Scott Campbell: Adoptive Ink on Nowness.com

Get ready to be inspired + moved by this morning’s film based on the power of mentorship + the positive lasting power of a tattoo.  

Presented by NOWNESS, Free Arts NYC, a non-profit organization providing arts education for the city’s underprivileged youth + artist Scott Campbell, famous for most of Marc Jacobs’ tattoos, created a collaborative ‘karmic mentorship’ inspired by the permanence of tattoos.  One afternoon, ten kids from the program + 10 volunteers met up at the studio + after telling their stories, the kids drew their names on the volunteers + Scott tattooed them on.  Campbell said, ‘Every time the volunteers look at the tattoo they consider the kid, + believe in them. It’s a nice reminder to be generous + not take yourself so seriously.’

What sparked the idea for the project was the feeling of support + confidence Scott’s friends gave him during the early days of his career in California.  ’When I first started tattooing I was just some kid in San Francisco until one of my buddies kept bugging me to tattoo him because he really liked my drawings,’ said Campbell, whose own celebrity status is masked by his humility, with a clientele that includes Helena Christensen + Penelope Cruz.  ’It catches you off guard sometimes, when people feel you’re more capable than you believe you are. It made me want to be the person that he thought I was,’ which is what this whole experience hoped to accomplish + I think did, in immeasurable ways.

The session was part of the Free Arts NYC Annual Auction, hosted by Marc Jacobs.  A book of temporary tattoos, a Scott Campbell + Marc Jacobs collaboration, is sold at Bookmarc stores, with all proceeds going to Free Arts NYC. 

Get inspired + enjoy!

(via NOWNESS)