NEWS RELEASE: Peoria Riverfront Museum, in partnership with the Fine Arts Society of Peoria, presents “One Mark at a Time: A World Heritage of Tattooing,” a talk with celebrity anthropologist Dr. Lars Krutak on September 25, 6:30 p.m. at the Peoria Riverfront Museum.
Discovery Channel’s Tattoo Hunter Lars Krutak Speaks in Peoria One Mark at a Time: A World Heritage of Tattooing September 25, 6:30 p.m. at Peoria Riverfront Museum
PEORIA, Ill., July 29, 2024 – Peoria Riverfront Museum, in partnership with the Fine Arts Society of Peoria, presents “One Mark at a Time: A World Heritage of Tattooing,” a talk with celebrity anthropologist Dr. Lars Krutak on September 25, 6:30 p.m. at the Peoria Riverfront Museum.
A world traveler, photographer, and anthropologist, Dr. Lars Krutak shares his 20-year journey to understand how tattoos “make” the people who wear them, as chronicled in his Discovery Channel series, Tattoo Hunter, Netflix’s Explained, and the Instagram project, Patterns of Life.
Since time immemorial, various world cultures have produced astonishingly diverse forms of tattooing. Some have employed tattoos for therapeutic or cosmetic purposes, to mark notable life achievements, and to assert social identity. Others marked the body with symbols that were understood to promote fertility, protect the body from malevolent spirits, or carry them safely into the afterlife.
In this richly illustrated talk based on his research and interviews with hundreds of Indigenous tattoo bearers and practitioners, Krutak will speak about how tattoos permanently mark cultural values, spirituality, and ancestral ties in ink on the body. He will also discuss the making of his new book Tattoo Traditions of Asia, the first single volume on the subject, published by the University of Hawai`i Press in October 2024.
Krutak is a research associate at the Museum of International Folk Art (Santa Fe, New Mexico) and author of Tattoo Traditions of Native North America: Ancient and Contemporary Expressions of Identity and Spiritual Skin: Magical Tattoos and Scarification, among other books and publications focusing on Indigenous tattoo culture and practice. He was the senior editor of Ancient Ink: The Archaeology of Tattooing, the first book dedicated to the archaeological study of tattooing.
“One Mark at a Time: A World Heritage of Tattooing,” in partnership with the Fine Arts Society of Peoria, is sponsored by Friends of Art and Illinois Arts Council.
The event will take place on September 25 at 6:30 p.m. at the Peoria Riverfront Museum. For more information, visit PeoriaRiverfrontMuseum.org.
The Peoria Riverfront Museum is the only multidisciplinary institution of its kind in the nation combining art, science, history and achievement. The museum is dedicated to using its collections, exhibitions, film planetarium and programming to tell the stories that build confidence; create a culture of lifelong learning; and unleash the full talent and genius of every individual.
ContactMelody Konrad, Peoria Riverfront Museum assistant director of marketing and communications at MKonrad@peoriariverfrontmuseum.org.
