Archive for Tribal Tattoos
Tattoo Artist Shaw Arrested on Weapons Charges
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Jonathan Shaw, a popular tattoo artist and writer, developed more than just an image of an outlaw. He was recently charged with possession and storage of a rather large stash of knives, guns and ammunition in his storage locker.
Sources have it that Jonathan was trying to ship about 96 knives, in excess of 2,800 rounds of ammunition, a loaded AK-47 assault rifle and three other fire arms to his home in Los Angeles when the mover, First Global Xpress, notified authorities. Jonathan was charged under the New York state law that calls for the need of a permit for certain types of guns. Also, people are generally prohibited from having a loaded gun outside their home or work place.
The court complaint claims that a ‘First Global Xpress’ employee first noticed the boxes of ammunition when one of Jonathan’s suitcases fell open in the process of moving. The employee then opened a duffel bag and a blanket-wrapped bundle which revealed the firearms which were later reported to authorities.
Jonathan’s defense lawyer Brian T. Pakett said that he had receipts as evidence to show that all the weapons in question were bought legally. They were apparently bought at least 15 years ago and Pakett also added that Jonathan had “no intent to use” the weapons. “We are confident this case will be cleared up,” said Defense lawyer Pakett. “Mr. Shaw is a very peaceful man. He’s a very caring man.”
Jonathan Shaw who is now 57, was born in New York to American Actress Doris Dowling (The Lost Weekend) and the celebrated American jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader Artie Shaw. Jonathan is a self-proclaimed “world-traveling outlaw artist” is a noted figure in the tattoo scene of New York which was semi-underground for several years. For more than thirty years tattoo studios were illegal in New York City till the ban was lifted in 1997.
Jonathan is known for his tribal tattoo designs and has quite a list of celebrities that followed his work. He is the owner of Fun City tattoo shop, located in Manhattan’s bohemian East Village. In a novel (Narcisa: Our Lady of Ashes) he released in 2008, he boasts admiration from noted actors and musicians such as from Johnny Depp, Marilyn Manson and singer Deborah Harry (Blondie.) He was called the “the great nightmare anti-hero of the new age” by Punk-rock star Iggy Pop. Jonathan has now retired from tattooing.
Types of Tribal Tattoos
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It is interesting to note that although times have changed quite a bit since the days of the actual tribal tattoos, the reasoning behind their need (want rather) has pretty much remained the same. The tattoo art was famous among the ancient tribes for just the same reasons they are prominent today.
Tattoos were initially used by primitive tribes to identify the tribe, clan and family of the bearer and group them accordingly. Not only did it help them to easily recognize their clansmen and recognize their far relatives but they also believed that this would help them identify their group and join them again in the after life. Similar to today’s idea behind gang tattoos. It allows them to recognize their group members (although I doubt these guys will make it to the after life!)
Men and women of the tribes were also known to get a marriage tattoo. Again this had a two-fold purpose. It became a witness to their pledge to one another (just like the wedding rings of our time) and it also helped them identify their spouse in the after life – considering the two of them crossed over from earth to the spirit world at different times.
The primitive adolescents were given a tattoo as a mark of their entry into adulthood. Those girls that were unable to bear the pain of the tattooing process was seen as one unfit for marriage as she would be unable to bear the pains of childbirth. And those boys that cant bear the pain become outcasts, unfit for battle or hunting. Pretty much like today’s teens celebrating their 18th birthday with a tattoo! (although, there can be no outcasts there.)
Another most recognized reason for their tattoos were that of charms and spells for love. The magicians of those days would often mix special herbs and potions to their dyes. These tattoos were usually worn in a hidden area of the body – their reason behind that: an old married woman would look pretty foolish walking around with a love spell! Doesn’t that remind you of those many love birds of our time who get their partner’s name tattooed and then when it doesn’t work out, they’re desperately trying to hide it or have it removed?
