Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Art Around the Web -- Amsterdam Tattoo Museum -- posted by Florida Fine Art Blog

Ali Mousavi

Tattoos, Through Time: A New Museum for Amsterdam 

In Amsterdam, which claims to have the greatest number of museums per square mile in the world, few topics are left unexplored. There is a museum that delves into sex, another on war (or at least the Dutch resistance), and a museum dedicated, of course, to marijuana. Last fall, a museum opened with a focus on another topic that rarefied institutions generally avoid: tattoos. Founded by the Dutch tattoo artist Henk  Schiffmacher, the Amsterdam Tattoo Museum is dedicated to the art, history and preservation of tattoo culture. Occupying 21,000 square feet of two beautifully restored 19th-century buildings, the collection is a wide-ranging one that documents the history of tattooing, from the prehistoric era to the present day.

Read the rest of the article here

The Amsterdam Tattoo Museum website

I've been to Amsterdam many times and most of these themed "museums" are just tourist traps but the tattoo museum looks promising,  judging from their informative website.  They have put a huge (over 500 page) Lexicon of the history of tattooing and an equally huge catalog of tattoos online (over 40,000 tattoos and growing).  

After noticing all the painted arms of the football players this past Sunday during the Superbowl, I would say tattoos will continue to grow in popularity in the US.  GL

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