Inked Bodies

Subtitle looks like this

Larry & Barbara Marshall Family Balcony

A black-and-white photo of a shirtless, balding white man with tattoos on his face and chest staring out toward the viewer

Diane Arbus, Tattooed Man at a Carnival, Md., 1970, Museum purchase, 1985.0202

In cultures across the globe, people use tattoos to commemorate events, mark social status, remember loved ones, and express aspects for their identity. This exhibition explores tattooing histories, processes, and motifs, and highlights the storytelling that tattoo artists and clients create together.

Until recently, tattoos were often stigmatized because they were associated with marginalized groups, such as indigenous, queer, and incarcerated people. Tattooing has also been popular with many hyper-masculine groups, from sailors to gangs. However, many contemporary tattoo artists are working to make tattoo culture more welcoming, supportive, and inclusive. Tattooing is a messy, material, and embodied practice.

Tattoos are unpredictable--they can bleed, blend, and fade, or sometimes no longer fit a person's identity. In those cases, tattoos can be layered over one another to refresh old designs or create something new, mirroring the ways in which contemporary tattoo practices build on diverse global traditions.

Curated by the 2023-2024 Spencer Museum graduate interns, Inked Bodies samples the diverse stories people tell about themselves through the application of ink on skin.

三島剛画集若者 Mishima Go Gashū Wakamono (Painting Album of Youth [by] Mishima Go)
Tattooed Man at a Carnival, Md. by Diane Arbus
Saint of Rain by Tony Fitzpatrick
Cicada by Tony Fitzpatrick
痛そう:寛政年間女郎の風俗 Ita sō: Kansei nenkan jorō no fūzoku (Looking in Pain: The Appearance of a Kansei-era Prostitute)
untitled (gatefold) by Alberto Vargas

Supporters

This exhibition is co-developed with a diverse group of advisors, including Lawrence-based textile artist and educator Marla A. Jackson; Kansas City community arts advocate Rose Bryant; Kimberli Gant, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Brooklyn Museum; and Toronto-based Anishinaabe-kwe Indignenous art curator and artist Wanda Nanibush.

Research and planning for the project are made possible by numerous grants, including from the National Endownment for the Arts, RC Kemper Jr. Charitable Trust and Foundation, Art Dealers Association of America Foundation, and the Every Page Foundation.