taking temporary tattoos to a whole new level

at 09:39

Tuesday 7 August 2007

This article in the Guardian caught my attention this morning. I have kind of a problem with the concept of tattoos becoming "trendy" (although I will be laughing my pretty inked ass off when everyone who got a tattoo because it was cool suddenly finds themselves stuck with a permanent brand that's no longer in style) it's just another case of something I love being made tacky by the mainstream. I guess I'm lucky in that I'm crazy about something that is inherently customisable but it still annoys me.

This is essentially someone putting patterns on a shirt and using the label of "tattoo" as a marketing tool, but I suppose if people want to waste their money on a pointless fad then more power to them. I did like the attitude of the artist towards the guy licensing his artwork though:

"This guy is at ground zero of everything that is wrong with contemporary civilisation," Hardy commented. "However, if he wants to make a lot of money with my art and it's not going to be overtly negative, then what the hell."

Anything associated with the word "tattoo" that doesn't come with some pain and the problem of permanence just isn't going to cut it I'm afraid. I didn't think I'd ever believe this but now half the point of getting ink done is the process for me. I think maybe I'd be less irritated about the clothing line if there was some kind of physical penalty involved in the buying process, perhaps for every cap you buy then you get 15 minutes of a sharp stick being jabbed repeatedly into your ribs. The time limit could increase by the size of the item and by the cliched nature of the design. Now that would be acceptable. Almost.

The Guardian (which seems to be running a theme of late) also published this article last week on the future of durable, removable tattoos. I'm an inherently fickle person and at the grand old age of 22 I'm already getting a cover-up/re-work of one of my pieces of ink. Do I wish this technology had been around then? No.

"Why ever not, Alex?" You ask. Well, I'll tell you:

I currently have a big, blue, unlined snowflake on my right shoulder blade. It's horrifyingly placed, poorly coloured and if I have to hear one more person say "is that.... umm.... is that a cross? No... can't be a cross - it's blue. Maybe some kind of flower?" I'll scream. But it's my own fault. I was 18 when I got it, it's my first piece of custom work and I spent all of fifteen minutes thinking about it. I was too nervous to say anything to the artist and so just mutely nodded when he showed me the art (which I could tell I wasn't 100% about even then) and got it done. I hated it from the second it was on my skin. Every one around me hates it still, but I don't.

In fact, I kind of love it now.

It's there as a permanent reminder that I shouldn't rush into things, to think things through before I do them and, when it's been re-worked, it will be a symbol that even something truly awful can be made better again. Bizarre that the most non symbolic of my tattoos can end up meaning the most to me in the end. And I've learnt from it - my last tattoo had to be repositioned five times before I was completely happy with it, and I had no qualms about doing so. And I'm going to be a complete pain to my artist with my next design, but I've learnt now that if something isn't perfect from the beginning then it's not going to magically become that way over time, so I don't really have a choice.

8 comments:

TK said...

I have one of those "first, didn't think enough" tattoos as well...actually, I have two. It has a certain nostalgic value, but after those two, I waited ten years before I got the next one. I get the impression that all those fratboys with barbed wire tattoos are going to be furious with themselves in 5 years.

Just Joe said...

One question, for you or any of the commenters: why tattoo? It's a draw I've never really understood. You say the process has become half the point, but what's the other half?

I can certainly understand your irritation, but if this fad actually takes off, I'd be very surprised. It reeks of poseur.

Sharon said...

I just got my first tattoo a month ago. I had been thinking about the specific design for almost 2 years and was horribly picky with the artist (no, the spiral part should be tighter . . . and the font should look like this) and I'm thrilled with it. Especially since I was designing the thing for me, my girlfriend, and our friend. Yeah, I said it, we all got the same tattoo. But at least we'd all been thinking about it for 2 years and it means something really important to us.
LOVE the theory about enduring some kind of physical pain for the temp tattoo. I snorted out loud when I laughed.

VermillionBrain said...

Never understood the point behind acquiring tattoos. Now, women with tattoos are a different matter. I don't want to say it is a fetish or anything, just that there may have been an incident where a female friend may have let her well-placed tattoo peek, and there may have been some drool.

Unknown said...

TK Yep, and girls with tribal designs on the base of their backs or butterflies on their shoulders. See also: hipster kids who are getting tattoos of stars. Morons.

Just Joe The other half of the point is the transformation of skin into something that is other. First for me the picture was all that was important and then as I added to my collection the process and the pain became more and more a part of it.

Sharon Sounds fair enough to me, I can't really knock anything with meaning behind it. Mine tend to have meaning behind the timing while the designs are on the "ooooh, pretty!" side of things.

Vermillion I'm glad you think that way. A male friend actually sat me down to warn me that by getting any more tattoos I was making myself unattractive to an entire section of society. I'm happy to hear that some people don't share that opinion!

Al said...

mmm... I got my 'starter tattoo' (a stupidly tiny shooting star on my foot) when I was 19, and had nearly the same experience as your snowflake... only mine blurred so badly (being on my foot, and all), that it was damn near unrecognizable after a few years.

my favorite "what the hell is that?" question: "is that a division sign?" why yes, little girl, I love math so much, that I tattooed a division sign on my foot.

I finally covered it up with a blooming lotus last summer. there's still a bit of star visible through the lotus, but I'm afraid I don't have your snowflake fortitude. am now up to tattoo #4 on my forearm, though, so we'll see how I feel about that one in a few years.

TK said...

Shyestviolet - my favorite is I have a symbol for Pisces on my ankle. The # 1 question I get when I tell people what it is?

"Are you a pisces?"

No, dipshit, I'm a fucking capricorn. I just like fish.

Egads.

Unknown said...

Never underestimate the stupidity of the masses. One of my ex Mr TheOdds had a T-shirt that said across the chest (in rather large capital letters)

"ADAM"

He still got asked his name on a regular basis.

Is it wrong that I now want a division sign purely for the comedy value?