Matt Lodder

Matthew C. Lodder
Matthew C. Lodder
	Matt Lodder in Berlin in 2023
Known for	Art-historical methodologies to the history of Western tattooing from the 17th century to the present day.
Academic background
Education	BA (Hons) French & German University of Bradford,; MA Critical Theory (The Body and Representation) University of Reading; PhD History of Art - University of Reading.; Senior Lecturer in Art History and Theory;
Academic work
Discipline	Art history
Institutions	School of Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Essex
Website	www.essex.ac.uk/people/LODDE23007/Matt-Lodder

Matthew C. Lodder (born 1980) is a British senior lecturer in art history and theory, director of American studies and an expert in the history of tattooing at the University of Essex. He is also an exhibition curator and one of the University of Essex's Public Voice Scholars. Lodder completed his PhD in 2010, having submitted a thesis entitled Body Art: Body Modification as Artistic Practice. Lodder is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

In 2018, Lodder served as the presenter of 'Art of Museums' for German TV channel ZDF.

Lodder's podcast 'Beneath the Skin' was awarded "Best History Podcast" at the Independent Podcast Awards 2023.

In 2021, he explained to the Guardian how a student in California had impersonated him for years, stealing his academic work and even copying his tattoos.

Selected works

Books

Matt Lodder (author): Tattoos: The Untold History of a Modern Art.Yale University Press 2024, ISBN 0-3002-6939-0
Matt Lodder (author): Painted People: Humanity in 21 Tattoos. HarperCollins Publishers 2022, ISBN 978-0-0084-0206-8
Matt Lodder (author): Painted People: 5,000 Years of Tattooed History from Sailors and Socialites to Mummies and Kings. HarperCollins Publishers 2023, ISBN ISBN 978-0-0084-0210-5
Lepine, A., Lodder, M. and McKever, R., (eds.) (2015). Revival: Memories, Identities, Utopias. The Courtauld Institute of Art. ISBN 978-1-907485-04-6

Book Sections

Matt Lodder: Hans and "Lady Tattoo Artist" Jessie Knight. In: Manfred Kohrs, Ole Wittmann (Publ.): From the Living Room to Far-off Lands – Tattoo Culture in the Mid-20th Century. IDTG, Wedemark 2025, ISBN 978-3-00-076184-3 (German and English)
Matt Lodder (co-author): Manfred Kohrs: Vorlagenalbum des Tätowierers Horst "Tattoo-Samy" Streckenbach. IKARUS, Wedemark 2024, ISBN 3-00-076502-6
Alexa MacDermot (editor), Kathrina Rupit, Matt Lodder: Goblin Market: Irish New Contemporary Art. White Lady Art Books 2012, ISBN 978-0-9573-2230-1
Matt Lodder (2022) 'Mr Sebastian's Tattooing and Piercing in the context of Operation Spanner'. In Alan Oversby: Documentary Evidence. Editor: King, Paul. Body Piercing Archive. ISBN 978-0-578-36480-3
Matt Lodder, (2022). 'A Medium, Not a Phenomenon: An Argument for an Art-Historical Approach to Western Tattooing'. In: Tattooed Bodies: Theorizing Body Inscription Across Disciplines and Cultures. Editors: Martell, J. and Larsen, E., . Palgrave Macmillan. 13- 42. ISBN 978-3-030-86565-8
Matt Lodder (2022). ‘”Geijutsu-tekina” Nihon no irezumi to vuikutoria asa Ingurando no shogyo senryaku’ (‘”Artistic” Japanese Tattoos and Commercial Strategy in Victorian England’), trans. Naho Onuki. In: 身体を彫る、世界を印すイレズミ・タトゥーの人類学 (Sculpting the Body, Marking the World: The Anthropology of Irezumi Tattoo). Editors: Yamamoto, Y., Kuwabara, M. and Tsumura, F., . Shunpusha. ISBN 9784861108037
Matt Lodder (2015). “The New Old Style: Tradition, Archetype and Rhetoric in Contemporary Western Tattooing”. In: Revival: Memories, Identities, Utopias. Editors: Lepine, A., Lodder, M. and McKever, R., . The Courtauld Institute of Art. ISBN 978-1-907485-04-6
Matt Lodder (2015). Various artist interviews. In: World Atlas of Tattoo. Editors: Friedman, A. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-30021-04-84
Matt Lodder (2015). “From Paper onto Skin”. In: Tattoo Masters Flash Collection: Selected Styles Around the World. Editors: Reuss, M. and Hoill, E. Editions Reuss. ISBN 978-394310-53-08
Matt Lodder(2013). “Neo-Victorian Tattooing”. In: Victoriana A Miscellany... (ex. cat.) ISBN 978-190279-51-57
Matt Lodder, (2012). Foreword. In: Forever The New Tattoo. Editors: Klanten, R. Die Gestalten Verlag. ISBN 978-389955-44-27
Matt Lodder (2009). “A Somatechnological Paradigm: How do you Make Yourself a Body without Organs?”. In: Somatechnics: Queering the Technologisation of Bodies. Editors: Sullivan, N. and Murray, S. Ashgate. 187- 206. ISBN 9780754675303
Al Overdrive (author,inset photographer), Matt Lodder (author of introduction): No Commercial Value: The Photography of Al Overdrive. AO 2008, ISBN 978-0-9558-6710-1

