#38407
Rebecca612
Participant
@rebecca612


A friend and I are setting up an exhibition highlighting the subject as to whether tattoos can be classed as art work. We have tattoos ourselves and believe they are a form of artwork but we’re looking for other people’s opinions and their explanations as to why they believe it is art work. Obviously it’s going to be a pretty biased opinion from this thread but any feedback would be brilliant!

Thanks,

Rebecca

#120026
mrchen
Participant
@mrchen

I collect tattoos as pieces of art, as I collect other types of art,

the 200 plus hours of ink I wear in my skin is full custom, handcrafted pieces of art designed by an artist exclusvely for me.
these artists work in multiple mediums beside ink, several paint, some graffitti, some musicians, some water color, pencil, marker, etc, some sculpt and some work in metal………but their chosen profession is tattoo art

they work in a 10,000 year old medium, its history much more recent here in the US, only 175 years old,

most have followed a traditional american apprenticeship which consists of several years of working and training under an experienced artist who assumes personal responsibility for your training, this is loosly based upon those of the japanese masters and students of the 18th and 19th centuries, during that time an apprentice lived with his master, was named by his master and made part of a family while learning to practice his art in skin

#120027
DavidJednat
Participant
@davidjednat

I would be more interested in hearing somebody try to explain that it isn’t art. They would be wrong, but it would be interesting.

art
[ahrt]
– noun 1.*the production of something beautiful or extraordinary 2.*paintings, drawings, sculptures, etc. 3.*skill; ability 4.*subjects other than the sciences

Tattoos sound like art to me.

#120028
mrchen
Participant
@mrchen

even if we compared one of the worlds finest pieces of tattoo art like a piece from jeff gogue and compare that to a tattoo made from cherry creek commercial street shop flash for the florida boardwalk, the flash piece is still a piece of art……both are pieces of art

#120029
yodaddynukka
Participant
@yodaddynukka

wtf kind of question is that? of course its art…

#120030
DavidJednat
Participant
@davidjednat
mrchen;105543 wrote:
even if we compared one of the worlds finest pieces of tattoo art like a piece from jeff gogue and compare that to a tattoo made from cherry creek commercial street shop flash for the florida boardwalk, the flash piece is still a piece of art……both are pieces of art

Flash is an artform in it’s own right.

#120032
mrchen
Participant
@mrchen

ypu know it dave, Ive paid some good money for some beautiful flash,

#120034
darkstar
Participant
@darkstar

see this is MY thing…(btw im new here, hi I’m Star..lol ) im not a tattoo artist….yet….however i am an artist and have been for as long as i can remember….it p*sses me off when i see paintings done by an ELEPHANT sell for THOUSANDS, while there are “starving artists” out there just trying to make a living doing what they love….if ANYTHING to me tattooing is more of an art form, then much of anything that some people consider “art” today… and the collectors are more dedicated then ANYONE… i mean look at it like this, you buy a Salvador Dali, or an Andy Warhol and eventually you get tired of it, or you want to sell it for what ever the going rate is…and then its gone..someone getting a tattoo is saying i love your stuff SO much, i want to DIE with it..i want to carry it WITH me..i dont want it as something to put on the wall for a select few to see, i want it for everyone to see, or for those that get them more hidden, its something THEY want to see every day, for the rest of their lives…though, as mentioned before, i dont tattoo yet, ive drawn MANY pieces for people and sat there and watched as they got MY artwork put on their body. its aww inspiring. as well as the fact that the tattoo MEANS something to the person getting it done. it represents something to them, its not only art, but a story, and the artist that does it has a journey, YEARS and YEARS of a journey, theyre always changing always evolving and theyre working in a medium that, as stated before, is centuries upon centuries old…i mean heck even the machines that many of them use are beautiful pieces of art, custom made for them..i have seen some of the most awsome machines in the hands of artists that are just as amazing as the tattoos they create. tattooing is not only an art form, but an ELITE art form, one that takes more dedication than many other art forms…and its not easy to get into the actual world of apprenticeship..not only do you have to find an artist that is true to the art ( ive had 2 that were simply glorified scratchers, and one that was litterally doing lines and drinking with in the first hour of my meeting him and him trying to teach me things…riiiiight)…..but you also have to convince the artist to teach you something that they themselves busted their BALLS to get (and the females has to even grow a pair before they were able to get busted..lol) so yea..in short, i gueeeeess you could consider it an art form..lololol

#120043
Sherav
Participant
@sherav

The question is tattoo an art or not is not stupid.

