A tattoo is a design made under the skin with ink or other pigment. Usually decorative or symbolic. It’s a type of body modification.

Tattoo: more than yesterday less than tomorrow. Being dressed without being really dressed, does it rings a bell? Permanent clothes, indelebil. Some are covered with it, other just have a few of it and many have never dared to. The pain due to the settling of this permanent “fabric” have discourage many and will keep on. The diversity of shapes and colors that this thing can take is almost infinite, from the traditional clichÈ “i love + name” to the famous pink panther. So what it is ?

Tattoos of course!
Tattoo has always existed. Whether it is to differenciate one self from the masses, to show one’s rebellion or to expose one’s social class every reasons were and will be good enough to cross the line. Technics has evolved and multiplied, so derived from it many body arts like piercing. Whatever you think courage is an important element to do it.

The first signs of existence of tattoos go back to 5000 BC. Coming from funeral status in a japanese tomb, they were supposed to go along with the dead in the other world. At this time tattoos were supposed to be magical, and so religious. Simple belief of another times? maybe not…Spurstitions belong to every times, and the elf that nancy got tattooed is a proff of it: “huh i heard that it to protect human; so i thought to myself that i should have one to protect me.”

Tattoo has not always been seen as a form of art. For a long time people thought it was only for bikers, prisoners or delinquants. Even in the past it had realy negative connotation that would comes from china. In fact about the end of the IIIrd century AD several texts talked about the chinese position about tattoo in relation with some japanese tradition. They say it was a proff of courage toward the pain and of loyalty to the group because of it’s permanent nature.

For the chinese tattoo was barbarian. So they used this method as a punishment for the criminals to diferenciate them from the rest of society. The symboles were made on the most visible part of the body so that the community could see them quicly. Even if people like lawyers, psychatrists anbd even policemen get tattooed, prejudices against this art still very common in our society. “at first i thought i would get tattooed the ankle” says sarah a technology and art student “but as i would work in the world of the media i got tattooed on my left buttock because i wanted to keep it for me because a lots of people still have prejudices about tattoos”

• DESIRE EQUALS DANGER

The decision to get tattooed and also the moment to cross the line and to do it is often taken on an impulsion. The exemple of sylvain, student in urbanism, is the perfect exemple. “I was with a girl we came back from rehersal of our prom night. we just went by a studio and she said “let’s get tattooed” and so we went. It wasn’t planed i didn’t even thought to it. In fact it a surprisse for me as for the others.”

On her side Nancy wanted to get tattooed for long time but she hadn’t thought she would really do it one day. “It was the 22nd of december just before christmas. I was hanging out with a friend and then decided to go. We were looking at the designs, we were stressedwe still didn’t know what we would do. ana at a moment we looked at each other and said: O.K let’s go!”

Unfortunatly a lot of peole in these kind of run-up got their faculties a bite lowered. Claude B a tattooer from saint-nazaire knows it. “I often have to do tattoo cover. It’s who already got one and got it made when he was drunk and woke up with that. when you look at it it doesn’t look like anything you don’t even recognize what it is. So we make a new one to cover the old one and mak it disapear.”

Another aspect one have to care about: hygiene. It’s often a phobia for the futur tattooed. Independantly from the place where you make it (a profesional studio, a house, shanty…) you have to look at the material used by the tattooist. Sylvain who went to a shop of shawinigan had no problem “the tattooer open the seals of everything he used just before us and what he sterelysed he did before us too.”

Sarah went to a tattooer that some on recommended her. “It was his house, in his room. His wife was here, it was quiet, cool. The guy was very safe. He had bought a sterelazing machine. He sterelazied every needle just before you. it’s long but reinsuring.” Unfortunately not everyone had this chance. “I didn’t see him sterelized the needles, says nancy, and if he did it wasn’t obvious enough for me to notice it. Because of this i did a AIDS test. but the nurse told me that it needed a very big drop of blood to contract aids and the amount of blood on a needle is to small so it almost impossible to catch aids this way.”

• UNTIL DEATH SEPARATE US…

The choice of the design to tattoo is fundamental. You have to do research to define which image will suit you. As says david, tattooer, a tattoo can be compared to an identity card. “In fact dispite the fact that you can find identical reproductions on the wall of the studios, the final result will varies from a person an other. The quality of the skin, the place chosen, theage and sex of the customer as the own styl of the tattooer will make the final illustration timeless.”

Dispite the advises like “think about it before going there!” a lots of person still make tattoos without thinking. Whether the error is in the choice of the design or the place, they are “trapped” with an indelible design. As would say the writer Michel Tournier: ” A tattoo is a permanent amulet, a jewel you can’t take off.” But not anymore! It’s now possible to remove a tattoo thanx to laser surgery. remeber that thgis operation is expensive and it’s rare that a tattoo disapear completly. Most of the time scars remain. Those are the risks of the tattooee !

• TASTES AND COLORS…

And pain ! After the classical tattoo, the most recent piercing the personal branding technics have setlled in the U.S. The branding would have been born in the years 1930’s and 1940’s amongst groups of young black peole. The method is very simple: use a blowlamp to heat a piece of metal . the metal is then applied on the skin thanx to a stencil. “With tattoo something is engraved in your skin. but the technic of branding make visible wht’s already here. It’s more natural” affirmes adam huffman piercer in nyc. It’s more west coast trend. In san francisco the two shops the most profesional have from three to six customers per week for branding. Most of them are whites between 20 adn 40 years old. The designs must be simple because of the process itself. The marks are spreading which makes impossible to do complexe designs.

Does this technic could replace tattoo? “the other technic, body pircing, branding, work for a while it’s a wave, a fashion but when the trip is over it doesn’t work anymore” says claude bouchard. “tattoo exists for years and years now even indians would tattoo themselves. Nowadays it’s more modern but peole still get tattooed, i don’t think that something can replace it”.

In fact maybe traditional tattoo won’t be replace by some mysterious technic still unknown, but maybe by a method more modern. Still not famous the patented invention. It’s a progammed tattoo. Growing tired of the design was the main problem. It’s a samll lcd screen, you can change thanx to a processor also under the skin. Plus of the images it can also show your temperatur and blood pressur.

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