foreground. He is wearing a dark, button-down, collared shirt and dark jeans. 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: 50 Cent, American, born 1975
• Type: pigment prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: pigment on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (image): 19 15/16 × 20 in. (50.6 × 50.8 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: Actors
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Rappers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2021.33.46
• 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.