Tattoos: Signs & Symbols
The Human Stain
Through the historical trajectory of tattooing from its inception in the Upper Paleolithic Period — Thirty-Eighth Millennium B.C., to modern times, tattoo sensibilities have run the gamut — from the purely totemistic to shamelessly hedonistic, and back again. Though the practice of body art as pure decoration has never ceased, social implications have indeed transmogrified in ways early cavemen never would have imagined.
The motivation to acquire a tattoo has evolved into the utterly banal, a fact which has an inverse effect on the market: the more simple and commonplace tattoos become, the more the $3 billion market grows. The banality of tattooing strips all mystique from the practice may have still had.
Apart from mere decorative finds, the earliest tattoos were typically devotional religious symbols, or totems, for which prehistoric people held firm convictions and beliefs in what many would generally describe as paganism. Many indigenous cultures used tattoos and other body art to signify stature within a tribal society. This practice is virtually non-existent today among indigenous peoples.
The Ancient Egyptians were avid tattooists. It is thought they used ash as a medium for ink injected into the skin with needles around areas treating disease with acupuncture, as it were — medicinal applications. The Greco-Romans — who learned from the Persians — also tattooed, however, only as a means of marking slaves and criminals. Perhaps this is part of why people once considered tattoos déclassé, or at least subcultural. I believe the idea of tattooing WWII camp prisoners comes from the same school of thought: that you are someone’s property.
Earliest surviving tattoo ink recipe for tattooing from 6 A.D. Rome
Don’t try this at home!
1 lb. of Egyptian pine wood bark
2 ounces of corroded bronze, ground with vinegar
2 ounces of gall (insect egg deposits)
1 oz. of vitriol (iron sulphate)
Mix well and sift. Soak powder in 2 parts water and 1 part leek juice
Wash the skin to be tattooed with leek juice
Prick design with needles until blood is drawn
Rub in the ink.
Aetius (Roman physician)
Around 600 B.C. remains of great warriors exhibited the earliest known honorary tattoos, which commemorated acts of valor or high status. Around the same time, tattoos became commonplace marks of distinction between social groups and individuals within groups.
What would it mean if someone inadvertently got a tattoo of a warrior’s family crest? I call that ‘rank iconoclasm.’
Until they became legal in the 1990’s United States, tattoos were by and large associated with various subcultures — a circumstance that both induced and dissuaded many people from ever getting one. Post-legalization tattoos have become commonplace and mere fashion statements. Fashion models began appearing with tattoos both fake and real, which had a sanitizing and homogenizing effect on the industry, making them safe for Midwest mallrat consumption.
Soon, the proliferation of available images to copy exploded with the popularity of the Internet. Researching artwork was no longer relegated to libraries and books — one could merely Google “tribal art” and appropriate one of thousands of images that were heretofore reserved for distinct tribes and subcultures, and appropriate them for themselves.
Commemoratives and Self-Memorialization
From the time tattooing was legalized , it became utterly co opted — no longer only accessible to the subculture. As it did, the number of tattooed people exploded, becoming so commonplace as to become banal: few people know the difference — or even care — between a flash art shopping mall tattoo and a master tattooist work. The aura of mystique is virtually absent from the discussion of wearing a tattoo that you can wear it out at night, and wash off in the morning.
No one cares anymore if you “talk the talk,” but don’t “walk the walk”: the tacit assumption is that few ever “walk the walk.” In itself, that’s an inducement not to get a permanent tattoo.
Any tattooed symbol is always taken with a grain of salt. If a teenage mall rat gets a temporary warrior chief tattoo at a shopping mall, does he garner the same respect and awe as the real life warrior he emulates, who painfully inscribed his using only a rose thorn? Could the mall rat get away with wearing a plastic lion tooth necklace, simulating his warrior lion hunting counterpart? It’s hard to imagine that in his short, sequestered and sheltered lifetime that he could have possibly had similar experiences as those who earned the right to wear the symbol. Such is the diminution of the misalignment of peoples’ convictions with their actions, and rank iconoclasm.
Faded Glory
In the same vein, some like to think of themselves as being ‘highly decorated’ — such as a military hero may be described- with medals of valour adorning his chest. But this model is merely a facsimile or pun of the original meaning of “decorated” much in the same way a Guitar Hero player is of Eddie Van Halen or Jimi Hendrix. There are boundaries to be observed in self mythologization.
When does a badge of honor become a badge of shame?: When it never commanded any honor to begin with.” What are you going to do with that tattoo now?