Tribal Tattoo Designs
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It is amazing how popular tribal tattoos have become. Almost one thirds of people searching for tattoo designs online end up looking for tribal designs. Of course, one of the reasons may be that the tribal tattoo genre has such a ridiculous amount of variety to choose from! (It’s like trying to pick up cereal at Walmart!) Another reason may be that they’re so darn good looking.
The selection ranges from the designs of the aboriginal or indigenous peoples to the contemporary graphic designs for body art. Although you may find a perfect tribal design in our modern world, it might be hard to find the actual experience of getting a tribal tattoo. The needles, sticks and plant dyes have all been replaced by tattoo machines and high tech inks. Likewise the shamans (the predecessors of today’s tattoo artists) have been replaced too.
It is said that the very first tattoo was probably a natural one, an accidental tattoo that lead to its discovery. Sources have it that after its discovery some of the first tattoo designs were that of a sun or flames in honor of the sun gods. The loss of blood (a vital life source), the pain involved in the process and its permanence lead to its transition from simply being art to a spiritual ritual. This enchanting combination got the ancient people into a trance, a feeling of being in union with their god and the god’s associated magical powers. They believed that the body and soul were quite alike, and according to that belief their tattoos also existed in both their physical and spiritual realms. Some tribes from Borneo believed that the right tattoos not only got them into the right spiritual world but that they also offered them unique qualifications for profitable livelihood when they got there.
In fact, studies have shown that some kind of body art was used by most (perhaps even all) of the ancient tribes of the world. Evidence of primitive tattoos, scarifications or temporary body paint have been found in almost every ancient tribe. This body art was widespread and present in almost every unconnected part of the world till of course our modern “civilization” arrived and these arts lost popularity.
Overview of Tribal Tattoos
Posted by: | CommentsTribal tattoos have been used for as long as people have needed to identify themselves and they are the “in” thing at the moment. This trend began in the nineties and has only increased as time has passed. The tribal tattoo has had many purposes in human history but they originated mainly to identify a clan or group. Some groups would use the tattoos to identify distant relatives from far away tribes or to find each other after they passed away and were wandering the heavens looking for their tribe members. The tribal tattoo was also used to depict important events that occurred in a tribe or clan, almost like keeping a recorded history of events. (Syrkiewicz, 2008) Naturally a tribal tattoo has a different use today but in the end the modern tribal tattoo is still a form of identification.
Today in many instances the person getting a tribal tattoo wants the tattoo to illustrate something about them, almost like a tattoo of self identification. They are a way for a person to make a statement about themselves for other people to see and interpret. However, the tribal tattoo today is used not to group people into the same tribe but to express personality and individuality. (Hemingson, 1999-2009)
Oftentimes gangs, clubs, and military members will use a tattoo to identify themselves to others. This type of usage for a tattoo is similar to the use of tattoos five thousand years ago when the tribal tattoo art form is believed to have originated. (Syrkiewicz, 2008) Members of different gangs or military groups can identify each other by using a specific tattoo. They often form a bond around a particular symbol almost like a brotherhood. For gang members, the tattoo is used to define their members and lets them know who is friendly or not. All cultures have used tattoos as some form of identification and the trend is back in fashion today.
A tattoo magazine titled Tattoo Times, founded in 1982 by Don Ed Hardy and Leo Zulueta, started a new fascination with the tribal tattoo. (Tebi, 2004-2008) They called their first article “New Tribalism” and it featured tribal designs from the South Pacific, tattoos that had lost favor many years before. (Tebi, 2004-2008) Tattoo artistry itself had been going through problems with negative feelings from society at the time so an article illustrating these wonderful tribal designs helped alleviate some of the negative feelings people had about these tattoos. It actually had the effect of re-popularizing the ancient art form.
