Signed advertisement for Essex Hemphill and Wayson Jones performance: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white advertisement signed by Essex Hemphill and Wayson Jones advertising their poetry and music collaboration titled "Earth Life" at the d.c. space music venue in downtown Washington, DC. Advertisement consists of a halftone offset lithograph on medium weight wove paper that is mounted on polystyrene foam board. Advertisement is dominated by a portrait of Hemphill and Jones standing in front of a brick wall. Hemphill, left, smokes a cigarette. At right, Jones stands in a light button-down shirt. Photograph is by Daniel Cima. Advertisement is signed on Jones' shirt: over his right shirt is [to Ron Simmons / My blessings / Essex Hemphill / 8-20-85] and over his chest is [to Ron / Peace, brother / Wayson Jones / 8-20-85]. There are no marks on the back.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1985
• Created by: Unidentified
• Photograph by: Daniel Cima, American
• Subject of: Essex Hemphill, American, 1957 - 1995
• Subject of: Wayson R. Jones, American
• Subject of: d.c. space, American, 1977 - 1991
• Owned by: Dr. Ron Simmons, American, 1950 - 2020
• Type: offset lithographs
• Type: advertisements
• Medium: ink on wove paper , polystyrene
• Dimensions: H x W: 11 × 17 in. (27.9 × 43.2 cm)
• Place depicted: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Identity
• Topic: LGBTQ
• Topic: Local and regional
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Nightlife
• Topic: Poetry
• Object number: 2018.103.2
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Ron Simmons
• 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.