THE TATTOOED
GENTLEMAN
RICHARD KENNEDY
Words: Kate Monahan
Photography: Justin L. Stanley
Richard Kennedy is a man engrossed in the tattooed culture. A
traveler, filmmaker, editor and producer, he is an explorer and shares
his life experiences through his films. He has traveled the world
and lived in different places in the United States, including parts of
Florida which is where he’s originally from, Los Angeles, and New
York City, where he currently resides. New York is home for Richard
when he’s not traveling; it’s where he feels most independent,
connected, and plugged in.
Richard became immersed in tattoo culture at 18, beginning to
cover himself and doing research on the world of body art. In his
years of getting tattooed, studying, learning, and engrossing himself
in the culture, he decided to make a mini series of it—The Gypsy
Gentleman.
The series was initially created and developed by world renowned
tattooer, Marcus Kuhn, a personal friend of Richard’s and
cinematographer, Justin L. Stanley, and himself. After the first
episode, tattooer, Neal Koch jumped in as the executive producer
and aided them in getting a bigger crew and the ability to visit more
cities in different countries, such as Texas, San Fransisco, San
Diego, London, Paris, and Japan, where they feature one of the
greats in Japanese tattooing. Richard, his team, and others in the
tattoo community recognize Japan as one of the main sources of
tattooing in the world.
The premise for The Gypsy Gentleman was that each episode
showcased a particular city. The host, Marcus Kuhn would connect
the history of tattooing to the city featured. Two artists from each
city were featured and filmed. Together, they visited local museums
where they were inspired and create free tattoos based on the
pieces of art they found.
Richard and his crew—the founders of The Gypsy Gentleman—
did not want to create, as he describes, a “Reading Rainbow” of
tattoo shows where a lack of tattoo culture was portrayed. Richard,
a tattooed gypsy himself, set out to create the show, The Gypsy
Gentleman to counteract how tattoo culture was being broadcasted
on network television.
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