The tribal designs seen most commonly today are similar to designs used by the Polynesians for thousands of years. They often have a geometric silhouette pattern that may be considered too easy to do by many tattoo artists. Since these are not considered challenging, some artists do not like to do them. (Tebi, 2004-2008)
Celtic tribal patterns are also popular today. They were distributed by sailors hundreds of years ago as they traveled from Europe. Actually, sailors can be thanked for causing the original popularity of tattoo artistry in the modern western world. The word tattoo comes from the Tahitian word, ‘ta-taw’, which was thought to be the sound a person would hear when the tattooing instruments were used. When the sailors returned to Europe with tattoos that illustrated their adventures, people were fascinated and many wanted to have their own. (Tebi, 2004-2008)
The type and location of a tribal tattoo is a limitless as the unique personality of the person who wants it. Some examples are tribal armband, Celtic tattoo, tribal wolf tattoo, tribal shoulder tattoo, tribal scorpion, butterfly dragon, dog, bird, bull, tiger and many, many more. There are also tribal sleeve tattoos, lower back tribal tattoos, and tribal star tattoos. (Hemingson, 1999-2009) As with all artistic mediums and cultural developments, the art form of tribal tattoos is continually changing. But, the art form is always going to reflect the depth and potential of the person who wants the tattoo as well as the artist’s interpretation of the tribal design.
Works Cited
Hemingson, V. (1999-2009). Tribal tattoo design. Retrieved December 7, 2009, from The Vanishing Tattoo: http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tribal_tattoos.htm
Syrkiewicz, J. (2008, October 8). History and Social Impact of Tatoos. Retrieved December 7, 2009, from Suite101.com: http://cultural-anthropology.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_history_and_social_impact_of_tattoos
Tebi, D. B. (2004-2008). TatooJoy.com. Retrieved December 7, 2009, from History of Tribal Tattoos: http://tattoojoy.com/tattoo_articles/the_meaning_of_tribal_tattoos.htm
More on Tribal Tattoos
Posted by: | CommentsWith the popularity of body tattoos these days, many people are deciding to use tribal symbols from various regions of the world for their designs. Tribal tattoos come from a number of different tribes. They can be from the Borneo tribe, Haida, Native American tribes, Celtic tribes, Maori tribes and Polynesian tribes just to name a few. The themes of the tribal tattoos can be anything from rituals of the tribe to the way they worship God, etc… Most people who decide to get tribal tattoos will select designs with a specific symbolism. Some may select a design simply for the way it looks. Most tattoos of this type are used within the tribe to identify its’ members. Some will also identify the rank of a person within the tribe. Still others are a symbol of the right of passage; boys into men, girls into women, etc… Currently, simply having a tribal tattoo gives you membership in a group of others with similar interests in expressing themselves with body art. You don’t need to be a part of a specific tribe anymore.
Most tribal tattoos are easy to do, so most tattoo artists can do them or even help you design your own from an older version. The ink used on tribal tattoos is mainly black which holds fairly well and doesn’t fade quite as easily as other colors. The tattoos are also very vivid because of the black ink. They are much easier to see because they are very pronounced with the bold black lines.
Some of the disadvantages of tribal tattoos include the fact that they are extremely difficult to remove. The same advantage that gives them the bold vivid appearance is also a disadvantage if you want to get rid of them. It is also very difficult to tattoo over them for this same reason. You may find that it is difficult to locate a tattoo artist who knows about specific tribes and their designs and customs. Most modern tribal tattoos are of a general nature rather than specifically attached to a specific tribe.
Many tribal symbols are those of strength. The lion is one sign of strength; the bear claw is yet another symbol of strength as is the flame symbol. The dragon symbol has long been a sign of strength. Other symbols that signify strength may be the scorpion, the wolf or the great white whale. There are specific designs for women also. Tribal designs for women might be the dolphin, tree of life or the motherhood design. Within this category of tattoo design, there are many that you can choose from. There is the whole Celtic collection of tribal tattoos that you can choose from also. These include the bear claw, the eagle, the peace sign, the Irish pride cross, the Celtic pentagram, the fireman’s design, and many others. Just take your time in making your design selection; you will likely have it for the rest of your life!
