Tattoos and Piercings - Yes

Just because they're personal, does it mean they are not art?

''Bringing a popular culture into a world of higher art''

Tattoos allows there to be a number of outstanding artists to be introduced into a world that didn't know about them before. It allows them to develop their own styles, and, first and foremost, allows them to document their own history.

The cultural status of tattooing has steadily evolved from that of an anti-social activity in the 1960s to that of a trendy fashion statement in the 1990s.

By the late 1980s it had become more accepted by ever broader segments of mainstream society.


Kat Von D -

Kat Von D is a famous tattoo artist, who has been tattooing since she was 16 years old. She is well known for her tattooing entire faces on a body canvas, and has torn opinions of many on whether her work is realistic enough, whether the person whose tattoo it is should get a face of another person permanently designed on their body.

My opinion of faces on somebody’s body –

I don’t think people should judge on a decision to have it permanently inked on their own body. Every individual is capable of making their own decisions. People judge about others ‘mental state’ because if they cared about the person they wanted tattooed on their body enough, they wouldn’t forget them until their dying day. However, having that permanately with them will be a constant reminder, and represents how much they cared for them.

I asked my friends who have tattoos whether they thought tattoos and piercings were art or fashion, and their reply...immediately all thought they were art.

The reason for getting them done in the first place:
Gemma - (The artistic one!) Due to drawing on herself as a child, she wanted to make it permanent. All her tattoos that she has now are her own drawings - One of them is of her dad's initials designed in stars, again, her own design.
Emma - She designed her first tattoo whilst in a boring lecture, but waited for three years until she was one hundred percent sure she wanted it, she admitted that part of it was down to fashion.
Becca - got it because she was pressured into it by her boyfriend at the time who boasted that they were appraently 'attractive'. She got it in a secluded place so it was personal and private to her, but could be shown if she wished. She didn't design it, but it has a personal meaning. It is of a distorted heart, which represents her distorted luck in love.

Although not everyone is like Gemma, if you want something permanent on you, you do tend to put alot of thought into it. There are people out there who just do it for fun, but for a bunch, it's the thought that matters and, at the end of the day, they want to carry that around with them. For me, tattoos have always been art that only few succeed at. I know when i'm ready I would like a tattoo, but not for the fashion purpose, in fact, quite the opposite. I would like a tattoo to represent something that I no longer have. Something that only I know about, so that in the most distant of ways, I can have it, and I will be reminded of it until the end of my days. I agree that they are art, yes, people get them done for fashion reasons, but even those are an intregate design. It is fashion-art, on the body, rather than a canvas.

How they feel about them now:
Gemma - Has now become a collector, and tries to get a tattoo done in famous studios - ''even like next week, Kat Von D's Studio in Hollywood'', she beamed!

Becca - ‘They are about expression as well as fashion. I’d rather have something that means something to me on my body rather than a fashion trend.'

Emma - ‘I think good tattoos are definitely an art form, every aspect of them, the design, colours, and shading. Just like art, there are so many different styles and each tattoo artist has their own style edge just like an artist. However, when it comes down to it, fashion plays a major part in how popular they are and what style and subject matter people pick. But for me, tattoos, are an art form, and I can’t wait to get more.’

It is clear that each individual has their own opinion, and I don’t think there is a set objective to consider on whether they are done for fashion, or for art. Like Emma mentioned, each tattooist has their own unique style and edge, just like artists. I don’t think it’s fair to judge tattoo artists and just say they are part of the punk revolution, they are fun and nothing more. They are a form of expression, and mean something to the body-canvas they are done on.