Thank you TATTOOFEST for inviting me to attend the 2023 event in Krakow! Over 500+ artists, 3 days of tattooing and programming and I look forward to 2024.  I took the main stage in the Dialogue Zone to talk tattoo and to watch the video please visit this YouTube page! TATTOOFEST interview in Krakow, Poland (2023) The post TATTOOFEST INTERVIEWS LARS KRUTAK IN KRAKOW first appeared on LARS KRUTAK ..read more

Fantastic time at the New Mexico Tattoo Fiesta this year delivering two lectures, signing books, and offering rare tattoo volumes to collectors. Many thanks to the Albuquerque Journal for putting together this interview which you can watch on YouTube! Hope to see everyone again in 2024! Salute! The post LARS LECTURES – NEW MEXICO TATTOO FIESTA & VIDEO! first appeared on LARS KRUTAK ..read more

Thank you Humboldt Forum collections online for featuring my photography which is part of the ongoing “Naga Land. Voices from Northeast India” exhibition in Berlin! To view the images, click here! The post LARS’ PHOTOGRAPHS AT THE HUMBOLDT FORUM EXHIBITION “NAGA LAND” first appeared on LARS KRUTAK ..read more

Thank you C/O Vienna Magazine for the illustrated interview ‘Der Tattoo Anthropologe’ on scarification featuring some of my photography!  To read the full story, click here and scroll through Tab 6 (bottom) if you dare… The post “THE TATTOO ANTHROPOLOGIST” INTERVIEW IN VIENNA MAGAZINE (AUSTRIA) first appeared on LARS KRUTAK ..read more

In the New York Times today with Leo Zulueta et al….thank you Joe B.! The post TRIBAL TATTOOS & LARS FEATURED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES first appeared on LARS KRUTAK ..read more

Thank you Variety Magazine for featuring our documentary on the ancient roots of Indigenous Philippines tattoo. To view the trailer, please visit this link!  The post “TREASURE OF THE RICE TERRACES” DOCUMENTARY, LARS KRUTAK EXECUTIVE PRODUCER NEWS! first appeared on LARS KRUTAK ..read more

Fabulous to see Apo Whang-Od Oggay on the cover of Vogue Philippines today in the April 2023 ‘Next of Skin’ issue!! Batok are truly indelible marks of Kalinga identity and beauty that inscribe the experiences and stories of life. Also check out the feature article ‘Apo Whang-Od and the Indelible Marks of Filipino Identity‘ in this issue by Audrey Carpio which speaks about my first encounters with this graceful elder in 2007 and what transpired after… The post APO WHANG-OD ON THE COVER OF VOGUE!! first appeared on LARS KRUTAK ..read more

(top) Kerek villagers of Siberia, 1887. © National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution (#2000-4452) IT BEGAN AS A MISSION OF RESCUE. Two years after the American whaling bark Napoleon sank in frigid Arctic waters in 1885, unconfirmed reports surfaced of a man who had survived the tragedy; a man who was living with Siberian “deermen” in one of the least known regions of the world. As newspapers and popular weeklies quickly picked up the tale, a narrative of human suffering, physical hardship, and courage emerged. But were it not for the acknowledged actions and generosity of a lit ..read more

Article © Lars Krutak. Originally published 2010 on www.vanishingtattoo.com. Revised May 2022.  TOP PHOTO: Two Makonde “best friends” who were initiated at the same time and tattooed by the same artist. They told me that: “These tattoos gave us great pride in ourselves. The pain was worth it. You couldn’t get out of it, and we were worried and nervous, but they were completed quickly.”  Photograph © Lars Krutak.  *** DURING THE AGE OF EXPLORATION, Europeans became aware of the relatively extreme forms of body art practiced in Sub-Saharan Africa. One of these was scarificati ..read more

Article © Lars Krutak. Originally published 2009 on www.vanishingtattoo.com. Revised May 2022. **Recent Media coverage HERE. TOP PHOTO: The sun is an important tattoo motif for the Baigas of Madhya Pradesh because it depicts the source of life. This patterns finds a strategic placement on the knees and sometimes the chest due to the contours of the body. Photograph © Shatabdi Chakrabarti.  *** FOR HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF YEARS, India has maintained a rich cultural heritage of tattooing tradition spanning the entire length and breadth of the country. From the dense, rain-soaked mounta ..read more