Photograph of Kid 'n Play, NYC, 1988: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Play is on the proper right side. He is wearing a black long sleeve turtleneck and pants as well as a gold necklace. He has a mustache and has a design shaved into the front of his hair. He is standing behind Kid. Kid is wearing a black long sleeve turtleneck and pants and has a watch on his proper right wrist. His hair is tall. His proper left arm is crossed in front of his chest and he is pointing back at Play with his right thumb. The background is grey.

There is a thin black border around most of the image. It is missing from the top. There is a white border around the black border, which is thinnest on the two sides, thicker on the top, and thickest on the bottom. The back of the photograph has light grey text repeated in diagonal lines. There are tears at the top and on the sides from where tape used to be, and there is a yellow post-it note in the top left corner. There is an inscription by Bill Adler on the bottom, handwritten in blue ink

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1988
• Photograph by: Michael Benabib, American, born 1962
• Subject of: Kid 'n Play, American, founded 1986
• Subject of: Christopher "Kid" Reid, American, born 1964
• Subject of: Christopher "Play" Martin, American, born 1962
• Type: portraits
• Type: inkjet prints
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 16 5/16 × 11 in. (41.5 × 27.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 13 × 10 3/16 in. (33 × 25.8 cm)
• Place captured: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Gesture
• Topic: Hair
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Rappers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2015.132.90
• 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: © Michael Benabib Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.