Photographic print of Paul Wall, Houston: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black and white photographic portrait of the rapper Paul Wall.

The image is a close-up of Wall's face and his proper left hand making a "W" gesture. Wall wears a black t-shirt with the text [SCREWED UP RECORDS & TAPES] and a dark colored baseball cap with a star logo. He is looking directly at the camera, his teeth bared to show off diamond "grillz." He has a diamond stud in his proper left ear; his proper right eye is in shadow from his hat brim. Fliers and posters are visible in the dark background behind him. On the verso, a handwritten inscription by Bill Adler identifies the subject, location, date and photographer.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2005
• Photograph by: Jack Thompson, American
• Subject of: Paul Wall, American, born 1981
• Type: gelatin silver prints
• Medium: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 14 × 11 in. (35.6 × 27.9 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (Image): 12 5/8 × 10 9/16 in. (32.1 × 26.8 cm)
• Place captured: Houston, Harris County, Texas, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Gesture
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Photography
• Topic: Rappers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2015.132.415
• 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: © Jack Thompson Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.