Posted on 05/16/2005 12:03:45 PM PDT by martin_fierro
Artists concerned tattoos losing nonconformist lure
By Walker Simon
Mon May 16,10:37 AM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - As models flaunted head-to-toe body art and hard rock pulsated in a cavernous ballroom, veteran tattoo artists at a New York convention on Saturday wondered if their once taboo artistry was losing its nonconformist lure.
Practitioners from 12 countries posted thousands of designs as crowds packed makeshift corridors and organizers created a carnival-like air with giant freak show canvases draping the walls.
Americans, especially women, are embracing a practice once considered seedy. A growing number of people are subjecting themselves to the whir of engine-driven needles spitting pigments into their body, tattoo artists said.
According to some published reports, around 20 percent of Americans aged 18 to 25 are getting tattooed. Skin motifs are increasingly shedding their subversive image, some tattoo artists said. And women, who were once scarce in tattoo parlors, now make up about half the clientele, they added.
"It used to be secret and underground," said a man who identified himself as R.J. "There's more tattoo shops than ever before ... anyone can order a kit and do it in his garage," said R.J., who owns the Tabu Tattoo shop in West Los Angeles.
The growing number of rockers, Hollywood celebrities and sports stars showing off tattoos spur young people to go under the needle, the artists and fans said.
"For a lot of younger people, tattooing has become part of life, like buying a pair of shoes," said Spider Webb, 60, who has published books on the art of tattooing since the 1970s. "It's like computers, no one used to have them, now everyone has; no one (they knew) had tattoos, now everyone has."
Webb said he no longer creates "artistic pieces," but instead tattoos to make money. Back in 1977, he tattooed 999 people with an outline of X on the thigh. The 1,000th person willing to have the tattoo got 1000 tiny x's creating the letter in a large shape.
Professionals were among the fans tattooed from neck to calf at the weekend convention. One was a 45-year-old nurse practitioner and another was a 44-year-old corporate securities lawyer who said he earned over $600,000 a year.
"No one will look at a large forearm (tattoo) piece and give it a second thought" in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, the attorney said. He acknowledged he wore a long-sleeve shirt at the office to cloak his markings.
Henning Jorgensen, 44, of Denmark said his clients included dentists, lawyers and bankers. One man paid $15,000 over three years for a motif of a samurai with a frog, drawn down the back from neck to calf. Now he wants the front side of his body done.
Jorgensen said he met a U.S. attorney at the convention who was willing to fly to Denmark to be tattooed by him.
Long-time tattoo photographer Charles Gatewood of San Francisco said: "It (tattooing) is so popular that it has lost some of its magic. It was like a club, a secret society and family. Now it's gotten commercialized, co-opted and watered down ... in the opinion of some people."
Short answer: yes. It's like body piercings.
Wouldn't it be easier/cheaper to tape a "I am a loser" sign to your back?
The only good tattoo is the "enter here" tailbone tattoo for gals.
Regular Picasso this guy....
Or is it port hole....
We have choices, ya know. ;o)
So, you're for a womnan's right to choose...?
I usually choose for 'em. ;o)
That round lower-back tattoo is referred to by my Rennies as "the coaster."
I like it. ;o)
The next generation is going to be soooooo embarassed by the bad decisions of their parents!
I never understood the allure of tattoos.
As models flaunted head-to-toe body art and hard rock pulsated in a cavernous ballroom, veteran tattoo artists at a New York convention on Saturday wondered if their once taboo artistry was losing its nonconformist lure.
The Irony Police must still be after that Krispy Kreme truck thief.
I do think that many people are getting tattoos because they are the "in" thing to do. But many people are also getting them because they are more accepted today. Years ago when I saw someone with a tattoo i wanted to go and stare at it and touch it. i thought it was amazing. I do still think they are amazing and beautiful. and there are many more today I can look at. including the 2 i have on my back. i think they are fun
I'm amazed at the number of people in Oklahoma (tattoos are still illegal here) who have tattoos. It just isn't worth it to me to plan a trip out of state to have some one draw on me.
Gen-X PING
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.