Created by
Wood, Pauline Thompson, American, born 1901
Subject of
Holman, Michael, American, born 1955
Montgomery, David Gaylord, American, 1947 - 2002
Montgomery, Alice Thompson, American, 1908 - 2000
Alsop, Jewelle Diane Hart, American, 1931 - 1987
Alsop, Frederick Mason Jr., American, 1931 - 2010
Owned by
Holman, Michael, American, born 1955
Date
1957-1958
Medium
acetate film, plastic and cardboard
Dimensions
Duration: 3 Minutes
Length (Film): 50 Feet
Caption
This film is from a collection of home movies filmed by the family of Michael Holman, an important figure in the history of hip hop. The collection predominately contains family vacation footage shot when Holman's father, Lt. Thomas Holman, was stationed in Europe with the US Army. Most of the footage was captured by Holman's grandmother, Pauline Thompson Wood. In addition to the European vacation films, the footage shot by Pauline Wood documents her involvement with the Baha'i Faith and includes footage of Baha'i events and pilgrimages to holy sites in Israel and Palestine. There is also footage of the family at home in San Francisco and other sites in California.
Description
This film is from a collection of home movies filmed by the family of Michael Holman, an important figure in the history of hip hop. It consists of a single reel of 8mm silent acetate film with color (a), an original plastic film reel (b), and an original cardboard film box (c).
The film begins with a series of shots depicting a blue ranch-style house Girard St. on a quiet residential street., focusing on one home in particular. The next series of shots depict a backyard with a lush garden and includes close ups of many flowers. This is followed by shots of a family exiting a home on the street, getting into a car, and driving away. Subsequently, there are multiple, overexposed wide shots overlooking San Francisco. The next series depicts Pauline Thompson Wood’s dog, Baby Dog, a dog on the sidewalk. A shot of the Fairmont Hotel follows. Next, there is an underexposed shot taken from a moving vehicle. The film concludes with a series of shots taken in front of the home from the beginning of the film. In this series, David Montgomery wears a red striped shirt with khaki pants and waves at the camera. Jewelle Hart is on the left wearing a white shirt with a navy skirt and navy coat. Frederick Alsop, Jr. is in the middle wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and a hat, and Alice Thompson Montgomery is on right wearing a grey skirt suit and red high heels. David Montgomery, Alice Montgomery, Jewelle Hart, and Frederick Alsop, Jr. then the family kidsjoke around with one another outside and walk towards the camera at different moments.
The standard yellow Kodak 8mm film box (c) that accompanies the film has handwritten mailing addresses for processing film in Europe.
Place depicted
San Francisco, California, United States, North and Central America
Collection title
Michael Holman Family Collection
Classification
Media Arts-Film and Video
Type
silent films
home movies
color films (visual works)
8mm (photographic film size)
Topic
Domestic life
Families
Film
Recreation
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2016.31.3.7.1abc
Restrictions & Rights
© Michael Holman
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5f4085b50-308e-43e5-990b-7790d7999582

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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