Permanently having a design inked onto the body via the art of tattoo takes commitment. There’s a commitment to choosing the right piece of art, to undergoing the pain of a tattoo machine, to living decades with a specific image embedded in the skin.
It’s not a commitment people take lightly, as the Morrison County Historical Society has discovered for its upcoming exhibit, The Story Behind the Tat: Tattoo Art in Central Minnesota. Many people take years to decide on their first tattoo. Often, the tattoos people get have deep personal meaning, whether the tattoo serves as inspiration, a memorial to a loved one, a reminder of survival, or communicates a life philosophy.
The Morrison County Historical Society has collected photos of tattoos and their stories from people around central Minnesota and will open its exhibit of these tattoos on Saturday, April 13, 2019, from 2-4 p.m. at The Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Memorial Museum in Little Falls, MN.
In addition to tattoos, the exhibit will also feature information on the tattoo shops and artists who produce tattoos in central Minnesota. Operating a tattoo shop is a niche specialty through which these entrepreneurial artists have found a way to make a living through their creativity. Not only must they adapt their art to a pliable, ever-moving canvas, they must do so safely and in accordance with state and local regulations.
The exhibit, which is being sponsored by Pine Country Bank and Wingnut Tattoo, will open April 13 and run through the end of 2019. It is free and open to the public. For more information, call 320-632-4007.