Flier for “A Show With a Funkbox” designed by Straightman: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A flier for “A Show with a Funkbox” designed by Straightman. The flier is in portrait orientation and printed on pink paper with black text and graphics. The text is centered inside an Art Deco-style, black and pink frame with stepped corners. Printed inside the solid, black, top band of the frame is a thin pink rectangle with the graphic designer’s information printed in small, narrow, black text that reads [A STRAiGHTMAN FLYER – 427-7299 ®]. Inside the frame, near the top, is a black outlined, Art Deco-style, elongated hexagon with the graphic designer’s information repeated at the top, the text [THE P.A.L.] at the center, and the word [(PRESENTS)] below. The exterior of the hexagon is accentuated on each side with two five-pointed stars and additional stars bookend the word [(PRESENTS)].

Below is the main body of the flier with black text in varying sizes and fonts that read [A SHOW WITH FUNKBOX] emphasized below with an Art Deco-style marquee graphic. Below the marquee graphic is the text [FEATURING] above the Playboy bunny logo. Below the Playboy logo is a larger central graphic of two women dancing under the word [DISCO] printed in an Art Deco font. The women are illustrated wearing sleeveless dresses with long, flowing, calve length skirts. The woman on the right has her proper right arm extended above her head in a disco dance pose. The woman on the left has her proper right toes pointed outwards. Around the women’s heads and shoulders are four illustrated flashing lights.

The performing acts and event information are listed on the left and right sides of the flier: [KOOL D.J. A.J… / D.J. KEN·DU. / MC’S LADIE LIL LEE. / MC. E·MAN… / MC. RICKY·D / SAT·SEPT 22, 1979 / DAMAGE $3 TIL- / 12:am. TIME / 9:pm·UNTIL.] printed on the left, and [HERCULORD’S. / KOOL HERC. / THE ROCK / Machine... / D.J. / CLARK / kent. / the / IMPERIAL / D.J. & MC. J.C! / -ALSO- / B.B. STARSky!] printed on the right. A graphic of a pointing hand on the bottom right points toward an outlined rectangle at the bottom of the flier. Inside the rectangle is the venue information and directions printed in black text that reads [E·182 & 183 st. Webster Ave. / Take Train N? 2·5 To 149st. / Take Bus N? 41·55X·To 183st.]. Printed on either side of the directions are solid black, profile silhouettes of a woman holding a spyglass on the left, and a man holding a magnifying glass on the right. The silhouettes are facing each other and are overlaid on mirror image outlines of the Bronx borough of New York City. Two Prestype trademarks are printed in the bottom left and top right corners of the flier. At the center of the bottom edge of the frame is an inverted Playboy bunny logo. The back of the flier has no text or inscriptions.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: September 22, 1979
• Designed by: Straightman (aka LAVA), American, died 2020
• Printed by: Prestype, American
• Distributed by: Police Athletic League, American, founded 1936
• Subject of: Kool DJ AJ, American, died 2015
• Subject of: DJ Ken-Du, American
• Subject of: MC Ladie Lil-Lee, American
• Subject of: MC E-Man, American
• Subject of: MC Ricky D, British American, born 1965
• Type: fliers (printed matter)
• Medium: ink on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W: 10 13/16 × 8 3/8 in. (27.5 × 21.2 cm)
• Place used: Bronx, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Disco (Music)
• Topic: DJs (Musicians)
• Topic: Graphic design
• Topic: Hip-hop (Music)
• Topic: Nightlife
• Topic: Rappers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2020.38.1.8
• 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: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.