The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) will explore Samoan tattoo traditions in a new six month exhibition titled Tatau: Marks of Polynesia, opening July 30, 2016. The photography installation will showcase the striking work of Samoan tattoo masters as well as younger apprentices and practitioners working within and influenced by the tradition today. Tatau: Marks of Polynesia will present th
e over 2,000-year-old origins and current practices of tatau tradition in the land of its inception, with particular emphasis on the influential Sulu’ape family and their disciples. The JANM exhibition will explore the beauty of tatau as well as its key role in the preservation and propagation of Samoan culture. The spread of the art form outside of Samoa and some of its more contemporary applications will be demonstrated with photographs taken in New Zealand, Hawai‘i, California, and Nevada. Among the artists whose work will be represented are Su’a Alaiva’a Petelo Sulu’ape, Su’a Peter Sulu’ape, Su’a Paul Sulu’ape, Su’a Sulu’ape Aisea Toetu’u, Sulu’ape Steve Looney, Tuigamala Andy Tauafiafi, Mike Fatutoa, and Siisiialafia Liufau. Additional artists will be included to help showcase a broad spectrum of Samoan- and Polynesian-inspired tattoo work. Tatau is curated by Takahiro Kitamura, the master tattoo artist and author who previously curated Perseverance: Japanese Tattoo Tradition in a Modern World, which originated at JANM and is currently being featured at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art. Kitamura is collaborating with Edward Danielson, MA, a lecturer in the University of Hawai‘i Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures; Sulu’ape Steve Looney and Danielle Steffany-Looney of Pacific Soul Tattoo in Hawai‘i; Sean Mallon, author and Senior Curator of Pacific Cultures at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and Siisiialafia Liufau of A-Town Tattoo in Southern California. Exhibition photography will be contributed by John Acgaoili.
*About the Japanese American National Museum (JANM)
Established in 1985, the Japanese American National Museum promotes understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese American experience. Located in the historic Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles, JANM is a hybrid institution that straddles traditional museum categories and strives to provide a voice for Japanese Americans as well as a forum that enables all people to explore their own heritage and culture. Since opening to the public, JANM has presented over 70 exhibitions onsite and traveled 16 of its exhibitions to locations around the world, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Ellis Island Museum in the United States, and several leading cultural museums in Japan and South America. JANM is located at 100 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles. Museum hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday from noon to 8 p.m. General admission is $9 adults, $5 students and seniors, free for members and children under age five. Admission is free to everyone on Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and every third Thursday of the month from noon to 8 p.m. General admission prices and free admission times may not apply to specially ticketed exhibitions. Closed Monday, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. For more information visit www.janm.org or call 213.625.0414.
