July 5, 2012

Tattoos.

Lots of interesting photographs here, quite aside from whether the tattoos are wise choices or well done. I love #19, done with a fisheye lens, which shows a man whose large upper arm is consumed by a technically excellent monochrome depiction of the face of Bruce Springsteen. A terrible idea. Sickeningly earnest to me, but the guy is quite pleased with it, and he's at a Bruce Springsteen concert, so there's something charming about it. Horrible and charming.

The next photo — #20 — takes us in a completely different direction:
"Vinnie" Myers specializes in tattooing nipples and areolas onto women who have undergone breast cancer surgery. Using precisely mixed pigments, he creates a perfect 3-D illusion of the real thing...

38 comments:

Humperdink said...

I clearly am the odd person out here. I find none of this attractive on the human body. Our bodies should be pleasing in their natural form. To me, these folks have some insecurities that need to be addressed.

Tim said...

"Keisha Holcomb (right), 31,... She wants to have a full-body tattoo eventually, with the exception of her hands, throat and head. "Try to keep it classy", she says."

Keisha clearly doesn't understand the expression "keep it classy."

edutcher said...

As The Blonde has noted, a lot of women that tattoo a rose on their breast need to remember, while it may look sexy at 20, at 50, it will be a long-stemmed rose.

Sydney said...

Some of those tattoos are very well done, but they still look ugly on the human body, IMHO.

I see a lot of human bodies in the course of my day, and the popularity of tattoos with people of all ages is amazing to me. Big ones, like in those pictures. I find them a distraction, especially in people who are naturally attractive to begin with. They draw your attention away from the person to the artwork.

Although, the nipples on mastectomy patients I can understand. It seems like a good use for a tattoo artist's talent

paul a'barge said...

http://christrevino.com/

Amy said...

Vinny is located in Baltimore. I know several women who have had their nipples done by him after mastectomy/reconstruction. Consensus is he's a genius - extremely careful and thorough, even puts in veins and shading to create a natural look. Sometimes at survivor meetings, the women go into the bathroom and compare. Sounds like quite a labor of love on his part - the women love him.

Humperdink said...

What's left after a full body tattoo? Orifices? I'll bet he/she charges extra for those.

madAsHell said...

These people have mental health issues.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

The only one with any practical or redeeming value is the tattooed nipples.

Other than that these people have absolutely no common sense......and WAY too much money to spend on such idiocy.

while it may look sexy at 20, at 50, it will be a long-stemmed rose.

Ha ha...I gave my daughter a version of that when she declared she wanted to get a tattoo in high school. The mental image after I was done was just too icky to consider...so no tattoo.

Wally Kalbacken said...

The "no CPR" thing was interesting. I suppose there is now a negligent resuscitation cause of action against those who don't obey.

I had never heard of the post mastectomy tattoo deal, I guess that is the exception to my rule that tattoos are bad.

Humperdink said...

My stepson had a friend with the giant earlobe hole (I am sure there is a hip, technical name for it). Tried to join the Air Force. They wouldn't take him until it was removed/reduced. Spent more money to fix it. Mission accomplished .... so to speak.

Synova said...

When tattoos are "things that old people do" the kids won't get them again, until the next generation.

MadisonMan said...

Permanent reminder of a temporary feeling.

The person who invents a way to easily and permanently erase a tattoo will be a billionaire.

Moxie D. Hoxie said...

I just visited my mom for a few days and she lives in an assisted living facility. I have to wonder what some of those people in the tattoo article will look like when they are in their eighties...

Ruth Anne Adams said...

Tattoos remind you of death.

Ann Althouse said...

@Ruth Anne Thanks for remembering my original favorite post of all time.

Michael K said...

After 25 years of trauma surgery, I have seen a lot of tattoos. They seem more popular in the trauma subset of the population. My favorite was a guy with a devil's head in his right upper quadrant. The devil was sticking his tongue out and a tiny woman was squatting over the tongue. He had a gunshot wound of the liver and I brought the drain out over the tongue and under the woman. I wonder how it looked after he recovered.

bagoh20 said...

I don't quite understand the "no CPR" tattoo.

