The Mothership: Museum Object and Cultural History
The Mothership: Date: 1990s. Designed by: George Clinton, American, born 1941. Designed by: Peter Larkin, American, born 1926.
The object in the museum catalogue
"The Mothership" is the centerpiece stage prop used by Clinton and his multiple bands during their live concert performances. This object is a near-exact replica of the slightly larger Mothership that was used exclusively at the closing moments of concerts during the height of the band's popularity from 1976-1981. This replica prop was built from metal, plastic, and glass in the mid 1990s and used on the "Mothership Reconnection Tour".
Materials, dates and provenance
- Date: 1990s
- Designed by: George Clinton, American, born 1941
- Designed by: Peter Larkin, American, born 1926
- Designed by: Jules Fisher, American, born 1937
- Used by: Parliament-Funkadelic, American, founded 1955
- Type: props (object genres)
- Medium: metal, plastic, glass
- Dimensions: Overall with Weight: 120 × 250 × 113 in., 1500 lb. (304.8 × 635 × 287 cm, 680.4 kg)
- Dimensions: Ladder (in storage) 241 lbs.
- Topic: African American
- Topic: Art
- Topic: Design
- Topic: Funk (Music)
- Topic: Musicians
- Topic: Transportation
- Object number: 2011.83.1.1-.9
- Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Love to the planet
- 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: No Known Copyright Restrictions Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
Sources
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