I guess what the person is really trying to ask is what medium of art would we catalogue it as?

For the most part we tend to place tattoos as a personal modification and something that pleases us to wear it as an expression of our personal tastes.

The main problem for many is that they cannot see beyond the process of getting a tattoo (regarded as painful and permanent) and so see it as a ‘mutilation’ and not the piece of art it actually is.

Personally I like to think of my tattoos as living art – it will age and change as I do and eventually like me it will die. Again because of the finite life of the work – many would see that to a barrier as it being ‘true art’.

Paintings and sculptures if well preserved (whilst beautiful) tend to pass from owner to owner in a type of immortality which is a different type of art altogether.

Take care
Matthew

#120046
buttwheat
Participant
@buttwheat

If you can stuff a crucifix in a jar of urine and call it art then my guess when a tattoo artist applies ink into a visual pleasing arrangement on a canvas it’s art.

#120052
newdragon
Participant
@newdragon

Definitely, absolutely yes! There are good and bad tattoos just as there are good and bad pieces of other art. Also, just like other
art forms, there are tattoos that are my taste and others that aren’t. I chose the artist for my next piece because I think his work is truely amazing and he is an artist in every sense of the word.

#120108
Rebecca612
Participant
@rebecca612

Thanks for the feedback guys, really interesting reading through them all. The exhibtion we’re doing is obviously a bit more specific to certain art forms and showing different tattooist’s work that presents the different arguments. We’ve got people who are totally against classing tattoos as art yet believe tattooists are artists which is interesting and we’ve got people who believe whole heartedly that tattooists are artists, tattoos are art and then people who disregard tattooists and their tattoos as art as a whole.
We are quite passionate about this subject and happy to see that others share our feelings!

Rebecca

#120116
whosyourdaddy
Guest
@

You fool!!!!!!!!!!

Art is anything that takes dedication and time to complete a masterpiece. Any tattoo artist had to take the time to LEARN the skills, They had to master it. You think people just pick up a tattoo machine and start tattooing beautiful masterpieces… F*** NO!

It took alot of trial and error to even figure the techniques out. this aint candyland where everything come easy and free. you gotta work hard for it. That’s why not everbody can do it. That’s what makes and artist an ARTIST! is because they stand out to the rest.

this is why you cant base your own ‘OPINION’ on this topic is because you havent put the time nor the dedication into learning anything.

you got a tattoo from an ARTIST? that was ‘easy’ right? just sit their and its all done in a few hours.

well that guy spent hours and hours practicing to get good enough to complete that ARTWORK on your body.

#120117
whosyourdaddy
Guest
@

tattoo sleeves can be any image you desire.

you can do piece by piece and add onto it later on… or you can do it all at once.

find a artist that can the specialty in sleeves because its a whole another skill to acquire.
tattoo artist that is good at sleeves can ‘blend’ images together to make it look awhole.
again this takes a special skill. So choose wisely with what tattoo artist you choose.

think of it like martial artist.

A Kung Fu Master knows ALL about Kung Fu
but doesnt know a thing of wushu

A Wushu Master knows all about wushu
but not a thing about wushu

Understand?

you get my point..

#120139
whosyourdaddy
Guest
@
whosyourdaddy;105662 wrote:
tattoo sleeves can be any image you desire.

you can do piece by piece and add onto it later on… or you can do it all at once.

find a artist that can the specialty in sleeves because its a whole another skill to acquire.
tattoo artist that is good at sleeves can ‘blend’ images together to make it look awhole.
again this takes a special skill. So choose wisely with what tattoo artist you choose.

think of it like martial artist.

A Kung Fu Master knows ALL about Kung Fu
but doesnt know a thing of wushu

A Wushu Master knows all about wushu
but not a thing about wushu

Understand?

you get my point..

oops wrong post sorry guys…

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