Tattoo
From Mod Mania
Tattoo Art (Body Modification)
Body art is by no means a modern concept, nor was it ever a fashion statement (and never should be)! A very well known form of body art, tattooing, began as a very cultural and worldly form of identification. They helped to distinguish tribes and hierarchies as well as the past and sometimes desired future of the beholder. These are very broad and quick notes on the history of tattoos which are actually extremely diverse between ages and locations. What is of interest to me is the meaning behind body art and the practice itself.
The Maori culture in New Zealand used tattooing as a personal (and permanent) tribute to the wearers history. The patterns documented major events in their lives including their ancestry and achievements in war. For them tattoos were the norm and it was assumed they would undertake the painful method - Maori's adapted (or modified) their skills with timber carving to skills in skin carving.
Drawn by William Hodges, 1771, during James Cook's 2nd voyage.
Unfortunately, during the very early 1900's tattooed people were turned into members of a freak show by a closed minded society. Europe had only heard of tattooed warriors in far off seas and assumed anyone who appeared with similar markings was far from home, out of place, eccentric - a freak.
German circus performers during 1910's.
Towards the mid 1900's tattoos began to appear for a different reason, advertising. Coca-Cola used three tattooed men in a drink advertisement in 1944 published in Life Magazine. Coca-Cola have returned to the original identification purposes of tattoos by showing a man obviously with tribal tattoos enjoying the same commercial drink as a local with what appears to be a personal decoration which is covered by his shirt. The thinking behind the advert was to attract attention while merging two sides of the globe who found something common both in their body art and in their choice of icy beverage.
Coca-Cola advertisement, 1944, Life Magazine.
Japan is an interesting one. Aside from their traditional tattoo past, Japan's corporate world will not tolerate any body art what-so-ever. This is a current 'rule' in Japan and has no foreseeable end date. Previously, Tattoos in Japanese culture meant much the same that it did to the Maori's. However, since the introduction of such religions as Buddhism Japan has adopted the Chinese Buddhist opinion that tattooing is barbaric. The Japanese then replaced amputation of the nose and ears of their prisoners with tattoos. Today a tattooed person in Japan is assumed to be part of the Japanese Mafia (no joke!) and if an employer is aware of an employee having a tattoo in the corporate world that is reason enough to dismiss that worker.
Print by Tadamasa Ueno.
Tattoos are a great example of society shunning anything they don't know about, anything foreign or anything they would view as extreme. Tattoos are a choice entirely for the individual and are purely decorative in appearance. This was not helped by the practical use of tattoos in WWII by the Nazi’s who 'tagged' their prisoners arms with numbers that weren't about to rub off if said person managed to escape. They were also used in standard prisons until quite recently. People became afraid of others who had tattoos thanks to these parallels, however tattoos do not lurk around corners in dark alley ways, they do not have a criminal record, and they will not rob your home it just so happens that they accompanied the sorts of people who did for a short period of history.
Lately, society has begun to accept people's right to choose what they do with their bodies. Tattoos have even started to become an attractive addition or accessory that many people change their wardrobe around. The fact that tattoos are so truly permanent hasn't seemed to stop our generation actively taking part. Each person’s reason however, cannot be generalised under a generation. Plenty may get a small graphic somewhere discreet to prove they can to their parents or sceptical friends. Some do it purely for decoration and enjoy the raised eyebrows of the grandmas on the bus when they hand the driver their ticket with a full length 'sleeve' (block tattoo designs going from shoulder to wrist). And the rest do it for themselves, they get something meaningful to them, perhaps based on an event or experience. These are the tattoos most true to their original purpose not including the way the ink is actually applied.
In our ever advancing society, tattoos are fast loosing everything that made them important to their original hosts. Studio business charge hourly rates for clients to have a sample of this identity that comes with a tattoo. Rather than using the Maori 'carving' technique, the weapon of choice is a rapidly vibrating needle which penetrates the skin much in the fashion a sewing machine needle would. The permanency is a major factor when deciding to get a tattoo; it is not something to be sniffed at. Companies have been spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in research to find a way of completely removing a tattoo. They have unfortunately succeeded (aside from some minor scaring) and this has put a major spin on the act of permanent body art. While the procedure may be painful, the host of the design can always get it removed if they have a change of heart or have a job interview in Japan. So, we have gone from Maori warriors enduring hours of pain at pass-out level for facial engravings to last a life time in full sight of enemies and friends, to anyone over the age of 18 (if carried out legally) getting the famous lower back swirl for their younger years on sunny beaches and removing it by the time they turn 40.
In summary, this form of modification, body art, has had a negative effect on its history and social and technological advancements have actually tarnished the original beauty and significance of a sacred tribal tradition.
Reference List:
Designboom 2008, History of Tattoos, Viewed 06 May, 2008. http://www.designboom.com/history/tattoo_history.html
The University of Pennsylvania Museum 2007, Examples of Body Modification in the Collections of the University of Pennsylvania Museum, Viewed 06 May, 2008. http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/exhibits/online_exhibits/body_modification/bodmodgalleries.shtml
The University of Pennsylvania Museum 2007, Tattooing, Viewed 06 May, 2008. http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/exhibits/online_exhibits/body_modification/bodmodtattoo.shtml
Artelino 2001, Japanese Tattoo Art, Viewed 07 May 2008 http://www.artelino.com/articles/japanese_tattoo_art.asp