Journal articles

Lodder, M., (2016). Visual pleasure and gonzo pornography: Mason's challenge to convention in ‘the hardest of hardcore’. Porn Studies. 3 (4), 373–385
Dymock, A. and Lodder, M., (2016). 'The Erotics of Injury: Remembering Operation Spanner Workshops', 10&11 September 2015, University of Essex and Royal Holloway, University of London. Porn Studies. 3 (3), 320–323
Lodder, M., (2015). ‘Things of the sea’: iconographic continuities between tattooing and handicrafts in Georgian-era maritime culture. Sculpture Journal. 24 (2), 195–210
Lodder, M., (2013). Art History in the Pub. Journal of Visual Culture. 12 (2), 332–338

Exhibitions

British Tattoo Art Revealed, described as a "visionary exhibition" by anthropologist and tattoo researcher Lars Krutak, began at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in March 2017 and toured nationwide through 2020.
Skin Digging, Art Exchange/University of Essex

References

↑ Cawley, Laurence (3 February 2014). "People always say the same thing about tattoos". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
↑ Lindsey Skinner: Video: Guest curator Dr Matt Lodder introduces British Tattoo Art Revealed
1 2 Betts, Hannah (16 March 2017). "Move over Angelina Jolie: The secret British history of tattoos". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
↑ "Public Voice Scholars". essex.ac.uk. University of Essex. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
↑ Body Art: Body Modification as Artistic Practice academia.edu
↑ "Society clects 234 new Fellows, Associate Fellows, Members and Postgraduate Members"
↑ "Art of Museums"
↑ "Independent Podcast Awards 2026 - Awards Homepage". independentpodcastawards.com. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
↑ Lodder, Dr Matt; Sedghi, Amy (26 March 2021). "Experience: I tracked down my impostor". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
↑ Jones, Dan (8 December 2024). "Tattoos by Matt Lodder review — the untold history of a modern art". The Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2025. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
↑ Wroe, Nicholas (28 November 2024). "'Gentlemen shared their tattoos over dinner': how our taste for tattoos started with the rich". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 March 2025. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
↑ Forbes-Carbines, Frances (6 February 2025). "Life stories, writ large". The Critic. Archived from the original on 3 April 2025.
↑ Mifflin, Margot (28 February 2024). "What Dennis Rodman, Kate Moss and a 5,000-year-old Alpine iceman have in common". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
↑ Krutak, Lars (1 March 2017). "EXHIBITION! TATTOO: BRITISH TATTOO ART REVEALED". larskrutak.com. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
↑ "Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed". nmmc.co.uk. National Maritime Museum Cornwall. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
↑ "New exhibition celebrates female tattoo artists". essex.ac.uk. University of Essex. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2025.

External links

Official website
Matt Lodder publications indexed by Google Scholar
Helen Lewis:Will a tattoo ever hang in the Louvre? - Meet the unconventional art historians trying to discover what it means for an image to be marked on the body. New Statesman: Interview with Gemma Angel and Matt Lodder.
Experience: I tracked down my impostor The Guardian - 26 March 2021
Nihal Arthanayake: Dr Matt Lodder: ‘We live in a world where we’re represented to the world as little avatars’ BBC Radio 5 live
The art of museums. Episode 4, Paris : Musée d‘Orsay University of Wisconsin–Madison.

[1] Cawley, Laurence (3 February 2014). "People always say the same thing about tattoos". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 3 April 2025.

[2] Lindsey Skinner: Video: Guest curator Dr Matt Lodder introduces British Tattoo Art Revealed

[telegraph-3] 1 2 Betts, Hannah (16 March 2017). "Move over Angelina Jolie: The secret British history of tattoos". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2025.

[4] "Public Voice Scholars". essex.ac.uk. University of Essex. Retrieved 3 April 2025.

[5] Body Art: Body Modification as Artistic Practice academia.edu

[6] "Society clects 234 new Fellows, Associate Fellows, Members and Postgraduate Members"

[7] "Art of Museums"

[8] "Independent Podcast Awards 2026 - Awards Homepage". independentpodcastawards.com. Retrieved 21 May 2026.

[9] Lodder, Dr Matt; Sedghi, Amy (26 March 2021). "Experience: I tracked down my impostor". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 May 2026.

[thetimes-10] Jones, Dan (8 December 2024). "Tattoos by Matt Lodder review — the untold history of a modern art". The Times. Archived from the original on 28 March 2025. Retrieved 3 April 2025.

[theguardian-11] Wroe, Nicholas (28 November 2024). "'Gentlemen shared their tattoos over dinner': how our taste for tattoos started with the rich". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 March 2025. Retrieved 3 April 2025.

[12] Forbes-Carbines, Frances (6 February 2025). "Life stories, writ large". The Critic. Archived from the original on 3 April 2025.

[latimes-13] Mifflin, Margot (28 February 2024). "What Dennis Rodman, Kate Moss and a 5,000-year-old Alpine iceman have in common". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2025.

[14] Krutak, Lars (1 March 2017). "EXHIBITION! TATTOO: BRITISH TATTOO ART REVEALED". larskrutak.com. Retrieved 3 April 2025.

[15] "Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed". nmmc.co.uk. National Maritime Museum Cornwall. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2025.

[16] "New exhibition celebrates female tattoo artists". essex.ac.uk. University of Essex. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2025.

Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF WorldCat
National	United States Italy Czech Republic Israel
Academics	ORCID Google Scholar
Other	IdRef Yale LUX