Ed Hardy: Deeper Than Skin
Tattoo popularity exploded in the late 20th century, in large part thanks to Ed Hardy, the renowned tattoo artist who made tattoos mainstream. Through October 6th, the de Young museum in San Francisco shows the first museum retrospective of the artist's life with Ed Hardy, Deeper than Skin.
In celebration, we worked with the de Young museum to turn Ed Hardy's beloved flash into temporary tattoos and customized packaging available at the museum store. Learn more about Hardy and the exhibit below!
About Ed Hardy, the OG:
Don Ed Hardy was born in Southern California in 1945, and grew up fascinated by his father’s friends’ tattoos collected while serving in World War II. He went on to study fine art at the San Francisco Art Institute in the 1960’s, where he took to works by Durer, Goya, and Rembrandt. He graduated with a degree in printmaking.
"Ed Hardy reinvented the nature of the tattoo inspired in large part by his early exposure to works in our collection," said Thomas P. Campbell, the director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Fransisco, where Hardy did research in their extensive collections.
One of his first tattoos was by Phil Sparrow in Oakland, who gave him a book of Japanese tattooing. The book reignited his childhood love for the medium. Turning down a fellowship in fine arts at Yale, he instead began a career as a professional tattoo artist. He honed his skills in shops in Vancouver, Seattle, and San Diego. These Custom Tattly flash designs shown here are examples of the work he did during that time.
In 1974, Hardy opened his own shop - Realistic Tattoo in San Francisco - the first studio in the United States to provide custom tattoos based on what the client wanted. His career also included working in paint, porcelain, drawings, and prints, which will be on display at the exhibition. Hardy has since retired from tattooing, but still mentors new artists. His current shop is in North Beach and is called Ed Hardy's Tattoo City.
About Ed Hardy: Deeper Than Skin at the de Young Museum.
Ed Hardy, Deeper than Skin is the first museum retrospective of Ed Hardy. Featuring more than 300 objects ranging from paintings and sketches (including drawings Hardy created as a 10-year-old!) to prints and three dimensional work, the exhibit will track the evolution of tattooing from its "outsider" status through Hardy's work and influence. It will be open from July 13 - Oct 6.
About Custom Tattly
We love working with brands, organizations, and individuals turn their tattoo dreams into a temporary reality!
For the opening of Ed Hardy: Deeper than Skin, we worked with the de Young museum, which is part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, to turn Ed Hardy's original flash into temporary tattoos and customized packaging. They'll be distributing them at their opening event and in their beautifully-curated museum store.
Want to design your own Tattly and packaging? Visit tattly.com/custom or email us at custom@tattly.com!