Dr. Dre: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photograph of Dr. Dre, by Platon. The photograph of Dre depicts him from the waist up, seated, and leaning on his upraised knee. He is facing the viewer with his eyes closed. His proper right knee is raised and his proper right elbow is braced against the top. His proper right forearm is held upright and tilting diagonally across his chest with his fingers held loosely. He is resting his proper left cheek against the back of his proper right hand. The photograph was taken from near his proper right knee which appears disproportionately large in the foreground. He is wearing a dark tone sweater and jeans. 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: 2007; printed 2019
• Photograph by: Platon, British, born 1968
• Subject of: Dr. Dre, American, born 1965
• Type: pigment prints
• Type: portraits
• Medium: pigment on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (image): 20 7/8 × 20 in. (53.1 × 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: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Rappers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2021.33.68
• 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.