Throwback Thursday! Back in September 1995, we organized the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to tattooing as an art form. Our show, “Pierced Hearts and True Love: A Century of Drawings for Tattoos”, explored the work of over 80 tattooists from America and Europe as well as Japanese influences on the craft. Finished drawings, sketchbooks, rough studies for tattoos on ink and water color, advertising from tattoo shops and even some actual vintage tattoo machines were all on view. Tattoo artists were present through their work and in the organization of the exhibition. #EdHardy, renowned tattooist and tattoo historian, and #MichaelMcCabe, a cultural anthropologist, tattooist and a collector of tattooing paraphernalia, were curator and consultant, respectively, for the show. The artists featured included tattooists from Honolulu, several Japanese tattoo masters, European and American practitioners of “folk art” tattooing and a group of international and innovative artists working ...