Timbaland: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white photograph of Timbaland, by Platon. Timbaland is depicted standing with his proper left knee propped up. His proper left forearm is draped over the top of his proper left knee and he is leaning slightly forward over his knee. He is turned slightly towards the left edge of the photograph with his proper left shoulder held slightly forward and his head turned towards the viewer. His proper right arm is bent at the elbow and his hand is resting on the top of his proper left forearm. He has a serious expression on his face and he is looking up and into the distance to the right. He’s wearing a pair of jeans and a waist length, dark tone, trench coat with the collar and lapels popped up. On his proper left wrist is a square faced watch and he has a thick, metallic ring on his property left pinky. 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: 2008; printed 2019
• Photograph by: Platon, British, born 1968
• Subject of: Timbaland, American, born 1972
• 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)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2021.33.56
• 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.