Tattoo: An Art Form?
Sunday, January 18, 2009
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The 1st Singapore Tattoo Show at
the Singapore Expo has
inevitably raised a few
eyebrows, most notably resulting
in an editorial in The Sunday
Times questioning tattoo. Tattoo
enthusiasts sometimes refer to
tattooists as 'artists'. But are
these people truly creating art,
or merely scarring the human
body in a permanent way?
Tattoos have many different connotations and uses in different traditions around the world. In places like Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand, the yantra tattoo is used for protection against evil and to increase luck. Most traditional tattooing in the Philippines is related to the wearer's accomplishments in life or their rank in the tribe. Henna, a temporary form of tattooing, is among the many rituals in most Indian weddings.
On the other hand, tattoos for
non-traditional purposes have
become more prevalent throughout
the world, in North America in
particular. Pop culture portrays
tattooing as an art form through
popular television shows like
LA Ink and Miami
Ink. Well-known celebrities
with tattoos include Angelina
Jolie, Colin Farrell, The Red
Hot Chilli Peppers, 50 Cent and
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. The
1st Singapore Tattoo Show in
particular shows that tattoos
are gaining a slow acceptance
into our society.
 Colin Farrell and his tattoos
Or does it?
An earlier blog post mentioned how when we think about the bad in our society, one of the things we think of are tattoos. Tattoos have an almost unavoidable association with criminals. This probably stems from gang and criminal practices of using distinctive tattoos to identify themselves. In Japan, for instance, full body tattoos done the traditional Japanese way are associated with the yakuza, Japanese organized crime groups. As such, certain public bathhouses and gymnasiums even go as far as to openly ban people sporting such tattoos, in attempts to prevent the yakuza from entering.
In my opinion, these negative
criminal associations with
tattoos play a significant role
in preventing the complete
acceptance of tattoos into
society. In fact, those sporting
tattoos do face some degree of
discrimination and find it
harder to find jobs.
Yes, tattoo artists now have
training in technical and fine
arts. Yes, advancements in
tattoo pigments and the ongoing
refinement of tattooing
equipment has made significant
improvements in the quality of
tattooing. Yes, tattoos are
slowly growing more popular in
pop culture.
But the fact remains that these tattoos are permanent, and do carry negative connotations. Just like how racial prejudice is hard to get rid of, the prejudices that people hold about tattoos and those sporting them will be hard to eradicate. Complete acceptance of tattoos in our society is hard, but perhaps not impossible.
But if you ask me, tattoos are
indeed an art form on their own.
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