The Changing Trends of Tattooing

The cultural performance and ritual of tattooing evolved over time, but holds historical significance for membership into a group of people, age bracket, or culture. Polynesians used tattoos as a coming of age ceremony, and symbol of adulthood. Boys would be put away for weeks at a time to transition from boyhood and to heal from the harsh procedure. As the practice moved aboard ships, men tattooed one another shoddily, creating connection and camaraderie between one another. As movement across seas spread tattooing, port cities began to sprout parlors as artistic sailors settled down with this new line of work; this became the only form of Polynesian art widely accepted and practiced in the West. P.T. Barnum accentuated the novelty of tattoos and employed these visually interesting people to performer. Sanitation practices were never consistent until the 1960’s when Sailor Jerry aimed to create tattooing into an esteemed and respected art form. “Realistic Tattoo” opened as the first shop to create custom, appointment-based tattoo art.

The word Tattoo is believed to have originally come from the Samoan word “Tatau”. “The Samoan word for tattoo came from the Polynesian language, and the word tatau originates from the tapping sounds of the tool made during tattooing” (U.S National Park). The origins of the Samoan tatau have been passed down orally through

The first, and best known fads were in the 1920’s with flapper style, speakeasies, and flagpole sitting. Flapper style was rather simple; short, boyish hair, flat chests and long beaded gowns. Due to Prohibition, or making liquor and alcoholic beverages illegal, speakeasies were popular; underground, secret bars requiring a password. The long skirts helped women bootleg (or smuggle) the liquor. The term “bootlegging” comes from tying bottles to one’s leg to smuggle it. Another fad was flagpole sitting. In 1924, actor Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly sat on a flagpole for 13 hours and 13 minutes, as a publicity

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.

Similar to that idea, not all Polynesian tattoos have the same flow and shape as others. Along with that, there are also different meanings for different designs. In the Maori culture, tattoos are not always based on the life a person is living but also on milestones that they’ve reached. “For the Maori these tattoos symbolize spiritual rituals related to specific events in a person's life. The Maori men were only allowed to receive their first tattoo upon reaching adolescence.” (Laura du Toit). There was also a process that went along with receiving a Maori tattoo that one would have to partake in order to receive a tribal tattoo. “Before receiving a Maori tattoo the person would have to fast. The entire lwi would be present at the ceremony itself and this would be celebrated with music and dancing.” (Laura du Toit). In Samoan cultures, tattoos were also very sacred due to the meaning it held. “It means that a soga’imiti (traditional Samoan male tattoo) has a higher social status in his community than others, and is given more opportunities to learn correct protocol, history, oratory skills and other intricacies of the Fa’asamoa.”

Rap and hip-hop first started to come together in the 1970 's, but didn 't really materialize and become popular until the 1990 's. With a huge surge in popularity and growth in the 1990 's, it seemed that rap and hip-hop had started a cultural phenomenon that still has noticeable effects easily seen today in music and also in pop culture. A cultural phenomenon is an idea, trend, or movement that shapes and defines that time period. During the 1990 's, rap and hip-hop spread like wild fire across the nation, from the inner cities to the suburbs to anywhere where you can find a radio. Rap and hip-hop brought a different kind of lyrical rhythms and upbeat, energetic music that most people weren’t too familiar with. This cultural

A mainstream trend does not merely appear without warning—most likely, the thought behind the trend had been around for a while. According to Gladwell, in order for a trend to grow amidst the influx of newer trends, three types of people must be working hard behind the scenes. In the chapter “Case Study: Rumors, Sneakers, and the Power of Translation”, Gladwell details the roles of Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen, and how they unknowingly act together as a bridge between hipsters and mainstream media. Gladwell’s assessment of the Connectors is valid, as they play the role of the bridge itself as he/she has to be cogent and merge two completely different strata. An excellent portrayal of this would be Gladwell’s example

The skin stories we learned about in class in Polynesian culture was very interesting. In their culture tattoos have a deeper meaning then some American tattoos. The origin of where they come from is a lot different, not to say that U.S tattoos are not important. Because there are plenty of passionate talented artists out there, that do a solid job at making special tattoos for people every day. But the story of Polynesian tattoos came to be is very different since it has been around for centuries. Polynesian people are carrying their family’s origins on their skin. They are representing heritage and lineage on their skin.

Studying popular culture can be very difficult because it is always changing. Look from the end of World War II, until the time of the Assassination of President Kennedy. In a short amount of time that America has changed very different to what the beginning of the War, as the war ended and by the time of the President Kennedy was in office a lot has changed.

The Oceanic tribes viewed a person as a blend of “life forces, physical substances, and ritual knowledge” that came from multiple sources and were constantly changing. Since they viewed a person as such, they would do ritual tattooing. This was meant to harden the body and be part of the admittance into adulthood. Then one would go through severe pain to have extensive tattooing done to have a rite of passage into ritual empowerment. Some Oceanic tribes would tattoo the whole body, such as the Marquesas, while others would only tattoo the buttocks and thighs. In Figure 11.24, Tomika Te Mutu of Coromandel, shows the nineteenth century Maori Chief covered in facial tattoos. The Maori’s would use a chisel to create such tattoos. Facial tattoos

The Hip-hop movement has also had a massive effect of the fashion industry. Unlike any other trend of previous generations, hip-hop fashion cut across many ethnic boundaries. Many of the fashion trends that we see today such as the wearing of baggy pants, baseball caps worn backwards, hoodies worn under sports jerseys, and expensive sneakers were derived from the hip-hop culture and emulated by others. The hip-hop nation has also incorporated the attire of upper-class Caucasian society as a manifestation of their lack of power in American society. Urban hip-hop artist have been pushing bourgeois

On November 19th, 2015, The Daily Mail posted an article on the “Whole Glory” art exhibit in Milk Gallery in Manhattan. The exhibit allows randomly chosen participants to stick their arm inside a hole in a wall and get a tattoo by Scott Campbell, whose usually charges $1,000 for the first hour of tattooing. The artist and his clients had no contact while getting inked, and the clients did not see his work until he was done (Stern, 2015). Today tattoos are seen on more than just the powerful; they are now for everyday common people. Tattoos have come a very long way to get where they are and have been through many progressions with in the techniques. But with their popularity, and predominance within the art world, they have become a trend for more than just delinquents.

Pop culture may be defined as the ideas, attitudes, perspectives and other phenomena that are classed within the mainstream of a particular culture. An aspect of pop culture that will be focused on is fashion of the 1960's. This era saw a revolution, both technologically and socially. Enormous change caused this era to be named the ‘Decade of Change'. An iconic pioneer within the industry of fashion during this time was in fact Coco Chanel.

Tattoos have been a part of history for many years, but for some people it is a traditional and cultural thing. For Maoris and Polynesians, tattoos have been a religious, tradition, and cultural thing to have as growing up in the tribes. Maoris have a traditional tattooing known as Ta Moko, which is often on the face. Polynesians have many types of tattooing, but there’s one which is popular in the Polynesian culture and it’s called Tahitian Tatau. The Maoris and Polynesians have different shapes, and symbols in their tattoos which symbolize a different meaning. Each of these shapes and symbols best describes one’s history and culture.

Most businesses have a tattoo/piercing policy either it’s okay to have them as long as they are not offensive or derogatory or you just can’t have them at all