Andre Benjamin: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photograph of Andre Benjamin, by Platon. Benjamin is depicted half crouching on a wooden stump. His proper right foot is flat on the top of the stump, his knee is drawn up, and he’s leaning his torso against his proper right thigh. His proper left leg is planted on the other side of the stump. His hands are bracing him one either side of the top of the stump. His proper left thumb and forefinger are slightly curled under. Benjamin’s head is tilted towards his proper left shoulder, and he is looking at the viewer with a serious expression on his face. He is wearing a wrinkled, light tone collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, dark socks, and thin, loose jeans with the pant leg rolled up to his calf. He is also wearing lace up suede shoes, a watch on his proper left wrist, and a leather cuff on his proper right wrist with the text [[---?]NDR[---?]] tooled on the top. The background of the photograph is bright white. 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: André 3000, American, born 1975
• Type: pigment prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: pigment on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (image): 20 15/16 × 20 in. (53.2 × 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)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2021.33.44
• 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.