We take a look at part two of the excellent Gypsy Gentlemen Series. Following up on his New York visit, tattooer and painter Marcus Kuhn takes us to Austin, Texas, uncovering the city with the help of fellow artists, Tony Hundahl and Steve Byrne. “The second in a series of films chronicling the travels of the gypsy gentleman. A travel documentary profiling the world’s greatest tattooers and the world’s most fascinating places.” Thanks to Reference Council for the heads up. Catch up with Part 1 here.

Nowness today presents a new film about Japanese tattoo master Horiyoshi III.

Johnny Shand Kydd (who you may remember from last week’s post) captured the master at work, getting at the core of his process.

Some words about Horiyoshi III -

Born Yoshihito Nakano in 1946, Horiyoshi III had his epiphany when confronted with a Yakuza (Japanese gangster) sporting a full body tattoo—or “suit”—at a public bathhouse as a young boy. Inspired, he visited the studio of his later master, Horiyoshi I, for his own tattoo, and subsequently became his apprentice at the age of 25. Now based in the suburbs of port-city Yokohama, Horiyoshi works from a secluded, quiet atelier, crammed with skulls, Japanese Noh theater masks and even a dragon-print umbrella from Vivienne Westwood. His status as the most respected tattoo artist in Japan is confirmed by his adoption of his master’s honorific title, which he aims to pass down to his son, Kazuyoshi Nakano.

The video also offers a preview of the recently released Horiyoshi III clothing line, which transfers some of the splended designs he inks on skin to garments. I wrote a brief ramble about the clothing several weeks ago. Seems fitting to link it, so here goes – Horiyoshi III.

Aside from Skin & Bones, the tattoo show exploring body marking in the life of the American Sailor I worked on, there are a few other wonderful tattoo exhibitions open at the moment. It’s a great time for the art, with the Sailor Jerry film having just been released and a number of good books in the works. In that the scholarship is strengthening and the push toward collecting the stories of many of the living greats is building.

Freaks & Flash brings to life the roots of Western Tattooing through vintage flash and circus banners. Focus in on midwestern artists and collections, but the scope is nonetheless international. Some major figures of tattoo history are well represented – the legendary Englishman George Burchett, Milwaukee’s Armund Dietzel, and the inventor of the tattoo machine Samuel O’Reilly, to name a few. Co-curated by Anna Friedman-Herlihy and Jan Petry, the exhbition presents many fine examples of tattoo history to the public for the first time.

Freaks and Flash opened on September 11 and runs through January 9, 2010 at Intuit: the Center for Intuitive and Outsider Arts, 756 N. Milwaukee, Chicago. (via Curated).

Above is a piece of flash by Sailor Bill Rodgers. Hit the jump to see work by Burchett and O’Reilly.

If old school tattooing is your thing, you might consider heading to Philadelphia this weekend. The Mighty Warship Olympia Tattoo Festival brings 40 artists practicing traditional American styles aboard Independence Seaport Museum’s 1892 National Historic Landmark Cruiser Olympia. It’s a rare opportunity to get tattooed in the same manner as a 19th-century sailor – except without the potential for syphilis.

While there you can also view Skin and Bones, the museum’s original exhibition exploring the roll of tattoos in the life of the American sailor (note: I served as a content consultant).

Great fun for all. Running October 16 – 18.

Head to the jump to check the poster. Above is a historic image of tattooing aboard the Olympia. (via Curated).