|
|
| The human body is a canvas and always has been. Since the beginning of human history, people have decorated their bodies for many reasons. In fact, there is no known culture in which people do not paint, pierce, tattoo, reshape, or simply adorn their bodies. Some body art, like tattoos, is permanent. Other decorations, like makeup, clothing, and hairstyles, are temporary. Either way, body art can signal a person's style or place in society, mark a special moment, celebrate a transition in life, or follow fashion. By looking at body art images and objects, we open a door to understanding cultural diversity and individual identity, and to fostering a greater appreciation and tolerance of ourselves and others. | |
 Horiyoshi III, a prominent Japanese tattoo master, with son photo credit: Sandi Fellman |
| "Body Art: Marks of Identity" is a temporary exhibition on display at the American Museum of Natural History through May 29, 2000. The exhibit explores some of the many ways in which people around the world have decorated their bodies. |
 A Conibo jar from eastern Peru photo credit: Denis Finnin | "Body Art: Marks of Identity" presents over 600 objects and many images from around the world dating from 3,000 B.C. to the present, including sculptures, paintings, contemporary and historical photographs, rare books, engravings, and films. |
|
This innovative exhibition examines the historical and cultural
significance of ancient and modern body art practices, including
tattooing, piercing, body painting, body reshaping, henna, and
scarification. It explores the meaning of body art, both for
those who create it and for those who see it:
Body art carries powerful messages; whether permanent or temporary, whether found on a bowl or on a belly, these designs and shapes are all marks of identity. Body art can serve to include, "exoticize", or exclude. The colors and techniques of body art are part of a visual language with specific meanings. Deciphering this language requires an understanding of specific symbols and the individual and collective memories they represent. In all cultures, the body has been an ideal canvas for individual creativity and reinvention. Body art is also a way for people to challenge social values and cultural assumptions about beauty, identity, and the body itself.
|
 |
What messages do these practices carry?
|
 |
|
By Heather Nielsen Heather Nielsen is a Museum Educator and Content Specialist in the Department of Anthropology and at the National Center for Science Literacy, Education, and Technology. |
| Body art is one way that individuals communicate something about who they are. Our students, in fact, are some of society's finest walking billboards. Their body art proclaims affinities with very specific cultural groups and expresses significant individual choices. Look at their hair, their nails, or any religious icons they might wear. Do they always take the time to think about the complex meanings behind these adornments? Do they label and stereotype others based on what they see? |  Beauty shop window in New York City photo credit: Ellen Silberman |
|
A good way for students to begin to unravel the meanings or complexity
of individual identities is to study other cultures. The exhibition,
with its focus on the body art practices of approximately 35 cultures,
offers insight into the specific reasons why people adorn themselves.
The hope is that students will come away less quick to judge others by
their appearances, and perhaps having realized something new about
their own identities.
Develop classroom projects that are linked but not limited to the story of the exhibition. Use the exhibition as inspiration for unique entry points into your subject area. The following discussions, activities, resources and definitions are tools for linking the themes of this remarkable exhibition to your curricula. We hope that they are inspiring and fun. |
|
|
©2000 American Museum of Natural History