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Art
Paint staking
Once the domain of inmates and sailors, the tattoo has evolved into high art worthy of the human canvas.
By LENNIE BENNETT
Published April 9, 2006
Look at these images of tattooed people, taken at the TattooFest in Tampa in late March, and in my head I hear Charles Wright, a star of the 1960s and '70s L.A. funk movement, crooning "Express yourself!" Self-expression has always been a cornerstone of the human condition. Often the nonverbal communicators - the clothes we wear, the colors we paint our walls, the cars we drive, the food we eat - are the most powerful indicators of who we are. Or the person we want other people to think we are. Body art, the more formal name for tattoos, is high on the self-expression chart. Many would say it's off the chart. Tattoos date to antiquity. The word probably comes from the Tahitian "tatu,'' meaning to mark. In many ancient cultures, patterns made by pricking the skin with a sharp stone coated with vegetable dyes were part of rituals. In the 19th century, discreet tattoos were fashionable in some upper-class circles. At that point the tattoo machine had been invented and remains little changed today. A drill-like tool fitted with a needle punctures the skin and repeatedly, sort of like a sewing machine, injects dye beneath the epidermis which is always sloughing off and into the dermis, which is more stable. During the early part of the 20th century in the United States, tattoos were associated with prison inmates, whose tattoos were mostly black and gray because colored inks weren't available, and sailors on shore leave who favored stock designs of hearts or flowers accompanied by the name of a beloved ("Mom") or a succinct epigram. For several decades thereafter, tattoos were generally considered symbols of rebellion or nonconformity. At some point, tattoos became cool. Contemporary celebrities raised the tattoo's status with their visible endorsements. College kids and their parents, on a lark, would get one on an ankle or shoulder blade, or someplace more private. Many tattoo artists now have art school degrees. Tattoo shops are still illegal in Oklahoma, but elsewhere, laws and ordinances regulating the process are sure signs of mainstreaming. Aspiring tattoo wearers have many stylistic choices, from monochromatic grisaille to florid designs that cover the body with one elaborate narrative. You can see that variety in these photographs. If you consider tattoos art, it would be labeled a hybrid medium, combining traditional painting with avant-garde elements of performance. It's an interactive art in which the artist doesn't use the sitter as an inspiration to be translated onto canvas. The sitter is the canvas, and a collaborator in style and content. Like all art, a lot of tattoos are cliched, ho-hum stuff. Sometimes, though, a tattoo rises to the level of true originality. If you believe the body is a temple, then these adornments can be taken as violations of it. Or as worshipful avatars. Worship taken to extremes, of course, becomes exhibitionism. Even the most passionate advocates of body art who reject the spiritual mutilation theory must acknowledge at least a physical violation. Once the body's main protective barrier is breached, infections are more likely. The most common are those associated with unsterile needles. The inks, made from various metal compounds, are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, and adverse reactions to them are not uncommon. And the inescapable fact of a tattoo is that, unlike other art forms, you can't sell it or put it in storage if you tire of it. Sure, there are processes today that can remove a tattoo, but in most cases that reversal is like trying to put the toothpaste back into the tube. Regret is an irrelevant word in tattoo parlance. No matter how or why it's on someone, a tattoo is by nature a public statement on a private billboard. That contradiction inevitably compels a response from those viewing it, even if the opinion is never articulated. So I return to the lyrics of Charles Wright, who might have been referring to tattoos when he suggests that, in expressing yourself, "Whatever you do, do it good." Lennie Bennett can be reached at (727) 893-8293 or lennie@sptimes.com
[Last modified April 7, 2006, 10:46:40]
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