Key Fly
Datebefore 2009
Mediumwatercolor on paper
DimensionsSight: 6 1/2 × 6 3/8 inches (16.5 × 16.2 cm)
Framed: 11 1/2 × 11 1/4 × 1/2 inches (29.2 × 28.6 × 1.3 cm)
Credit LineGift of Arthur Bennett Kouwenhoven, Jr.
Object number2009.19.3
Copyright© Scott Althen.
The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextA tattoo artist for nearly two decades, Scott Althen grew up in Savannah and earned his BFA at SCAD in 1996. A self-described outsider and member of the hardcore punk music and skate-boarding scene, Althen discovered his interest in tattooing at a young age. Years before apprenticing at a tattoo studio, he started to paint regularly, a practice he credits with helping him learn to steady his hand.
Althen started his career at Savannah’s oldest tattoo studio, California Tattoo Company, which was founded in 1976, and later tattooed for the Black Orchid, a shop that hosted exhibition openings every month. In Key Fly the artist adds a twist to a butterfly design, a popular tattoo that often symbolizes metamorphosis and freedom, by incorporating key and keyhole motifs.
