Tattoos have always been a way for an individual to use their body as a canvas. Whether it be remembering a friend, family member, or loved one, with a picture or a quote or saying that effects them or represents them in some way. There are alos people who believe tattoos are stupid and dumb to get. Croteau and Hoynes state that “the meaning of tattoos must be constructed by those observing them” (7). The use of tattoos can definitely be seen as a medium as it is used to represent the person it is on. I feel like getting a tattoo was something that became the thing to do when you turned 18 years old. It was the first way a then newly legal adult was able to do something that represented themselves in a drastic way. Throughout the years I have seen some very interesting and different tattoos. From large eagles on a persons back, to chinese symbols representing a saying or quote. I feel like the type of tattoo someone has represents the type of person they are. Say you have a picture of your mother, you can assume this person was a family man and has strong family roots. Now if you take a quote or saying you can see what kind of standards and values a person lives his life by. The tattoo has been used in recent years as a new way to represent yourself on your body. An interesting way to use your body as a canvas. 
Tattoos are definitely a medium that is extremely meaningful to some in our society. Yet, like you said, the idea of one's tattoo is left up to the audience to determine its meaning. One's tattoo could mean one thing to the owner, but could mean a completely different thing to the audience perceiving the tattoo.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting how you say your body is a canvas, it is a canvas but unfortunately you have only sheet of this canvas so best use it wisely. Where i come from in Europe a lot of people have tattoos but definitely not as many as i have noticed here in Boston. I have seen many tattoos and many of course don't look hugely meaningful like burning skulls at arms length, but i know friends who have gotten tattoos for personal purposes that have great meaning to them and i learned to respect that. I think it is very cool that your decided to write about tattoos!
ReplyDeleteI agree completely that tattoos definitely serve as a strong media form because they speak volumes about an individual. I believe that if a person feels strongly enough about something that they choose to voice it through ink on their skin, it is obvously something that means alot to them and should be taken note of as a part of their identity. Tattoo art is a great way for people to express themselves and send messages to the world about themselves as individuals.
ReplyDeleteTattoos are definitely a medium and I believe that they reflect a message more focused on a specific time period in your life. As you said, many people rush to get one as soon as they turn 18, but this image stays with you forever and people will always see the message you were trying to convey at that time period. I think you can also talk about tattoo artists and how many of them have their own styles that they would like to convey on someone but are very restricted since this is art on someone else's body. This reminds me of the girl who got a bunch of stars tattooed on her face and tried to claim she fell asleep during it. I guess some tattoos are easier to decode than others...
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