t Body Images tattoo shop on Government Street, two tattoo artists return half an hour late from their lunch break and tell the waiting customers that they were drinking at lunch and must forego the rest of today’s work. After unlocking the idle glass door, they give the frustrated patrons a discount card as a consolation.
This is the rebellious attitude that resides in the tattoo subculture. Further proof is the popular tattoo reading Leviticus 19:28, which is a Bible verse that in part states, “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh… or tattoo any marks upon you.”
But tattoos are not just a sign of insurrection. There is a rich history in tattoo art that goes back thousands of years. It is a widespread art form and different styles have different symbolic meanings.
Jeffrey Tate, one of the tattoo artists that works at Body Images, said that beside names, religious tattoos such as crosses, hands praying, and portraits of Jesus were among the most common in his store. Other highly requested tattoos come by gender, he said.
“Women get tattooed more often than men, so some of the most common tattoos we do are of butterflies and things like that,” Tate said. “There’s also a lot of tribal bands and barbwire on guys.”
There is an infinite amount of options for tattoos. If a person wants a tattoo, but doesn’t know what they want, there is a “flash” on the wall of the tattoo parlor that displays the artists’ work along with books full of designs that can be used directly or to inspire a new design, according to Tate.
Brad Smulyan, a junior in secondary education, has his legs covered in tattoos, including a snake smoking a pipe and a frog on his right leg, and a colorful collage on the left leg. He collected them while working at Effum Body Works on Government Street. He allowed his boss to do what he wanted for the artwork, creating an exclusive piece.
“Because I didn’t choose them, I don’t regret it,” he said. “It is a unique work of art that will not be duplicated or copied.”
Smulyan is Jewish, and said that his religion specifically condemns marking the body. He continues to get tattoos, though, for personal reasons.
“The tattoos are a permanent reminder of where I am at this point in my life,” he said. “If my body is a temple, I want stained glass windows.”
Once the design is chosen, the artist applies a stencil of the mark on the chosen area to let the person decide how it looks and what improvements can be made, according to Kirk Boutte, a tattoo artist at Effum. Next, the outline is inked, followed by shading or coloring.
Skin color plays a large role in coloring, according to both artists.
Tate said that reds are dangerous for some people because it contains a chemical that can be converted to penicillin, which causes a common allergic reaction. He also said that he uses separate greens for dark and light skin tone.
Boutte added that he does not like to put too many colors on darker skin.
“You can’t layer colors on dark skin like you can on white skin,” Boutte said. “You can’t shade and color too much because it becomes too dark and less visible.”
Henry Ferguson and Lynn Procter, authors of the book The Art of the Tattoo, describe “tribal” as the traditional tattoos of people such as the Hawaiians, Maoris and Samoans, and the popular Western tattoo style that has evolved in recent years based on those designs.
The book also says that “tribal tattoo artists use and exploit the three-dimensional nature of the human body, enhancing its muscles and curves with graphically simple designs.”
Military designs are another popular style of tattoo and the symbols vary among branches of the service.
Marines are marked with “Death Before Dishonor,” “Semper Fi” and the bulldog mascot, whereas Navy selections include old-school sailing vessels and naked women, according to the “The Total Tattoo Book” by Amy Krakow.
Victoria Lautman, author of “The New Tattoo,” defines “imagination and fantasy” tattoos as not only a specific genre inspired by wizards, gnomes, elves and warriors, but also overlapped with mystic Eastern religions such as Hindu.
She says it can also be something from a dream or something made up, as long as it is not real.
A Brief History
In October 1991, a 5,000-year-old man was found frozen on a mountain between Austria and Italy. With him were his clothes, a bow and arrow, an axe, and a flint for making fire. On him were several tattoos noted as the earliest discovered skin markings, according to Steve Gilbert in his book, “Tattoo History.”
Tattoos have been around for centuries, carrying different meanings and styles depending on their origins and owners.
They came to the “civilized” world in the 18th Century when British sea captain James Cook explored the South Seas and encountered tattooed islanders. Many of his men had themselves tattooed as a souvenir of the voyage, according to the video documentary “Body Art.”
The elite classes in Europe loved the idea and many got them secretly. According to Krakow, these elitists quickly turned away from the markings when tattooing became a more mass art form with the electric tattooing machine, which provided widespread availability and cheaper prices. The original process was slow and painful as it was done by hand.
Tattoos then showed up in America and the prominent newspaper The New York World indicated in August 1897 that “tattoo mania” had arrived in New York City via France.
Tattoo parlors were open in port cities such as Norfolk, Va. and San Diego, Calif., where naval bases provided business security, according to “Body Art.”
Tattoos quickly became a naval tradition during World War II when thousands of sailors were marked as a symbol of membership in military brotherhood.
By this time, different styles and symbols came out from every direction of the globe and were picked up in other areas. Back in America, the 1960s sparked another revolution in the art as hippies and bikers defined their cultures with tattoos symbolizing peace and gang membership, respectively, according to “Body Art.”
According to Krakow, tattoos have turned into sexy little designs, political statements and pretty pictures in the period from the 60s to the present.