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6B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend Magazine - Thursday, February 20, 2003
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BY JOSEPH LITMAN
DAILY ARTS WRITER
In other cultures, like
that of some of indigenous
populations in Asia and
Africa, tattoos have tradi-
tionally been used as signs
of group membership -
positive, distinguishing
marks that reward accom-
plishment and denote
achievement. That tradi-
tion has not emerged in
the United States.
"My gut reaction (to those with tattos) is that
they're trying to make a statement. They're definite-
ly saying - I don't really know what they're saying.
I don't know what they're really thinking," comput-
er science senior Nick Schrock said.
Schrock's sentiments echo those held by many in
American society, one that has received body deco-
rations with confusion and skepticism. That absence
of substantial understanding has not limited formula-
tion of stereotypes and mostly negative impressions,
however. Instead, there is a plethora of misgivings
and assumptions harbored concerning tattoos, pierc-
ings, and those who wear them.
Be they rebellious twenty-somethings or burly
biker boys, those often thought likely to decorate
their bodies cannot escape the seeming condescen-
sion of America.
Adam Forman, a local tattoo artist who works at
South Ashley Street's Lucky Monkey Tattoo Parlor,
provided some needed clarity when he discussed
both the experiences of his customers and his own
history with body art.
"Getting a tattoo is really personal, really spiritual.
It goes beyond the aesthetics and is really a transfor-
mative process.
Often, the tattoo is "Your views chang
almost secondary
to the process
itself." Forman
firmly believes
that those who opt
to change their bodies through tattoos or piercings do
so for various reasons, yet not frequently with the
subversive intentions commonly assumed.
"There really is no standard way to get a tattoo, but
I do think that having a tattoo becomes a personal
accomplishment. The experience of getting one,
given that tattooing can be a painful process, is
almost what makes (the phenomenon) so popular."
The pain associated with body art - to say noth-
ing of the psychological barrier posed by needles -
is a difficult issue for tattoo artists to tackle.
Asked what he tells customers who ask him about
pain, Tattoo Paradise artist Greg Phipps said, "That's
the question that I hate the most. One person can't
tell you the pain because everyone has a different
threshold for it. I try to tell people not to go by what
their friends tell them because no one else is you. I've
seen 300-pound bikers looking like they were ready
to cry and pass out, and I've also seen teachers look-
ing like it was nothing."
LSA senior Andrew Weiss, who has a generic bar-
code tattooed on his lower back, said, "It didn't hurt,
really. (The procedure) didn't take that long - it was
only ten minutes - so it felt a little weird, but there
was no serious pain."
Were one undeterred by the prospect of pain, find-
ing the right tattoo artists can be another obstacle for
those interested in a body transformation. Forman,
who has between 50 and 60 tattoos, asserted, "It's
important to go to an artist who is heavily tattooed,"
explaining that it means that the artist both under-
stood the process and was likely familiar with all the
potential factors.
-0
Some view tattoos in a negative fashion, Judging a book by its cover.
le,
Phipps, who has 38, some of which were self-
applied, said, "You shouldn't tattoo someone unless
you can tattoo yourself," implying a sentiment simi-
lar to Forman's.
The two men also agreed on the spirit behind most
tattoos and piercings. "Piercings and tattoos have
been lumped together - perhaps unfairly - but
they also lump themselves together, in a way. Both
are transformative processes."
Phipps added, "It's not smart to get into tattooing
and not piercing."
but tattoos can't." The distinctions
between the two
- Nick Schrock exist because the
former is perma-
Engineering Senior nent and requires
artistic ingenuity
- likely the reason that Forman felt that tattooing
and piercing are unfairly coupled - while the latter
is easily removed and inherently lacks some of the
artistic demand. This is not to say that piercing is
devoid of creativity or style, though.
"I've pierced ladders up penises, the backs of
necks," said Phipps. "I've done flesh-to-flesh pierc-
ings on the side of the neck where the skin is pulled
out and all that is exposed are two little dots. That's
commonly called a Vampire pierce."
Such craftsmanship and attention to detail have
drawn many with artistic training to body decoration.
Phipps took several art courses in college while
Forman has an art degree. Both men make their own
designs, yet much of their work is dependent upon
the wishes of their clientele. "Eighty to 90 percent of
customers come in with their own work or some idea
of what they want," said Forman, adding that he is
fine with that because "I want to see the person, I
want to see their skin, I want to see what they want."
Perhaps the most notable part of the process is that
some in America, perhaps many of the tattoo- and
piercing-desiring set, do approach body decoration
in a fashion akin to the traditions of elsewhere.
Forman was clear about this point, noting, "Being
accepted into the subculture group (of tattoo bearers)
is often more the reason to get one (than a desire for
decoration)." Such a theory renders many of the soci-
etal values that have made transformative art seem
awkward, alien, and angry both right and wrong:
right that a disassociation is desired, but wrong that it
is born of malice or contempt.
In a country where groups are formed based on
race, class, gender, lunch period, and the even more
arbitrary, is the culture of America so rigid that it
can't allow for another, alternative means of sub-
grouping?
The answer is likely, and unfortunately, yes. The
well-intentioned Schrock conceded that he wouldn't
get a tattoo because "I feel like in my future job, I'd
be labeled as someone going against the man. I just
view it as being kind of like a punk rocker, aligning
yourself with some sort of counterculture. It's not a
negative thing, but I simply don't understand the
need to indelibly display (a message)." More practi-
cally, Schrock added, "Your views change, but tat-
toos can't."
Weiss, meanwhile, said that while he won't get
another tattoo, he would do it all over again for the
first time. "I got a tattoo because I thought it was
funny. My friends ca
man year of college
activity to do, so wev
get anything pierced -
look good" - and d
paramount important
date a girl based upon
essary trait that I lool
That two open-m
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ther merely allows i
ration does not ind
shift concerning tra
ple like Phipps will
understanding that,
someone in college
working at their job
Tattoos draw inftlence from many different forms of art.