As time goes by, the meanings behind tattoos and their purposes change!
Ancient Egyptian tattoos prove how old and meaningful tattos are while the ultra modern and also funny diabetic tattoo kit shows how useful and fun tattoos can be, no harmful stereotypes attached!
it’s been a while but seeing how I just miss reading on the subject and I actually sorted out my Internet access here in my “middle of nowehere,” I might actually get back to reading and occasionally posting interesting things. Funny as it seems, there’s even a local tattoo shop here and I’m kinda itching to check it out! 😉 Anyway …
Roch’n’roll life which is usually associated with tattooing comes at a cost and no one actually talks about it. Here you have “pains and strains” of the job!
“is extreme body modification even legal” touches on the British law but the issue is very valid in all other countries as most more exttreme body modifications (tongue splitting, scarification, branding, eyeball tattooing etc.) are usually done after hours and discreetly. Def. loads of food for thought!
Fillip Leu and his new endeavour – a limited sneaker collection for Puma. Very *not* underground! 😉
Gakkin, a Japanese tattoo artist, is really talented and creative. His fellow countrymen seem also creative and into tattoos as this idea for temporary tattoos indicating allergic reactions.
Illness doesn’t have to be about pain and sadness all the time as this guy is going to prove bringing some joy and art to the kids in a hospital in New Zealand.
Finally, an American article about tattoos and risks related to them.
This one is certainly very interesting: according to some new research multiple tattoos can boost our immunological responses. Will we get to see the day when tattoos are prescribed by doctors? 😉
But now we are still in the world where some ppl perceive tattoos as a form of SI (self-injury). Couldn’t be farther from the truth, of course. Moreover, tattoos can help us deal with some deep psychological issues and turn our former scars into sth more meaningful, beautiful. Hence a great initiative by an Australian tattoo artist that decided to help ppl with self-harm scars.
Prison Break and how realistic Michael Scoffield’s tattoos were. Seems more  like a promo article but still, it was a cool series!
Finally, one of the great ones, Tin Tin, trying to have tattooing recognized as a true art form. Hard to believe that such an obvious and stunning form of art is still not considered as such!
An interesting art exhibition focused on tattoos and mental illnesses. Both tend to be stigmatised by society, both are experienced by more and more ppl, both change our lives and tattoos often help cope with mental issues.
A recent text in the Telegraph claims that tattoos are passe now and the pendulum definitely swings into the tattooo removal field. True as their points may be, they are only superficial and only when we do agree that ppl get tattoos done only to fit and do what’s fashionable at the moment. Since it’s not the case for many ppl, I wouldn’t be so hasty with jumping to the above mentioned conlusion 😉
If you want to get a different, more interesting perspective on tattoos, take a look at the text and pictures posted on the Reuter’s website (quite rightly the section is called “wider image”) – the Hindus fighting for their diginity and respect by means of tattoos. A similar text in German is here.
Knowledge is power but knowledge should be derived from many sources – a short interview with a professor of dermatology focused on ear stretching shows a very biased and narrow point of view; why not to interview an experienced body piercer as well to get a bigger picture of the subject?
From the forum in Davos come cool preditctions for the future – maybe in a few years some of our phone parts could be implanted under our skin. Seeing how I use the Samsung brand now and they like to compete against the Apple, who knows what will happen? 😉
In short, life is not black and white only; it’s not about being cool or uncool; it’s about making our own choices, deciding what is cool for us and trying to see a bigger picture in everything 🙂
I keep having Hanzel und Gretyl’s music in my head these days and seeing how I’ve been in Germany for almost  4 weeks now, no wonder that German news coverage is of special interest to me! 😉
Probably it’s the sign of the summer lull – a Swiss online magazine started running a series of articles focused on the origins and meaning of tattoos.
In some parts of Germany Hell’s Angels and Los Basndidos’ tattoos can’t be shown in public and they must be covered by clothing or band aids.
Also from Germany a short and uninteresting (but it’s all for the recording’s sake) article about ear stretching (and I want to order some new eyelets from Wildcat, based in Germany, of course!).
Berlin-based artist Chaim Machlev is an amazing artist!
From Bastian a nice article on body suspension!
Medical tattoos – they may seem a good idea and yet they have stirred some controversy! Coincidentally, there was also something on this subject in the Polish news coverage.
The tattoo scene in Denmark isn’t very well-known, so I read this article with quite an interest. Apparently, acc. To the Danish law, there are some placements that are illegal to cover with tattoos but now there’s growing demand for such tattoos.
Temporary tattoos and good books – two in one!
Finally, good to read, interesting and dealing with pop culture – tattoos and fandom!
Since I’ve just come across interesting articles on the health risks of dermal anchors... In the photo below, my own migrating micro!
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This week there was quite a few articles about Daniel Hindle – a British teenager who died from septicaemia as a result of a body piercing in 2003. Since then his mother devoted her time and strength to raise awareness of dangers and lack of legal regulations of body piercing in the UK. As she states on the website devoted to her project ‘Dan Aid,’ “The resource is neither pro nor anti piercing, its aim is simply to help you equip young people with the knowledge to go out into the world and make their own informed decisions about body piercing.“
The resource mentioned here is a resource pack designed to use by professionals working with young people.
It’s very interesting and good to see that schools are willing to educate young people on such a subject! The subject itself is very delicate and must be handled properly; hopefully, the DanAid project will be able to change things for the better!
DanAid is present also in other cyber places, such as Twitter and FB.
A British tourist deported from Sri Lanka for a Buddha tattoo made headlines this week. You could read about it all over the Internet. Here you have samples in English, German and Polish. An interesting perspective is, however, presented in this article: ‘No tattoos, please, we’re Buddhists – but casinos no problem!’ BBC also used this opportunity to remind the Westerners where else tattoos can get you into trouble.
Antitattoo class is offered in Germany but it doesn’t seem as awful as it sounds. However, some Cali teachers are expected to cover their tattoos at work which seems too much for them. *sigh* and to think that there are so-called civilized places where apparently you can’t be a teacher and do your work all covered up and , at the same time, be a tattooed person in private as it allegedly violates the mythical ethical code. The world is a very interesting place, isn’t it? 😉
‘Tattoos of memory’ is an American exhibit focused on immigrants and their hard experiences . Modern art also experienced by means of your body in form of tattoos (this time real ones) as a concept from Bytom, Poland. In Canada there’s an interesting exhibit focused on body art and indigenous cultures of Squamish and Lil’wat peoples.
The Washington Post informs that there won’t be a 24-hour waiting period for tattoos and body piercing in Washington, D.C after all which is good news for people from the industry and people interested in body modification. In New Mexico you can learn much from a state ad campaign against unlicensed tattoo artists.
Top 5 tattoo artists in Mexico.
I should use my rudimentary Dutch more often, so here you have an interview with a Dutch hip hop artist who says he’ll be a cool grandpa and talks his tattoos. In case he would like his grandchildren to have his tattoos after his death (a somewhat disturbing idea, I do admit), he can use the service offered by a Dutch tattoo shops called Walls and Skin that has something interesting to offer:
‘Proud of your tattoo? Proud of the moment it represents? Proud of the pain, time and money you put in the making of it and proud of the artist that made it for you?They say tattoos last a lifetime and then some, now your tattoo can really be forever with our service to put your skin as an artwork on the wall (after you died of course).’
by Cloud
A hub for learning about tattoo history
skin, ink and words combined
skin, ink and words combined
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