Japanese Tattooing as Commodity Art-Form in the Contexts of Western “Japonisme”

Japanese Tattooing as Commodity Art-Form in the Contexts of Western “Japonisme”

This talk explains that the influence of Japanese tattooing in the West after the Meiji Restoration should be understood as part of the wider cultural phenomenon of ‘Japonisme’, whereby Japanese tastes inflected decorative and fine art across the Western world, from painting and sculpture to furniture design, ceramics, textiles and silverware. The same Japanese print sources which were appropriated for use on Western ceramics, for example, were also taken up as designs for Japanese-style tattooing in London and New York. In this talk, I will also explain that the influence of Japan which created the commercial and cultural market for tattooing able to sustain a professional tattoo trade in Great Britain for the first time, and that the whole edifice of the modern tattoo industry in the West thus rests on the traditions and heritage of Japanese tattooing.

by: Dr Matt Lodder
Slot 13 (Sunday 4pm-5:30pm)
Live Stream & Recording Available
90 minutes / english