TATTOOS: The Untold History of a Modern Art

Tattoo culture has existed in the West as a professionalised art practice for centuries. Drawing on extensive new research and unprecedented access to largely unpublished private archives of photographs, art, and ephemera, Matt Lodder offers a new perspective on the history of commercial tattooing in Europe and the United States, beginning even before it emerged as a recognisable profession in the mid-nineteenth century. In the process, he shows that the art of tattoo has long been both practiced and commissioned by individuals across economic, gender, and class divides; he also examines the stylistic trends that have shaped tattoo’s development as an art form over its history.
 
Lodder introduces the many artists and professionals who shaped tattoo history, including early figures like Martin Hildebrandt, the first-known professional tattoo artist in the West; prominent woman artists like Grace Bell and Jessie Knight; mid-twentieth-century icons like Sailor Jerry and Les Skuse and the Bristol Tattoo Club; and contemporary industry stars including Ed Hardy, Davy Jones, and the Leu family.

Richly illustrated with rarely published images, Tattoos - The Untold History of a Modern Art is the first to examine the history of tattoo in the West as both a serious profession and an art form.

About the Author

Matt Lodder is a senior lecturer in art history and theory and director of American Studies at the University of Essex. His research primarily concerns the history of Western tattooing from the 17th century to the present day. His expertise extends to wider history of body modification, including tongue splitting and implants. He is regularly invited to give lectures at venues including the V&A, the Royal Academy, the Museum of London and the National Museum of Scotland. 

Reviews

“Phenomenal! Lodder has written an essential work about the tattoo profession. With thoughtful, intriguing, and accessible prose, he weaves together hundreds of sources to tell the story of tattoos in the Western world.” - David C. Lane, author of The Other End of the Needle: Continuity and Change among Tattoo Workers

“This much-needed book brings to light important new research on the history of tattoo.” - Anna Felicity Friedman, author of World Atlas of Tattoo

Author: Matt Lodder
Publisher: Yale University Press
Release date: 26 November 2024
Format: Hardback, 224 pages, 200 colour illustrations
Language: English