The Simplest of Art
Tattoos are a beautiful form of art that were once unaccepted and looked down upon. The art behind it has grown tremendously and evolved in the West over the past three centuries. Tattoos are perceived differently worldwide, whether they are viewed as beautiful or opposed by the masses. Body ink has been used for numerous reasons and has come with the positive and negative societal views. Different cultures have different styles that have meaning which ties into their culture and religions. The mainstream media has influenced the approval of modern day tattoos, which is why one may see tattoos becoming common in society. People may have other reasons for getting a tattoo, those being personal loss, religious beliefs, or just for enjoyment. Individuals who choose to tattoo themselves do so because it is a part of their lifestyle and the image that they want to portray to the rest of the world.
In ancient times, tattoos would symbolize the groups they would socialize with. In the 19th and 20th centuries the connotation of tattoos had both a positive and negative view. Many of those in the armed services would get tattoos representing their patriotism, the platoon name, or pride for serving in the war. As body art evolved you now notice that women are more open and free to this form of art. It is no longer a taboo, but a form of beauty which derails the stigma that it once used to hold. Since tattoos were only credited to men, women are now praised for
First, Many people choose to get a tattoo to commemorate a loved one who has passed or celebrate a special event in their lives. "Tattoos are a wonderful way to keep the memory alive of that special person". When getting a tattoo, people should take the reason into consideration and decide whether it is something they want for a lifetime. Tattoos are very personal and should be treated as such.
People, a lot of times get tattoos to express themselves. Tattoos may also be very important to someone, meaning it may represent the loss of a loved one or their religion. “If a woman in New Guinea has a swirl design on her face it indicates her family’s ancestors. Dark scrawls on a Cambodian monk’s chest reflect his religious beliefs. A gang member’s sprawling tattoos describe his street affiliation.”(Tucker) Tattoos show who you are and what you’ve experienced in life. People
The word “tattoo” is actually the combination of words from two different cultures. The Polynesian word to strike something, “ta”, and the Tahitian word meaning to mark something, “tatau” (Designboom, 2010). The form of body art known as tattooing has developed artistically, improved technically, and changed stylistically throughout the past two centuries. Not only has the public perception changed over the years, but the methods and machinery used to create these wonderful pieces of art has also changed drastically. Once viewed as only acceptable for sailors, criminals, and circus performers; tattoos, have taken a giant leap from their humble roots. However, they couldn’t have become as popular as they have without the inspirational
My senior project was over the History of Tattooing, I chose this as my topic because Tattoos really interest me with all the different styles and meanings behind them. Some things I already knew about Tattooing is a lot of tribes used tattoos to symbolize things, but I didn’t know what.
Tattooing is a body modification practice used for centuries across the globe. Because of the multiple origins of tattoos, there are several techniques and countless styles. Every tattoo is unique in meaning to the person that receives it, though often they can fit into generalized categories. Tattoos have fallen in and out of popularity over the course of history, though they have never and most likely will never disappear.
