The Tattoo as Art?

According to vanishing tattoo.com: From the early 1990's, there has been a tremendous increase in the popularity of tattooing among the general public in North America and Europe, a trend that has since spread around the world. Anyone who has taken even a cursory glance at the mainstream media during the past decade could easily come away with the impression that the current popular interest in tattoos and other forms of body modification, has arisen out of a cultural void and that there is scant evidence to suggest where the roots of the resurgence might lie. In point of fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Tattoos have had a rich and colourful history in western popular culture for the better part of two centuries and nowhere is this better illustrated than by the rather extraordinary number of historical figures and modern day celebrities who, have sported or currently have body art.

As with most cultural and artistic styles and trends, tattoos and tattooing have weathered various cycles of popularity, waxing and waning over the years, but never disappearing and never far from the public's imagination. Tattoos have long been associated with sailors and seamen and military personnel, but did you know that European Royalty were the first well-known members of society, the first celebrities so to speak, to spur an interest in tattoos and body art?

In the late nineteenth century many of the crowned heads of Europe wore their tattoos with pride. And they influenced many members of their respective aristocracies to get "exotic" body art. It was a topic that caused quite a stir in the popular press of the day.

Today, tattoos and tattooing continue to take on an increasingly larger, ever more visible role in today's mainstream pop culture. Now you see all kinds of tattooed celebrities, both men and women; tattooed rock stars, movie stars with tattoos, sports stars sporting ink, even lots of elite super models proudly displaying their body art.

Formerly known primarily to the people who wore body tattoos, the artists themselves have finally been recognized on a scale heretofore unknown, as witnessed by the popularity of such television shows as Miami Ink, and Inked, which is based in Las Vegas.

Having never been a proponent of desecrating one's own body, I now find myself fascinated with this form of self expression. It's not that I've suddenly developed a desire to place a tattoo anywhere on my person, but looking at the picture of Tommy Lee above, how could anyone say that's not art. Your mileage may vary, of course.