MUSEUM CAMPUS — The newest exhibit coming to the Field Museum is on the history of tattoos, and the stately museum plans to bring in artists to ink up guests during the run.
"Tattoo," a touring exhibit developed in France, will debut Oct. 21 at the Field, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive.
The exhibit will feature 170 items ranging from contemporary designs on silicone models to historic artifacts showing body art has been prevalent in society for thousands of years.
"The central message of the exhibition is about human creativity," Alaka Wali, the Field's curator of North American anthropology, said in a statement. "It's important to understand creativity's different manifestations and not dismiss cultural practices and art forms because they were somehow stigmatized."
There's evidence ancient Egyptians practiced tattooing, and researchers found a naturally mummified body from 3330 B.C. in the Italian Alps covered in 61 tattoos. Thomas Edison patented the first electric "puncturing pen," and the exhibit will also have elements specific to tattooing in Chicago.
Richard Lariviere, the Field's president, told the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners on Wednesday that the museum will bring in licensed tattoo artists to ink guests during the exhibit's run. A Field spokeswoman said Thursday that "no plans have been confirmed."
The Field is the first stop in the United States for the touring exhibit, which was funded through an anonymous gift. The exhibit's run will last until April 30, 2017.
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