The Tattoo Industry: An Increasingly Common form of Art

The tattoo industry has been ever-growing and decreasingly stigmatized since the 1970s. Yet, tattoos have been around for centuries: why were they vilified in the first place, and why is tattoo culture coming back?

The history of tattoos is quite revealing of human nature; disclosing the ever-so struggle between fitting-in within your community and the willingness to express individuality.

For some ancient civilizations, tattoos were a form of social status: the Inuit population would tattoo girls who have transitioned into womanhood as a sign of their fertility; the Samoans saw tattooing as a painful ritual to transition into a position of leadership; both ancient Greeks and Romans would tattoo slaves and prisoners of war.

Within the cultural significance of tattoos in many ancient civilizations, tattoos were also a form of art and decoration. Art is one of the most consistent forms of communication, so having permanent and personal art - tattoos - on one’s body was a form of expression, whether it be with others or ourselves.

In particular, the Māori population in New Zealand would embellish their faces with elaborate tattoos. Each tattoo was nonpareil and conveyed specific information about a person’s status, ancestry, and abilities. Tattoos were almost like an identity card on people’s skin.  

Therefore, while some cultures used tattoos to signify their belonging to a community or a certain rank, others used it to express individuality. However, with colonialism and the forced spread of Christianity, the art form went into decline, deemed savage and unholy.

Nevertheless, tattoos are coming back, and in a way that conforms to human fallibility.

We’ve all seen the infamous teardrop tattoo: synonymous with gang membership, murder, and prison culture. Or again the numbers 211, signifying Blood Killer (2=B, 11=K), found on Crip members. Or even the kids that tattoo their school mascot.

THE WILLINGNESS TO BELONG TO A SPECIFIC COMMUNITY, OR MAYBE EVEN TO SHOW OTHERS THAT YOU BELONG THERE, TRANSCENDS GENERATIONS AND SOCIAL STATUS

Then there’s the willingness to not fit in. Those who tattoo themselves to reveal specific traits of their personality and what makes them who they are. It’s a willingness to be different, to prove nonconformity, to show that we’re not a byproduct of society.

Tattoos become the literal illustration of our intent to be recognized as unique individuals and to reclaim control over our bodies in a society where looks are of utmost importance.

An individual’s choice to acquire a tattoo can be viewed as establishing a sense of self. This pursuit of individuality often comes with age: a child wants to conform to their peers, but a teenager wants to rebel against their parents and the society they live in. It’s my body, and I can do what I want with it.

While self-expression can be through clothing, hair, or piercings, it is increasingly common for adolescents to get tattoos.

40% of Americans with tattoos got inked for the first time at 18 or younger.

And this is a recent phenomenon: more young people have a tattoo than ever before. It almost defeats its initial purpose - with the growing popularity of tattoos comes the withering of its distinctiveness.

The infinity tattoo, the tribal tattoo, or the tramp stamp are all cases of expired trends, of fads that once were distinctive and became mainstream; too popular for their own good.

Now, tattoos seem to have acquired a whole new purpose: tattoos are less about signaling alternativeness than they are now about sheer aestheticism. The body becomes a living, breathing canvas: ephemeral art.

The idea of tattoo as an art has been driven by popular culture. With the increased exposure to tattoos, whether it be on your favourite celebrity, in a TV show, or on Instagram, comes a new societal norm of enhancing yourself through body modification. But if the media subconsciously and ubiquitously set the social structures – tattoos as a rebellion or tattoos as an art - is the individuality of tattoos all an illusion?