Tattooed Man at a Carnival, Md.

Diane Arbus

1923–1971

Tattooed Man at a Carnival, Md., 1970

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: gelatin silver print

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 36.8 x 37.5 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 14 1/2 x 14 3/4 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 25 x 20 in

Credit line: Museum purchase

Accession number: 1985.0202

Not on display

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One way that tattoo discrimination spread during the 19th and 20th centuries in the United States was through carnivals, where organizers used narratives about tattooing as a mark of savagery. In one popular story, a performer would claim they had been kidnapped by Indigenous people and forcibly tattooed. In reality, these tattoos were often created by white tattooists using distinctly Western motifs. These carnivals simultaneously operated as places of acceptance and exploitation.