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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Tattoo News Review

Tattoo by the Jacqueline Spoerle of Corazon Tattoo in Switzerland.

As the deadline for my book on blackwork tattooing -- like that of the fabulous Jacqueline Spoerle above -- fast approaches, I'm grateful that the boys got my back and this blog to bring you the Tattoo 411, but some of the tattoo news was too important to let it pass.

The most important: 18 Douchebag Celebrities and their Douchebag Tattoos.

No, I jest.

The Washington legislature finally has passed a measure that requires body piercers and tattooers to be licensed by the state. Up until now, there have been no regulations, so any kitchen table scratcher can scar up anyone with a low tattoo IQ. One of the people behind the measure is bod mod artist Troy Amundson. I wrote about Troy's lobbying fight for BME in 2007 and his efforts to bring safe and fair regulation of the industry. And today I toast him for securing representation "as stakeholders in body art related issues" as he calls it. Cheers to Troy for getting shit done.

In more tattoo law news, the search is on for some garbage who tattooed a gang symbol on his 7-year old son. It's a heartbreaking story of how the child returned home to his mother, distraught and ashamed after spending Easter break with his father. He tried to hide the tattoo when taking a bath but his mother saw and called the cops when he told her the story of how his father held him down while another gang member forcibly tattooed a dog paw on his hip. Justice for this gangbanger would be some big jail daddy forcibly tattooing bitch on his ass. I know, not highbrow commentary but this just makes me sick.

It's these type of stories -- the negative associations with tattooing -- that perpetuate stereotypes and result in, say, idiot zoning regulations, like this one in Vista, CA that says a tattoo studio can't be located near parks, schools or child care facilities, as well as 1,000 feet from other parlors. Imagine passing a similar reg for nail salons or barber shops. Yeah, I can't either.

And of course it leads to personal tattoo discrimination, as Pat blogged about yesterday on Joel Madden having to cover his tattoos before boarding a flight because British Airways found them "offensive." [I love this Perez Hilton comment: "... Joel was embarrassed because 'all the people were staring and laughing! No, Joel, they were laughing because you're in Good Charlotte."] *giggle* Eonline.com says Joel did cover up to board to plane but will be complaining to BA. I won't be giving BA my business. If you'd like to voice your opinion to BA about this, here's their complaint form.

Margo DeMello's Bodies of Inscription

Although Bodies of Inscription by Margo DeMello was published in 2000, it's still an excellent analysis of the stratified nature of the modern tattoo world. She begins with an overview of ancient tattoo history, bringing to light some nuanced views of the European "re-discovery" of Maori tattoo culture. She describes how these people were exploited for their traditions of preserving tattooed skulls and then subsequent exploitation for general European amusement.
The modern American evolution of tattoos are also discussed in depth -- from the first known professional tattoo artist Martin Hildebrandt (who worked at a time when the tattoo artist was more of a craftsman than an artist) to the modern artistic renaissance starting with the likes of Sailor Jerry and Ed Hardy.
Interestingly, her research also involves an analysis of tattoo's most voluminous written histories: tattoo magazines.
I had never thought about the intellectual and class warfare going on within the very tattoo magazines I've been buying for years. She details the difference between the "biker-style" tattoo magazines, such as Tattoo and the more "high brow" tattoo pubs like International Tattoo, each focusing on different aspects of the art.
It's this issue of "class" that DeMello particularly focuses on, as it is often overlooked in the context of tattoo culture. In fact, there are many class issues within the community that she brings to light: for one, she describes how the current renaissance in tattoo art is, in part, a class shift from tattooing being a working class art form to middle and upper class, evident in design and artistic choices. You can even see it today in the debates over the word choice of "tatted" or "tattooed" (in some circles, it's a faux pas to even acknowledge the existence of the word "tat.")
With the current explosion in acceptance and popularity of tattoos, the cultural shifts are becoming ever more evident, and thus, this book remains not only relevant but important to today's tattoo community.
Reading around the net, I've seen that Ms. DeMello does have her share of critics: some accuse her of being elitist, an outsider posing as an insider. I don't know about the merit of these critiques but I do know that she is a scholar who has given us a body of work to be discussed and debated as the tattoo community morphs and grows.