In maritime history, there was a long lived tradition of sailors and merchant marines getting a tattoo in the ports they visited. These were mostly talisman and good luck charm images. Indeed, some Burmese believed a tattoo over the heart could stop a bullet. The catalog of contemporary images dates back to the early 20th century. The design and aesthetic of these tattoos had impressive nostalgic staying power, such that many of today’s artists have emulated their work using the same style.
De gustibus non Disputandum est
Indeed, most any flash art includes a smattering of period or retro pieces, prêt-à-porter for sailors and landlubbers alike at a strip mall near you. Military personnel like to proudly have their battalion emblazoned on their chest. Imagine a draft dodger wearing a 101st Airborne tattoo. This would be considered sacrilege by any measure — cause for court martial.
Not to diminish great flash art: often it’s not merely the art it’s self but the effective execution of it that makes a good tattoo.
In today’s culture, the criteria for getting inked has mostly vanity as an inducement. That’s because it’s become a hackneyed enterprise. Some people want to impress others — to bolster their own self esteem from the attention they get. Or perhaps they imagine themselves becoming their tattoos: “now that I have a Harley tattoo, people will think I ride a Harley,” as opposed to the Harley rider who actually rides, and wears the tattoo merely as an accessory. For the former, the tattoo is symbolic of the life he wants others to believe he leads, and the latter, it is a sign of the brand he uses.
Skeeves and Sleazes
Many aficionados of the craft are less circumspect about the tattoos they amass and where they get them. Face, hand, and neck tattoos tend to ostracize or marginalize people from society, as they will induce speculation that the wearer is most certainly ne’er do well — be they repeat offenders, sexual deviants, violent gang members, or far right abortions. These fall under the general category of ‘skeeves,’ where as a sleaze dog relishes the affectation of skeeve tattoos without being a skeeve. These include models, actors, and rock stars.
A lot of today’s body art has its roots in tribal cultures — such as the Maori, of Polynesia. We don’t bat an eye at the Maori chieftain who wears a face tattoo for his prowess in hunting the local avian population to extinction, or the clan leader with tribal symbols of strength and wisdom. Whereas in Western culture, these same tattoos are copied only for their exceptional design. It’s blasphemous for a Westerner to pretend to have convictions about these designs or even be able to interpret them correctly.
“Any stinking bum may wear a crown” — Iggy Pop
It would seem there is a huge supply and demand for tattoos and tattooists to engrave them. However, judging from what I’ve lately seen, and the proliferation of heinous tattoo websites, only an infinitesimal fraction of these tattoos and artists pass muster. After my first tattoo, I learned who some of the best artists were, and only went to them. I highly behoove anyone contemplating a serious tattoo to research the artist you want. In my day, there were Spider Webb, Ed Hardy, George Bone, Lyle Tuttle, Jack Rudy, Cliff Raven, Diane Farris, Jonathan Shaw, and of course — Sailor Jerry. See more listed artists here.
Symbols
Although these traditions are still sometimes observed in small indigenous cultures, they have a corollary in the Western world, where one can merely go to the nearest shopping mall and get the same tribal tattoo as the fierce warrior. Of course, the prowess that goes along with such a tattoo is merely a fictional pose, and the tattoo a fashion statement, yet the wearer invariably boasts the same right to wear the symbol as the warrior who actually lives the lifestyle of a warrior — not a mall rat.
Thus, symbols are not meant to be taken lightly. It’s arrogant and disrespectful for a pampered middle-class American to wear a tribal chief’s symbol. Street gangs and other clandestine groups have their own symbols that must never be mixed with one another, and never worn by a tattoo model.
“Can there be mystique or street-cred realized from a flash-art shopping mall tattoo?
People like to get tattoos that denote self-constructed myths: the time they got dumped by their first romantic interest, when they were freed from prison, after they’d gone through a harrowing experience. These are highly personal, and only the wearer knows their intended meaning. Self mythological tattoos inspire a great deal of skepticism in others who suspect an agenda of codependency with one’s phantasies.
A tattoo can be symbolic of a purpose in one’s life, or it may be intended only to appear to be (see temporary tattoos, below). It may be a wholly illusory purpose: a selfie in a Superman or Jesus rendition. It’s not necessary to have convictions about the symbolism one believes his tattoos evokes — no one cares anyway. If one feels he’s perceived as a nobody, he may truly believe that a tattoo will suddenly make him somebody, or at least will make people notice him.
Signs
Sign tattoos are simpler and more innocuous than symbols. These refer directly to some artwork, design, or other image that has no relevance outside its context of its limited purview. These tattoos have become standardized as ‘flash art’ — the basic Chinese menu of off-the-rack tattoos that line the walls of most tattoo parlours, just like clip art on the Internet.
