Do you tattoo? People have used skin as a canvas for decoration or for making a statement since prehistory, and body art has never been more popular than today. Explore body art of all kinds and perhaps even share the story of your tattoo (or be entertained by the stories if you don’t have one) in this fascinating evening.
Learn about this custom—and sometime personal statement—from science writer Sam Kean, and Smithsonian staff members, including multi-tattooed Lars Krutak, who shows clips from his Discovery Channel series Tattoo Hunter and tattoo artifacts from the Smithsonian’s collections, and Allison Jessing, whose complex tattoo was inspired by images in the Freer Sackler Galleries and the Postal Museum. Tattoo artist Paul Roe of British Ink Tattoos shares stories and photos.
Then, share your story if you like, and get a henna design on your hand (optional) while enjoying wine, beer, and light snacks.
Kean is the author of The Violinist’s Thumb and The Disappearing Spoon; Krutak is an anthropologist at the National Museum of Natural History; Jessing is a program coordinator at the National Portrait Gallery; and Roe is a tattoo artist and member of the Bristol Tattoo Club.
