16 Facts About Lars Krutak

Lars Krutak is an American anthropologist, photographer, and writer known for his research about tattoo and its cultural background.

Lars Krutak produced and hosted the 10-part documentary series Tattoo Hunter on the Discovery Channel, which traveled the indigenous world to showcase vanishing art forms of body modification.

Lars Krutak was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, to Dr Paul Lars Krutak, a traveling geologist and university professor, who moved the family to Mexico City in 1979 and then to a series of states including Louisiana, Texas, and eventually Colorado where he grew up in the small mountain town atmosphere of Rye, Colorado.

Lars Krutak attended the University of Colorado at Boulder studying art history and anthropology and upon graduation moved to San Francisco to work as an art gallery preparator for Paul Thiebaud, the son of American Pop artist Wayne Thiebaud.

In 1996, Lars Krutak attended graduate school at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks where his thesis One Stitch at a Time: Ivalu and Sivuqaq Tattoo focused on the ancient tattooing traditions of the St Lawrence Island Yupik people.

Lars Krutak briefly attended Cambridge University as a PhD student in 1998 but he returned stateside joining the National Museum of the American Indian where he worked as a Repatriation Research Specialist facilitating the return of sacred and ceremonial objects and human remains to indigenous peoples throughout North America and Mexico.

Since 2002, Lars Krutak served as an Anthropological Consultant for three National Geographic Channel productions and was a co-recipient of the 2003 American Book Award in Literature for Akuzilleput Igaqullghet, Our Words Put to Paper Sourcebook in St Lawrence Island Yupik Heritage and History.

Lars Krutak appeared as a studio guest for the History Channel's Ancient Aliens: Mysterious Rituals episode where he spoke about shamanism.

In 2018, Lars Krutak was the resident tattoo historian for the Facebook Watch series "Ink Expedition" produced by INSIDER.

Lars Krutak has consulted with the motion picture industry, rendering services to "The Revenant" and "The Salvation".

Lars Krutak is married to Heidi Rauch, the founder of apparel company Belabumbum and has one daughter, Neena.

Lars Krutak co-edited Ancient Ink: The Archaeology of Tattooing with Aaron Deter-Wolf.

Lars Krutak serves as an Executive Producer for the forthcoming film documentary Treasure of the Rice Terraces, which chronicles the story behind Filipino identity in relation to the tattoo revival of the Kalinga people of northern Luzon.

Lars Krutak has attempted to uncover the social, religious, ontological, and medicinal values of tattoos through collaborative efforts.

Lars Krutak has conducted tattoo research with 50+ indigenous societies in 20+ countries.

Lars Krutak helped compile and edit the American Book Award-winning Akuzilleput Igaqullghet = Our Words Put to Paper: Sourcebook in St Lawrence Island Heritage and History, and copies of this tome were provided to every household on this Alaskan island in Bering Strait.