Such tattoos enable even the most impecunious aficionados to pursue the rite of passage to a subculture they can only dream of, for a reasonable sum. Most any tattooist can trace over a design onto skin, and grind away over the same familiar lines that he has beatified on hundreds of limbs. Those with a little more capital can pursue a custom tattoo using artwork they created or provided. The most talented tattooists are also experienced artists who can create custom works according to a client’s ideas, or create their own.
I consider two of my tattoos to be signage: my first tattoo — Pondus the Penguin, and my third, the cover of King Crimson’s LP Larks Tongue in Aspic. My late father nearly died, in 1982, when I showed him my penguin tattoo. That was the last time I ever showed him one. He was 55 at the time, but it goes to show how a lot of people reacted to tattoos in that era.
Branding
No, not that kind of branding — branding tattoos include logos and artwork that denote various lifestyles suggested by the subject matter. A Harley Davidson or Mack truck tattoo is worn by the most hardened road warriors, as well as those who couldn’t inflate a tire. Not all smokers were Marlboro Men — and few who actually knew who he was. This pretension only serves the purpose of creating a posture intended to impress others. On the other hand, most bikers and haulers wear these tattoos with the pride of knowing that it represents their lifestyle.
Mindfulness and Mindlessness
There’s typically no compelling reason for that blotchy bumble bee behind the shoulder, any more than that faded rose ankle bracelet, unceremoniously engraved on a boardwalk over a drunken college Spring Break. As a grown person, do you not think it will make you appear as if you were a careless teenager with bad taste? What sort of tattoo would people consider “mindful”? An infinity symbol, anything in Sanskrit — whatever it says, a co-exist symbol — and so forth.
Until recently, women were shyer than men about their tattoos, and preferred them only in private or modest places. Historically, women are less likely to get tattooed. However, the democratization and mainstreaming of the art has motivated more women to get tattooed, as they assert their incipient empowerment. I see that trend as a healthy development. Nowadays, men or women alike have no scruples about showing off their tattoos. Times have changed for the better — for the most part. On the other hand, it just means more public displays of things I needn’t see, please.
Any tattoo conceived and manifested during a bout of drunkenness is always held to be suspect. Most professional tattooists won’t allow booze or drugs into their parlour. Such tattoos invariably beg the question “what were you thinking”?
All but two of my tattoos were custom products of skilled artists and artisans. All of them — from the early 1980’s, still look great — a testament to the artists’ sharp outlines, and because my skin has stretched very little over time. A lot of deliberation went into the conceptual stage of all of them — especially my first: the notion of getting a tattoo, and subsequently, the careful designing and thinking through of all my subsequent work. The last question before hitting the ink was invariably: “am I going to regret this?” That was hard to say in the moment, however, I can thankfully say that I regret none of them — though a few are borderline. At this point, I don’t care.
The Human Stain
Ever seen someone with one of those blotchy black skin markings resembling a birthmark? These are merely faded tattoos. In Yiddish, I believe the correct term is “schmutz” — or a dirty smudge. To go one further, I propose a neologism that such tattoo models are collectively known as “schmutzim.” You’re saving grace will be that one day you may no longer care. But surely you care about the sum you provided for the stain? .
This phenomenon happens for a number of reasons. In the first, the execution of the work is a big determinant. The more needles used to define the outline, the higher the likelihood of future ‘bleeding’ of the lines. As skin ages and loses elasticity, it relaxes, and lines appear wider and less distinct. The sun accelerates the process. In order to protect this future investment, keep the tattoo out of the sun — you can mitigate fading. Poor ink quality contributes to bleeding of the image, et voila! — your new birthmark.
What could go wrong?
On the other hand, most of the best tattooists make their own needles, or have them made bespoke. Tattooists who are skilled artists have the ability to illustrate and design, or create custom designs from clients that hacks cannot match in quality, or even come close. A capable tattooist doesn’t think twice about outlining with a single needle — a high distinctive feature, whereas a novice uses two or three, or even a few dull ones, to obfuscate his shortcomings.
The inception of temporary tattooing does away with the worry of permanence. It also obviates the need of painful and gut wrenching laser and other removal procedures of ill-conceived works — just wash it off. At least you can say you once had a gorgeous tattoo, but you had it removed. The tattoo will disappear just like the falsework of mythology superimposed to evoke deep meaning where there is none other than that which may belong to others.
Sources, Further reading
A Brief History of Tattoos: Olson, Amy (Wellcome 2010)
Pushing Ink: The Fine Art of Tattooing, Vassi, Marco, and Spider Webb