Tattoos have been around throughout our history, from Egyptian times to the present day. Many people may say they know the history of tattoos, and where they originate from, but do they really? Does one know that there were reasons that some people had tattoos? There may be people who know the actual history of tattoos and body art and why one would decide to get one; however there are people who do not. To be able to understand the idea of tattoos, one should educate themselves to the history of tattoos. Although tattoos have been considered taboo and a stereotype, history reveals that this particular form of body art has been used for self expression, status and
“The nicest people I have ever met are covered in tattoos, while the most judgment people that I have met are the once who don’t have tattoos” (Earl Dibbles). When someone sees a person with a bunch of tattoos, maybe the first thing that comes to their mind is Thug, stupid, thief, or maybe even crazy. Judging a person off of first feeling with tattoos can lead to false allegation and potentially hurt a person’s feelings. Tattoos have existed since the beginning of civilization and although widespread now, there are still misconceptions about them. I have come across many people with tattoos, especially my friend which is MMA fighter; his name is Nasratullah Akhunzada. He has a bunch of tattoos on his body. First of all, he loses his job cause of his tattoos
Tattoos have been around since 450 BC, it was used to mark the criminals and those fallen from social grace. But since then or since the Europeans discovered the “New World” and the tattooed tribes, its concepts has changed many times. You could classify the different changes in six eras in the tattoo history; the colonist or pioneer Era, the circus or carnival Era, the working-class era, the rebel era, the new age era and presently the supermarket era. The colonist or pioneer era was between the 1760s and 1870s is when the Europeans discovered tattoos amongst Native American tribes such as Hawaiians and Borneans whose tattoos had spiritual meaning, it was a way to protect themselves from physical harm and snakebite. But after their introduction with the Europeans
The tattoo is a very old form of body modification, but in spite of that there is still a certain rejection towards those who carry them in a visible area of the body, for some it disfigures what has been created in the image and likeness of God while for others associates this with convicts or gang members mainly because they were one of the first groups to use tattoos to differentiate themselves from the rest of society. But also it is true that there is a very limited understanding about this corporal modification that could be one of the reasons why it can not be appreciated as for how it should be. However, modern society reflects the current popularity of tattooing because it has acquired an entirely artistic meaning to a social expression and a way of identity.
This form of expression makes a person's body a canvas and when others see their bodies tattooed or pierced they no longer can see the person behind their expression. This leads them into their own conclusions on that person. Typically older generations see younger generations with these expressions and automatically assume they are trouble makers, have family problems or are just mean people. Just because a person likes piercings in a certain spot or tattoos on their neck, that does not define them a bad person. I chose this topic because I knew these stereotypes were incorrect and decided it was important to clarify and separate the person from the stereotype. This idea first came to me when my mom and dad were talking about self expression, my mother said how some piercings were “gross” and tattoos are “over the top” while my father disagreed saying it’s a form of expression and it wasn't ugly. After hearing this I began thinking of myself. Personally I love meaningful tattoos and I love the look of most piercings (i.e ear, lip, eyebrow etc) even if I wouldn't get them for myself. I believed it was an unique and creative form of expression, I was surprised to learn not everyone shared the same views as my father and I. After hearing this conversation I began to wonder about how others perceived tattoos and piercings. I soon realized that many people have
Tattoos have become more popular over the last few decades. Many people today see tattoos as a way of
Since tattoos were adopted into western culture, they were associated with criminals, gang members, trouble makers, or side show entertainers. As decades have past our traditional mind set has not since changed on the overall opinion of what tattoos and piercings represent. With the majority of people within the United States, it is shown that body modifications are always appeared negatively. Speaking from a generation Y viewpoint of things, my parents were raised believing that you wouldn’t get anywhere in life or you were a bad person if you had visible tattoos. Partly that is how this generation is being raised passing on the information to like-minded others and when being taught an idea as a kid by your parent it is more believable.
It has only been within the past 120 years that tattoos have gradually become more acceptable. There is not a day where a person does not see a tattoo flowing across foreign skin. Driving down the street there are tattoo shops that are lined on nearly every corner you come across and are no longer an underground type business like they used to be in the past. People have begun to come to the realization that by having a tattoo a person is not entitled to be trashy. People are beginning to have new outlooks on tattoos, the question remains though, why would someone want a
In the past, one reasons for having a tattoo is that it is usually connected spirituality. Tattoos are like an amulet to protect people against the unfamiliar. In ancient Egypt, the god Bes protected women in labor. Women of that time would have a tattoo that represented a god or goddess, to protect themselves during the time when they were pregnant. Tattoos are still used today to express religious beliefs.
Firstly, I would like to talk about how society thinks that people with tattoos are dangerous. I understand that, because a lot of criminals have tattoos. Although, not everyone who has tattoos are dangerous. For example, Angelina Jolie has a lot of tattoos. She is the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for the Refugees. Angelina is someone who is supportive of the human rights and has shown her beliefs, along with her tattoos proudly. Another example is Lady Gaga, who is known for her individualism, but also for her kind heart. She shows to everyone, accept who you are and love who you are . Lady Gaga has given money to homeless, supported many fans, strangers, just simply anyone who is struggling, and has shared her hardships.