<I>Mothership (Capsule)</I>
date: label: Date
content: 2009
name: label: Created by
content: Jefferson Pinder, American, born 1970
label: Subject of
content: President Barack Obama, American, born 1961
label: Subject of
content: Sun Ra, American, 1914 - 1993
label: Subject of
content: Stevie Wonder, American, born 1950
notes: label: Caption
content: “We grew up when NASA was in its golden age. Remember, the first interracial kiss on television was in outer space on Star Trek. Science fiction fantasy … is, in part, a spiritual place that African Americans have always inhabited.” — Jefferson Pinder
label: Caption
content: Jefferson Pinder constructed this sculpture with wood salvaged from President Barack Obama’s 2009 inaugural platform and ceiling tin from a gutted Baltimore house. Referencing the past, present, and future, Mothership symbolizes the transportation and transformation of Black people toward new and unchartered territory, concepts underscored by the work’s shape—NASA’s Mercury spacecraft—and its name, derived from singer-songwriter George Clinton’s stage prop, the Mothership.
label: Description
content: An abstracted replica of the NASA Mercury space capsule. The sculpture is made from pieces of tin that were salvaged from structures in and around Baltimore, Maryland, and re-purposed lumber gathered from President Obama’s 2009 inaugural platform. The sculpture is displayed angled onto its side. Inserted into the top of the sculpture is an Altec (R) model 416-8A sub-woofer speaker, and the base of the sculpture is a 24" chrome alloy (wheel) rim. In the interior of the sculpture is a Philips DVD player (HTS3371D), with a Philips audio cable connecting the player to the speaker, and a remote to control the player externally. A DVD plays from inside the sculpture on a loop, bass tones only: “Space is the Place” by Sun Ra and “Living in the City” by Stevie Wonder.
place: label: Place made
content: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: African diaspora
label: Topic
content: Art
label: Topic
content: Funk (Music)
label: Topic
content: Identity
label: Topic
content: Local and regional
label: Topic
content: Politics
label: Topic
content: Technology
label: Topic
content: Transportation
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Visual Arts
label: Movement
content: Afrofuturism
label: Exhibition
content: Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience.
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Culture/Fourth Floor, 4 052
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Henry Thaggert III in memory of Burnell P. Thaggert
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2013.234
objectType: label: Type
content: multimedia works
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Jefferson Pinder
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: tin, wood, chrome, loudspeakers, audiovisual equipment and mixed media
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 92 1/2 × 75 × 86 in., 571 lb. (235 × 190.5 × 218.4 cm, 259 kg)