What I could never understand about tattoos is how people can choose to literally brand themselves with an image, symbol etc. that might seem so meaningful to their current self when 10, 20, 30 years down the road they might feel very differently about it but are then stuck with this image from their younger, less mature self for life.
Great roundup or articles. Interesting to think of whose stories are told, but I think traditional American fare of many types excludes the cultural contributors. Reclaiming parts of that history is an interesting development since there aren’t nearly as many well known black artists.
I’m also interested in the normalization of art careers. I was just discussing with somehow how our African upbringings did not value creative brains. It’s not all about STEM. Writing now pushes back against that perception but I almost value coming back a bit later because I have much less fear now than I did as a kid.
Really enjoyed this post, Victoria, thank you! I haven't got any tattoos but I've always been fascinated by other people's tattoos and why they choose them. I follow a couple of amazing tattoo artists on instagram. I really like the work of Gakkin https://www.instagram.com/gakkinx/. He basically covers people's ENTIRE bodies with black and white Japanese style imagery. It's quite incredible artistry.
Didn't know of Doreen Garner, what a talented artist. I love what she is doing with her tattoo work, but also her sculpture too. It's interesting how she thinks about black and white skin. I hadn't thought about tattoos in this way before i.e. as symbols with contemporary political meaning. I suppose because most people I know who have tats get them because it's fashionable and acceptable to do it now.
Reading this post has made me wonder why a tattoo artist has never broken through into the art world proper (afaik). You would think one artist might have been able to become so renowned that people would clamour for their commissions, just as it has happened through history in the traditional art forms of painting, sculpture etc. You could easily imagine people competing to have a famous tattoo artists work on their body, at least in part to claim status and prestige for being the literal canvas of one of an artist's masterpieces. Would be even more personal than than just having a famous painting on your wall. An exhibition of a tattoo artist's work could be an opportunity for a fascinating experiential human event where the clients all collect together in a room and show off their tattoos to each other and the public. Didn't know I wanted this until just now!
Ah wow .. wonderful mail .. and thank you for the Fidjit Drowning Girl video Vic .. how empowering!!
What a fascinating post - I love how you look at an often overlooked expression of art. Thank you for highlighting this.
What I could never understand about tattoos is how people can choose to literally brand themselves with an image, symbol etc. that might seem so meaningful to their current self when 10, 20, 30 years down the road they might feel very differently about it but are then stuck with this image from their younger, less mature self for life.
Great roundup or articles. Interesting to think of whose stories are told, but I think traditional American fare of many types excludes the cultural contributors. Reclaiming parts of that history is an interesting development since there aren’t nearly as many well known black artists.
I’m also interested in the normalization of art careers. I was just discussing with somehow how our African upbringings did not value creative brains. It’s not all about STEM. Writing now pushes back against that perception but I almost value coming back a bit later because I have much less fear now than I did as a kid.
https://www.artforum.com/print/198105/tattoo-the-state-of-the-art-37948 Ruth Marten has a long interesting art career , she was also a tattoo artist and reinvented 'tribal' as a style in the late 70s because it works on all skin colors. There's a lot of her work and books online
Really enjoyed this post, Victoria, thank you! I haven't got any tattoos but I've always been fascinated by other people's tattoos and why they choose them. I follow a couple of amazing tattoo artists on instagram. I really like the work of Gakkin https://www.instagram.com/gakkinx/. He basically covers people's ENTIRE bodies with black and white Japanese style imagery. It's quite incredible artistry.
Didn't know of Doreen Garner, what a talented artist. I love what she is doing with her tattoo work, but also her sculpture too. It's interesting how she thinks about black and white skin. I hadn't thought about tattoos in this way before i.e. as symbols with contemporary political meaning. I suppose because most people I know who have tats get them because it's fashionable and acceptable to do it now.
Reading this post has made me wonder why a tattoo artist has never broken through into the art world proper (afaik). You would think one artist might have been able to become so renowned that people would clamour for their commissions, just as it has happened through history in the traditional art forms of painting, sculpture etc. You could easily imagine people competing to have a famous tattoo artists work on their body, at least in part to claim status and prestige for being the literal canvas of one of an artist's masterpieces. Would be even more personal than than just having a famous painting on your wall. An exhibition of a tattoo artist's work could be an opportunity for a fascinating experiential human event where the clients all collect together in a room and show off their tattoos to each other and the public. Didn't know I wanted this until just now!