Japanese tattoo exhibition opens at San Francisco Main Library
By Ryan Yamamoto
A new photo exhibit featuring tattoos opened today at the San Franciso Main Library titled: “Living Tattoo Traditions: American Irezumi and Beyond.”
The images are part of a collaboration with San Jose artists Takahiro and Molly Kitamura, the husband-and-wife owners of State of Grace Tattoo in San Jose.
“I never thought I’d be looking at my work and colleagues’ works of mine in the San Francisco Public Library,” said Takahiro Kitamura. “We’ve always seen it as art, and not necessarily that we needed the validation, but it’s really nice to see the larger society as a whole is really appreciating tattoo art.”
Last December, KPIX was given behind-the-scenes access to a photo shoot in San Jose as dozens of Kitamura’s clients gathered to model 30 years of his legacy. The exhibit features two of the group photos that we highlighted for an AAPI Heritage Month story last May.
“I get really emotional seeing this, it brings back a lot of memories,” Takahiro said while looking at one of the large group photos. “Kind of a loss of words.”
Allison Wyckoff, the library’s director of exhibitions, says the exhibit has been two years in the making, and the photos not only show Kitamura’s Japanese woodblock-style of tattoo, but also shine a light on other cultures.
“Tattooing is a way of storytelling as a conduit of cultural heritage, and as the tattooed body, it serves as an archive and memory keeper,” Wyckoff said.
Along with cultural identity, a series of photos is displayed in pairs, featuring the artist and their client. Molly Kitamura says it was important to show that the art is truly a dedicated partnership.
“The client is everything, it is their body, it is their choice,” she said. “And they are wearing the tattoo for their lifetime.”
The tattoo photo exhibit opened at the San Francisco Public Main Library on Thursday, with a panel with Takahiro Kitamura and other artists on Friday at 4 p.m.
“Living Tattoo Traditions: American Irezumi and Beyond” will run through March.
