They've certainly come a long way in terms of social acceptance, significance, reputation, etc.I think that the option of choosing clothing and one's look is both amazing and fascinating. It allows individuals to use their bodies as canvases every day. We are all given this clean, soft, fleshy material with which we can do virtually what ever we want. (Let's ignore im
plications of social control and stigmas for a moment.) Wanna wear blue eyeshadow? Do it. Wanna wear a tutu? Sure. Sparkly shoes? 10 clashing patterns? A chicken suit? Go ahead. Clothes rock! I digress.Tattooing takes this idea one step further, adding permanent elements to the body. Entrusting somebody to make a permanent design on your body takes a lot of trust. Even when planned out well, the artist is given a huge degree of free range and control over the tattoo. Given the right canvas, the artist can create any eternal painting. That's why I like Amanda Wachob.
Wachob is both a painter and a tattoo artist, a background that clearly influences her works. She doesn't follow the typical flash art tattoo motif; there will be no tigers popping out of a skull's eye underneath a bleeding heart impaled by diamonds. Instead, she makes abstract tattoos that resemble individual brush strokes.
As a painter, I'm used to having strokes of paint on my body, but they always make me feel like I need a good shower. Traces of paint on my arms and legs seem anything but permanent, more a testament to my own artistry and laziness. Still, I love the idea of letting an artist design her own work and let her make an honest mark -- not a picture -- on the body. It challenges the conventional norms associated with the body as an image and as a living entity.
afterword by tupac:
I been handlin' stress in this shit for years
blazed out sheddin' tattooed tears
photo credit:
top: "bad tattoos," http://popnewsday.wordpress.com/
both Wachob photos courtesy of the artist's website
bottom: tatu, http://vu.morrissey-solo.com/sleeper/stretch/log.htm
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