Overview of Kanji Tattoos
Posted by: | CommentsKanji tattoos are very popular tattoo styles today that have their basis in Japanese writing and calligraphy. The actual writing style is called Kanji and it has as long a history as does the history of Japanese tattoo artistry itself. The origin of Japanese Kanji writing begins in China. Thousands of years ago, the Japanese had no formal writing system and they adopted the system used in China at the time.(Takase, 2005) To make it their own system, they began to modify it. The system became known as Kana which resulted in a combination of two different Japanese alphabets. These two alphabets are syllabic and are called hiragana and katakana. The third “alphabet” is called Kanji and it is based on ideograms which actually represent ideas. (Jennings, 1999)
The characters of Kanji can stand alone and have their very own distinct meaning or be used in combination with other symbols to illicit other meanings. Many times the message from a Kanji symbol is not obvious and can be misconstrued by someone who is not familiar enough with the language. (japanese-name-translation.com, 2009) The symbols from Kanji are like looking at a picture, and, just like people see different things in a picture, a Kanji symbol can be interpreted in different ways. Sometimes the symbol will stand for a sound, depending on how and where it is written. (japanese-name-translation.com, 2009) So, basically, it can be very difficult to transfer something you want to say in English directly into a Kanji tattoo. For instance, you want your new Kanji tattoo to say “Big Daddy”. Everybody you know sees your tattoo and asks you what does it mean? You reply “Big Daddy” and you will get a laugh or agreement depending on how well they know you. Then, of course, you go to Japan or you meet someone from Japan and they read your tattoo and to them it says “large father”. It just will not translate the way you want it to. (japanese-name-translation.com, 2009)
This is basically the biggest problem for people that want to get a Kanji tattoo. The Kanji characters themselves are refined and exotic but there are very many ways to pronounce and interpret each unique character. There is also the fact that there are almost two thousand different Kanji characters used today which can make translations very difficult.(Mcbennet, 1999)
Some people believe that the characters have a spiritual meaning – that they can even effect your mood or bring you luck. There are characters often used to symbolize things like strength, luck, honor, etc. (Takase, 2005) Make sure that you have the right characters when deciding to have a Kanji tattoo because as we all know that they are permanent. It can be very frustrating when you end up with a Kanji tattoo that does not contain the message you wanted to convey.
It is not easy to translate Japanese symbols directly from English into Kanji. Even though many people know that the Kanji figures are hard to translate, they still continue to get the tattoo, finding out later it does not have the meaning that they intended. When deciding what tattoo to get, it might be more accurate to use Kanji symbols that have an established meaning like love or dragons or Bishidou (the way of the warrior). Trying to have your name spelled is probably not going to be as accurate as you would like and it might have more of a meaning than you bargained for. (japanese-name-translation.com, 2009)
Getting a tattoo is about expressing yourself. The creation of your Kanji tattoo should be a meeting of the minds between you and the artist who is inking your tattoo. Japanese Calligraphy needs exact translations and if you have some reservations before getting started, be sure to start with an artist who has a reputable catalog. This will require some research on your part. Ask the artist where they got their translations and find out when and where the translations were done as well as who was the translator. Look for comments or references that are available about the artist. Often, the tattoo artist might be insulted or give you a hard time for questioning them, but it is your body and your tattoo so BE SURE. When you find the artist who is willing to help you, and they have helped you understand the symbols you want, then you have probably found the right place to get your tattoo inked.
Works Cited
‘japanese-name-translation.com’, I. S. (2009). INT.COM. Retrieved November 11, 2009, from Japanese Caliigraphy: japanese-name-translation.com/site2/kanji_tattoos_article.html
Jennings, C. (1999, September). The Kanji Site. Retrieved November 11, 2009, from The Kanji Site: kanjisite.com/html/about/site.html
Mcbennet, M. (1999). Kanji Characters. Retrieved November 11, 2009, from Japan Zone: japan-zone.com/new/kanji.shtml
Takase, E. (2005). Takase.com. Retrieved november 11, 2009, from Custom Japanese Caliigraphy: takase.com/AboutUs.htm