The Whitewater Arts Alliance is hosting an exhibit on body adornment from Mar. 8-Apr. 27, open Fridays through Sundays from noon-5pm at the Cultural Arts Center (402 W. Main St., Whitewater). The opening reception will be on Sun., Mar. 9, from 2-4pm, and local tattoo artists, local jewelry designers and a henna artist will be there!
The exhibit will include “jewelry by local artists and UW-W students, tattoo designs by local artists and examples of tattooing equipment.” A video of body adornment in cultures around the world will air continuously during the show.
You can participate! Submit a photo of an heirloom piece of body adornment, such as jewelry and clothing, along with a written description or story that explains its significance. A binder of these submissions will be available during the exhibit.
Presentations scheduled during the exhibition’s run, all at 7pm, are:
- Mar. 13: History of Tattoos by Skye and Chuck Schaffer of Chuck’s Body Art
- Mar. 20: History, Art and Ceremony of Body Adornment by Kelly Novak of Indiana University Art Department
- Apr. 3: Tattooing: Decisions and Designs by local tattoo artist Bear of Voodoo Daddys’ Tattoos
- Apr. 15: Ceremonial Jewelry of the Victorian Age and Beyond by Teresa Faris of UW-Whitewater Art Department. Those attending are encouraged to wear ceremonial dress and/or jewelry to the presentation.
- Apr. 24: The Brooches of Madeleine Albright by Marion Burrows
Workshops on precious metal clay, enameling with traditional Americana designs, and polymer clay and heirloom pieces are scheduled as well. Please visit the exhibition web site for descriptions, dates, locations, costs, and registration forms.
Andersen Library has resources for learning more! Titles found searching HALCat include a 2013 UW-Whitewater master’s thesis Inked and in public: Tattoos and disclosure (online), and books including Natural fashion: Tribal decoration from Africa (3rd-floor Main OVERSIZE Collection, GN650.5.E8 S5213 2009), Body piercing and tattoos (3rd-floor Main Collection, GT2345 .B63 2003), Tattooed: The sociogenesis of a body art (3rd-floor Main Collection, GN419.3 .A75 2003), Adorn: New jewellery (3rd-floor Main Collection, NK7310.5 .M36 2008), and Metalsmithing for jewelry makers: Traditional and contemporary techniques for inspirational results (2nd-floor New Arrivals Island, TT212 .M3955 2014). Search article databases for resources such as “Visual optics: Interpreting body art, three ways” (Visual Communication, 2013, vol.12:no.1, pp.97-122), “The Ancient Practice of Tattooing” (Ancient Egypt Magazine, 2012, vol.13:no.3, pp.38-42), and “Secret Ink: Tattoo’s Place in Contemporary American Culture” (Journal of American Culture, 2012, vol.35:no.2, pp.153-165, doi:10.1111/j.1542-734X.2012.00804.x).
Please ask a librarian for assistance with using the catalog.
