Archive for tattoo designs
Tattoo Designs: Here today, Gone Tomorrow
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It used to be that when you got a tattoo, it was here to stay. In fact, it is almost part of the ritual to take your time sketching out the tattoo you want, thinking of it for a long time, because you know that when you do get it done it is going to be forever. But not so anymore.
These days, with laser tattoo removal becoming big business, many people who have a tattoo design they wish they had thought twice about are getting them removed. And although it may seem like it is primarily ex-gang members or someone who has gone to prison if you only pay attention to the newspapers, there are actually quite a few totally normal-looking middle-class folks lining up at the local laser surgery to get that reminder of their wilder days removed.
Sure, we hear about it when some ugly tattoo design one of the many tattoo celebrities got when he or she was a teenager (Angelina Jolie comes to mind) gets the tattoo design either done over with some great tattoo designs to change it or gets it removed. But there are lots of ordinary people who got some crazy tattoo design and then a few years later wished they had not done it.
Tattoo parlors that specialize in removal say that the most common thing is to remove someone’s name. You know what we mean, Shirley was a great gal so you got her name in a heart and know she is “that b#%c&!” and you can’t wait to remove her name from your shoulder. The other major action for getting even great tattoo designs removed is when they are somewhere visible like the neck, face or hands. Some places won’t even consider hiring someone who has a visible tattoo.
And just for fun, here is a tattoo celebrities bit for you. I came across this little clip of actress Niki Reed, who is in the upcoming Vampire film Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part One, talking about the Russian tattoo she is having removed. She was “outed” about it on the Letterman Show the other night.
So – I am willing to bet that there are readers out there who have a tattoo or two they would like removed. It sounds like a lot of pain to undo something, but there are plenty of people who are willing to go through with it. How about you? Are there any tattoo designs you have that you wish would just disappear?
Are Tattoos Seen as Fine Art?
Posted by: | CommentsTattoos are seen everywhere these days, on celebrities and in movies and music videos. Once thought to simply be a sign of a degenerate life, tattoos are now mainstream. There really isn’t much question in most people’s minds that they are now considered popular art, along the lines of comic book art. But would you consider them fine art? Do the designs belong in a museum?
There is a documentary that has just come out that looks at this question. In it are such names of the art world as Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons and Raymond Pettibone to look at the question of tattoos as art with a big “A”. It is even directed by a name director, UK’s Ryan Hope who is most well known for his music videos.
For a bit of a sneek peek at what the buzz is all about, here is the trailer of the film:
Skin – Trailer from Stamp on Vimeo.
Looks pretty cool – doesn’t it?
Zombie Boy is the Sexy Rick Genest
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If you saw Lady Gaga’s video “Born This Way” you couldn’t miss the amazing body and tattoo of Rick Genest, better known as “Zombie Boy” in the video world. It is kinda funny that someone could be so well known for his tattoos that it is hard to even imagine him without the facial tattoos that have made him so famous.
There have always been tattoo boys throughout history, often they got work in a circus or place like a circus to show off their tattoos. In many ways, it is almost a tradition to have someone in every era that is considered “the tattoo boy” of 
his time. I guess we could say that Rick is The Tattooed Man for our time. And instead of a circus, it’s the world of music video that has become the platform to show that off. But then, there are some that say that rock videos are like a circus, so it may just be the perfect place for the 21st Century Tattooed Man.
Personally, I could sit all day and check out the gorgeous tats that this man has covering every inch of his lovely body. I 
mean, when you do for a living what this guy does, you have to be in great shape. Because when the tattoos are out in all their glory there is nowhere to hide the body. You know they would not look as good if he wasn’t in such obviously great shape.
And for those who always kinda wondered what the guy looks like without the tattoos on his face, German style magazine Schon has done us the favor of using makeup to show us. I always thought he probably had to have great bones to pull off this amazing look, but who knew?
So enjoy my friends – because Zombie Boy or Rick Genest is still hot!
Are Home Tattoos Dangerous?
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We have all seen them around – the ugly homemade tattoos that some people sport that look like they belong in a prison more than on any mainstream person. They can be badly drawn, like the one a firefighter recently had done by a friend of his sister to commemorate the firefighters lost on 9/11.
“She told me she’d been doing tattoos for four years,” said the firefighter. The tattoo was a mess. The person who did it had the date wrong (9-01-11) and misspelled the word “never” so that it said “ever forget” instead of “never forget”. I read this and thought how upset I would be if that was my tattoo.
And although this man did do the right thing and went to a pro shop to get the tattoo fixed, you know it was never going to be right. Something he had decided to do as a testimonial to fallen friends is now something he will probably never want to show to anyone. And that is wrong.
But above and beyond the fact that this person made mistakes that would never be tolerated at a truly professional tattoo parlor, there are several other reasons why getting a home grown tattoo is not a great idea.
