A tattoo used to be something that only sailors and undesirables wore — sailors, for identification if lost at sea and “undesirables” as a badge of (dis)honor. Western culture (and those who presided over it) just didn’t cotton to the idea of permanently marking your body that way. There was a brief surge in popularity of this art form at the beginning of the last century. Winston Churchill’s mother was alleged to have “a fashionable tattoo of a snake twined around her wrist”.
Then came ’60’s cultural icon Janis Joplin. Her wristlet and rose tattoos reached out to the one group of people who had the kind of influence that changes culture: women. Once young women realized that this kind of body art was a way to make a statement about their liberation, the floodgates opened.
No longer the exclusive province of the salty and suspicious, tattoos and body art became mainstream — somewhat. Now, housewives, judges, celebrities and just plain folks are opting to have their bodies decorated, in either a public or private way.
The explosive growth in the industry has also lead to improvements in the visual aspects of tattoos. Artists now have technical and fine arts backgrounds. The pigments used in today’s body art represent a quantum leap in the fine detail and shading that can be achieved. Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic is a current favorite among tattoo artists.
Tattoos are also a way of permanently creating cosmetic effects. From filling in missing eyebrows to giving a woman the perfect shade of lip color that NEVER rubs off, tats can be “invisible” as tattoos. Want a birthmark that nature never delivered? See your tattoo artist!
While some may feel that tattoos are tacky, low-class, and a sure ticket to Hell, others do not. The decision to get your body adorned is one you will have to make yourself. Me, I’m sticking with the original design.
