Photograph of Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes on set of "Red Light Special" video: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

She is wearing a yellow suit with a red shirt underneath. She also has a cheetah print cape with a yellow fur collar. She is wearing a black hat, several rings, and red heels, and she has a thick black line under her proper left eye. She is lounging in a large white and brown chair with her head tilted to the proper right side and her left hand holding on to a black cane. There is shirtless man in short silver shorts and boots in the background. The floor and walls are marbled. The photograph was taken from above, looking down on her.

There is a thin black border around the image with a white border around it. The white border is thinner on the two sides and thicker on the top and bottom. There is a small piece of tape at the top as well as a tear where a piece of tape used to be. The back of the photograph has light grey text repeated in diagonal lines. There are two yellow post-it notes at the top and there is also a tear where a piece of tape used to be. There is an inscription by Bill Adler on the bottom, handwritten in blue ink.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1994
• Photograph by: Michael Benabib, American, born 1962
• Subject of: Lisa Nicole Lopes, American, 1971 - 2002
• Subject of: TLC, American, founded 1990
• Type: portraits
• Type: inkjet prints
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 17 × 11 in. (43.2 × 27.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 15 3/8 × 10 13/16 in. (39 × 27.4 cm)
• Place captured: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Popular music
• Topic: Rappers (Musicians)
• Topic: Rhythm and blues (Music)
• Object number: 2015.132.94
• 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.