- Health Concerns- A professional tattoo parlor has a license that requires them to have sterilizing equipment on the premises and that it works. You are not guaranteed any of that with a “backyard tattoo parlor”, as they are often called in the tattoo business. This means that you are exposing yourself to the possibility of being infected with hepatitis or worse yet AIDS. Both of these blood-borne infections are a real danger to anyone considering getting a tattoo in a non-licensed location.
- Quality – Just how good is this person who is doing your tattoo? How many tattoos have they done before? If you are going to trust someone to ink something as permanent as a tattoo on a part of your body, make sure you know something about their work before getting a tattoo from them. In a professional shop they have books that show their work and are proud to show off the tattoos they have created for their customers. Be picky- after all this is your tattoo.
- Support local tattoo parlors – When it comes right down to it, most of the folks who run the licensed professional parlors are people who make their living doing this. This is not a hobby or part-time thing for them. When you go to a backyard parlor to get that illegal tattoo you are hurting people who have probably put everything they have into their business. They are taking the time and spending the cash to make sure that you have a clean place to get that tattoo, that it is well designed and done right. We need to support these businesses or they won’t be around for very long.
So the next time you are considering getting a tattoo, take a look at the local tattoo parlors in your area. Talk to the folks who run them, get to know what their story is and why they are doing tattoos as a profession. Check out their samples books, talk about the tattoo you have been dreaming about an sketching until your friends are sick of seeing it. These are the people you want to have doing your tattoo.
So when you friend or family member says they know someone who has “done a few tattoos” and would do it for cheap, just say thanks, no thanks. If you really want to support an artist who is putting themselves out there for their artform, check out the local tattoo parlor and talk to them about your next tattoo. You will be glad you did.
History of Tattooing Among Criminals
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A part of our history has long since associated tattoos with criminals – starting with the grand Roman Empire. There are evident links of certain tattoo symbols or designs to criminal rituals however most today are mere designs and don’t hold the meaning they did in the past.
Early in our modern history, people who were exiled from Great Britain to the Australian Penal Colonies (a settlement where prisoners were transported to separate them from the general population) were sometimes tattooed with symbols intended to disgrace the prisoner; for example, D which stood for deserter (for abandonment of a military post). These prisoners often added to the tattoo in an effort to conceal the original design or to express rebellious or sardonic messages.
In Japanese history, full body tattoos were traditionally worn by members of the Yakuza (traditional organized crime syndicates; they called themselves “chivalrous organizations”). Their elaborate design and size of the tattoos showed who the wearer associated with. Around 600 AD these tattoos began to have negative connotations. Instead of being used for ritualistic purposes they were used to mark criminals, and this practice came to be mirrored by the Romans.
In North America today, there are many tattoo symbols that have come to mean something. For instance, the tattoo of three dots within a triangle (usually tattooed on the skin between the forefinger and the thumb) means ‘my crazy life’. Another famous tattoo among the Hispanics is the Pachuco cross which means ‘I need nothing’. This is similar in meaning to those worn by Vietnamese teens.
We all know what the famous gang related tear drop tattoo means (the wearer has killed someone); it could also mean that the wearer had a friend who was killed in prison. The tattoo of the ace of spades (with the A tattooed inside the spade) is associated with the Asian Boyz gang of California and so forth.
What do Rihanna’s tattoos mean?
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Robyn Rihanna Fenty, better known as (the celebrated pop artist) Rihanna, was born in Saint Michael, Barbados. Most people simply assume she’s American because that is where she shot to stardom in 2005 with her debut album Music of the Sun. Rihanna moved to America (the US) at the age of 16 to pursue her career as a singer / song writer. She is best known for her hit numbers such as: There’s a Thug in My Life, Now I Know, Willing to Wait and Pon de Replay.
Music, as we all know, is her passion; her other obsession is tattoos. She has even confessed that she is addicted to the body art. When asked she said: “I like hanging out in tattoo shops. I am so intrigued by tattoos. It’s an entire culture, and I study it. Sometimes I go with friends, or just by myself. I get bum-rushed, but I don’t care. I don’t take security.” Rihanna loves the art so much that she keeps adding new ones every now and then. So you see it’ll be inaccurate if I said she has 13 tattoos.
Like most people who are into tattoos, Rihanna’s tattoos also hold special meaning and messages for her. Perhaps the first of them is the one on her ankle – two symbols of music notes; and obviously enough they represent her love for music that started at a very early age.
Behind her right ear she has the astrological symbol for the sun sign Pisces. That too is fairly clear – she was born on the 20th of February that makes it her astrological sign by birth.
She has a prayer (of sorts) inscribed on her hip, in Sanskrit (an Indo-Aryan language.) the first few words mean forgiveness, truth, suppression and calmness. Need we explain what she’s praying for?!
Rihanna’s other foreign language tattoo is the one on her ribcage. The phrase Freedom is God is inscribed in Arabic. Some of her other tattoos are: the expression “Shhh…” on her right index finger (no puzzle there!), the word love on her left middle finger and the date April 11th 1986 in Roman numerals on her shoulder (apparently her best friend / assistant’s birthday – I’ll die of shock if my boos did that for me! Now that she knows what it can do, she just might do it…)