This fall, the inaugural cohort of Rhode Island School of Design students enrolled in ILLUS 3701-01: “Introduction to Tattooing,” the first tattooing course offered in the school’s history.
The class, offered through the Illustration Department, explores “the rich history and cultural landscapes of tattooing,” according to its syllabus.
“Tattooing has experienced a renaissance over the past decade, and we’re thrilled to help shape its ongoing evolution through this new course,” Adam Krueger, the course’s instructor and a 2004 RISD alum, wrote in an email to The Herald. “There has long been a gap between the fine art world and the tattoo industry — a missing link that, in my view, needed to be bridged.”
Throughout his career, Krueger has sought ways to combine fine art and tattooing. For him, the new class was a chance to allow students to explore the intersection between the two disciplines.
Students in the course explore tattooing from many angles — ranging from the origins of tattooing to maintenance, line work and shading. Class assignments consist of seven design projects and “11 completed tattoos on silicone skin,” according to the syllabus.
While many of the class’ practices include tattooing on silicone skin, students “had a project where we were tasked to tattoo on something that wasn’t fake skin,” said Mia Cheng, a member of the class of 2026 who is currently taking the course. “I tattooed on lemon and orange peel skin, which was really fun.”
For some students, the course is an enriching departure from more traditional art classes at RISD.
Thea Contis, a senior in the class, often focuses on the medium of digital art. “Having that ability to press control-Z and undo my work is something that’s kind of a crutch for me,” she explained. “So what excites me about (the course) is being able to get stronger and more confident in drawing and making work that’s going to last forever.”
“I find (tattooing) almost meditative in a way, because you have to be very present with what you’re doing, with every line and every mark you make,” she added.
In an email to The Herald, Illustration Department Head Robert Brinkerhoff wrote that having a tattooing course is one way to diversify student opportunities. “The more doors we can open for them the better — and there’s no reason something like tattooing can’t be part of what we do,” he wrote.
Brinkerhoff sees the course as a way for students to get a “head start” in the industry, but emphasized that taking the class can not replace “the time-honored practice of tattooing apprenticeship.”
Krueger was drawn to the tattooing industry after becoming disillusioned with the world of commercial art, due to “the pressure to satisfy critics, gallerists and collectors,” he wrote. Since then, he’s split his time “between painting and tattooing, exploring the latter as a living medium that merges elements of drawing, painting, fashion, graphic design and sculpture.”
Looking toward future semesters, Brinkerhoff hopes to keep the class “on the books.”
“We’ve already invested in the equipment, and we have in Adam Krueger a very talented instructor, so of course we’d like to offer it again,” Brinkerhoff wrote. “The reaction has been great — the students are doing fantastic work.”
