'Tattoo Living' Celebrates Body Art at Bennington Museum (2024)

The Bennington Museum has various permanent and traveling displays of artwork and historical memorabilia, from its "Gilded Age Vermont" exhibit to the world's largest public collection of paintings by Grandma Moses. Most days, the bodies of work don't talk to the visitors or walk out the door when the museum closes.

But on Friday, April 19, the Bennington Museum will host an exhibit titled "Tattoo Living" that celebrates bodily adornment. The one-night-only event, featuring as many as 16 live models, will delve into the art and imagery that Vermonters wear on their bodies.

"We're asking people to put themselves on display, which is kind of an odd concept," said Deana Mallory, the museum's director of public programs. Why tattoos? "It's amazing art," she added, "and we celebrate art in our region in all of its forms."

More than a dozen models answered the museum's call for entries, and all were selected. On the night of the show, each model will wear a label with their name and a brief history of their tattoos. Later, visitors will get to vote for their favorites; the winner will receive a $100 gift certificate to Body Blend Studio, a tattoo and piercing shop in Shaftsbury and a sponsor of the exhibit. During an open-mic session, tattooed museum guests will have a chance to share the stories behind their own tats.

How each "piece" will be displayed is up to the models, Mallory explained. Some may arrive in jeans and T-shirts, while others may wear bathing suits to better exhibit their canvases.

"The only thing we don't allow are [visible] private parts," Mallory noted. "It's a family-friendly event."

This is the fourth time the Bennington Museum has celebrated the artistry of the region's body-art collectors and tattoo artists. The first such event, in 2015, was the brainchild of Bennington Museum's then-executive director, Robert Wolterstorff. Though not tattooed himself, Wolterstorff had long been fascinated by the body art he saw in and around Bennington.

Rather than displaying photos of these creative works, Wolterstorff opted instead to bring the tattoo collectors themselves into the gallery.

These exhibits aren't about the regional history of tattoo artistry generally but the stories behind each model's body art, whose meanings vary from person to person. As Mallory explained, one participant has full tattoo sleeves on both of his arms, with images representing his years of addiction. Another model has Native American symbolism drawn from his ancestry. Yet another model, who's studying to become a tattoo artist, collects tats in different styles, almost like a design book.

Mallory has her own tattoo, from decades ago, of the Chinese character for "friendship." While she admitted that it's not necessarily one she would choose today, Mallory likened tattoos to mixtapes, which "take you right back to that time and place in your life."

In an apparent nod to tattooing's history as outsider art, this year's show will have a carnivalesque atmosphere, with music, food and live entertainment. Alyx Hilshey, a nationally touring magician and sleight-of-hand expert, will perform.

Assuming the museum gets the requisite state permits, artists from Body Blend Studio will be doing live tattooing at the event.

And while Mallory won't be adding to her own body art collection — she claims she'll be too busy — the museum's curator, Jamie Franklin, has offered himself up. Franklin said he's wanted a tattoo for years. He's seriously considering one based on a print in the Bennington Museum, which depicts a two-headed snake found in Lake Champlain in 1761.