Tattoos are hardly just ink, they are an artform
Ink is all over campus, but some people are so opposed to tattoos.
Tattoos are viewed by some as being disrespectful to your body. Others might go so far as to call it a form of self-mutilation. Others see it as an art form, and an addicting one at that.
People have been marking their bodies with tattoos since the dawn of time. The word itself is derived from “tatu,” which means to mark.
Exposure to tattoos usually occurs at a young age. I was in elementary school when I heard the term scarification, as a young girl. I put into my mind that scarification is just another way of saying tattoo.
American tattoos were originally made by hand; however, in 1891 the first electric tattoo machine was issued a patent from the United States Patent Office to Samuel O’Reily(tattooarchive.com). He began a parlor in New York City.
By the mid 1990s, according to U.S. News & World Report, tattooing had become one of America’s fastest growing categories of retail business. There are now an estimated 15,000 tattoo studios in operation. The once-taboo practice of body marking continued to gain broader acceptance and popularity throughout mainstream society.
People have now finally started appreciating the artistic merit of tattooing. Tattoos are frequently used to express personal and religious beliefs. Tats are now seen as a part of fashion and our generation, in particular, has gone ga-ga over the art form.
Watch your favorite sitcom and you may notice a tattoo on the lead star. Watch the real life expression of the art on LA Ink and Miami Ink. You have many actors and actress such as Ben Afleck and Angelina Jolie. Rappers such as Lil Wayne and Trina, and Basketball Players such as Lebron James and Allen Iverson are covered with Tattoos.
This art form has come so far that even government agencies recognize it, as both an art form and a profession. Tattoo-related artwork is the subject of museum, gallery and educational institution art shows across the United States.
I have five tattoos myself. I received my first tattoo my junior year here in Big Rapids. The second through the fifth, and soon to be sixth, can be attributed to my tattoo artist in Detroit.
Getting over my fear of the pain of tattooing has allowed me to be able to express myself through my tattoos. All of my tattoos are special to me and have double or triple meanings.
Tattooing ultimately is just another form of self-expression. The reasons behind getting “tatted up” are often the same as those that would lead someone to color his or her hair, have a unique style of dress, or even get a certain Facebook application. A tattoo is a marking on your body that gives you the freedom to decide what, where, or how you want to express words, pictures, or symbols that mean something to you.
With the combination of technology, historical awareness and artistic ability the art of tattooing has been taken to new heights never imagined before. Tattoo art is growing so fast today that there is hardly any country untouched by this form of art. Although there are still some people who consider tattoos to be wrong, I imagine that their opinion is one that our generation, and those to come, does not share.