The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) will continue its popular Target Free Family Saturdays series on July 12 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission to the museum is free all day, giving families the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities as well as view current exhibitions. July’s Target Free Family Saturday will be a celebration of “Perseverance: Japanese Tattoo Tradition in a Modern World,” a groundbreaking photographic exhibition that examines Japanese tattoo practice as a serious art form, placing it in a rich artistic lineage that includes ukiyo-e and other traditional Japanese printing techniques.
Young visitors will be able to make their own prints using etched plastic, as well as design and apply temporary tattoos. There will be a coloring contest; henna tattooing; and a demonstration of shinkendo, the Japanese art of swordsmanship, bringing to life the samurai warrior imagery that plays a significant role in Japanese tattoos. There will also be a professional screen printing demonstration.
The complete event schedule follows.
All-Day Activities
At the Kids’ Print shop, children can etch designs into plastic foam and make prints from them.
At the Kids’ Tattoo Parlor, children can use special paper to create temporary press-on tattoos.
At Ruthie’s Origami Corner, a staple of JANM’s Target Free Family Saturdays, Ruthie will teach visitors how to make an origami fish.
At the Kids’ Coloring Lounge, children can see Ukiyo-e Heroes, ukiyo-e-style prints inspired by Japanese comics and video games, created by artists Jed Henry and
David Bull. Kids can create their own ukiyo-e heroes with coloring pages and enter their work in a contest to win a $10 JANM Store gift certificate.
Scheduled Activities
11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.: Mark Langill, Los Angeles Dodgers team historian and publications editor, and Koji Steven Sakai, JANM programs manager, will lead family-friendly gallery tours of “Dodgers: Brotherhood of the Game.” The two curators will share stories of how the exhibition was put together and elaborate on the roles played by individuals spotlighted in the show, including Jackie Robinson, Fernando Valenzuela, Chan Ho Park, Hideo Nomo, and Tommy Lasorda.
12-2 p.m.: Grow Your Own Media, a community print shop located in Atwater Village, will present a live screen printing demonstration, printing special JANM-designed posters for visitors to take home (while supplies last).
12-2 p.m.: Children can receive henna tattoos, which typically last one to four weeks.
2 p.m.: The documentary “Ed Hardy: Tattoo the World” will be screened in JANM’s Tateuchi Democracy Forum. The film tells the story of Don Ed Hardy, a fine artist whose obsession with tattoos launched an empire. A discussion with producer-director Emiko Omori will follow the screening. (Note that this film is not rated and may not be appropriate for all ages.)
2-4 p.m.: Children can receive realistic-looking temporary airbrushed tattoos, which typically last two to seven days.
3 p.m.: Samurai warrior imagery, prominent in Japanese tattoos, will come to life in a demonstration of shinkendo, the Japanese art of swordsmanship. This live display will be presented by Honbu Dojo, the world headquarters of shinkendo instruction.
For more details about Target Free Family Saturday, visit http://janm.org/target.
“Dodgers” and “Perseverance” run through Sept. 14. Also on view is “Colors of Confinement: Rare Kodachrome Photographs of Japanese American Incarceration in World War II,” which runs through Aug. 31.