Does this mean he does not want resuscitated no matter what the situation? Even if he were to be electrocuted or drown, and could be normal afterward? He's wants to die, the first chance he gets? Maybe I'm missing something.

MaggotAtBroad&Wall said...

When I was in the Army I knew a guy who got a tattoo of a tiny roadrunner on the bottom of his big toe. I've been baffled by that ever since (almost 30 years). He said he wanted to experience the "thrill" of getting a tat, but he didn't want it to be in a place where he might be embarrassed by it.

As if it's not embarrassing for a grown man to have an image of a roadrunner on his toe.

ricpic said...

You're horrible and charming,
Not what I want to be, not what I want to see,
But who am I to say what's good display,
When obviously the world wants what's alarming.

cubanbob said...

I have yet to see a woman made more attractive by having a tat. Other than the unique circumstance of a mastectomy patient, i can't imagine why any woman would have one. On men, they simply look stupid. It screams of asshole and moron. Not good for looking for work.

tiger said...

These articles really cause an uproar on Fark with lots of interesting arguments, pro and con.

The best comment I've heard:

'A tattoo is a life-time reminder
of a moment of stupidity'.

ed said...

@ DBQ

"Ha ha...I gave my daughter a version of that when she declared she wanted to get a tattoo in high school. The mental image after I was done was just too icky to consider...so no tattoo."

I still don't understand the "tramp stamp" thing myself. What is sexy about some absurd tattoo on the lower back?

My favorite though has to be the guy who tattoo'd a girl with "insert kung pao chicken here" on her stomach.

lol.

William said...

I see nothing wrong with a Springsteen tattoo. I would. however, caution everyone here to refrain from getting a Justin Bieber tattoo. It's too early to tell if he will continue to function at his present level of awesomeness for the next twenty years. Only icons whose careers have lasted more than twenty years should be tattooed on your body. I, of course, except the Twilight stars from this category.

traditionalguy said...

Tattoos are always marks of ownership.

Some are voluntary marks. All of them are startling and defect looking. They are usually mini or maxi appearance suicides.

They do remind me of the saber scars once so popular among Prussiian Army officers.

Saint Croix said...

All of them are startling and defect looking. They are usually mini or maxi appearance suicides.

I think for many people a tattoo is a fuck you to somebody. A mom, a dad, an ex. I do think a lot of tats come out of pain. And in some cases it's an attempt to find beauty out of pain.

Saint Croix said...

Not good for looking for work.

They're even worse if you're thinking of robbing somebody.

"He had a Springstein on his arm."

"Oh yeah, I know that guy. I'll go arrest him right now."

Saint Croix said...

Now I'm considering getting an Obama tattoo on my ass. His mouth would be where the shit comes out. But that probably wouldn't work. I can see arguments with intolerant girlfriends.

"You've got a man's mouth on your ass!"

"It's political."

Those conversations would get worse twenty years from now, when nobody knows who Obama is. It would be like having Millard Fillmore on my ass.

Plus I would make bad jokes about my ass tattoo. "Kiss my Obama," I would say, and nobody would get it.

I would have trouble holding down a job. I would be unemployed, homeless, wandering the streets, lost and alone. "Fucker!" I would say, clutching my brown bag, and little old ladies would cross the street to avoid me. "He's still on my ass!"

Tari said...

I will have to come back to these pictures in a few years: I think they will be very useful for scaring the day lights out of the boys before they leave for college (and those drunken decisions made with friends at 3am).

None of that applies, of course, to Vinnie, who seems like an awesome guy. A friend of mine has something similar - the tattoos were just part of all the reconstructive surgery she had after a double mastectomy at 41 - and 10 years later she's so glad she went through all that extra "work". Kudos to Vinnie and the people who helped my dear friend. I'm much more likely to consider that art than any of this other stuff.

Astro said...

I don't have a tat, though I've known some people with them - small ones, not the fully ink body suits.
I don't understand the hatred or disgust some people have for tattooed bodies. Or for the money spent. So the tats sag with age? Duh.

Some people golf. I don't get that. Why do they spend so much time and so much money - sometimes thousands or tens of thousands of dollars - chasing a small white ball around? With nothing to show for it, when they're done. They say they like it, but the anger and frustration says otherwise.

I'm convinced that Daylight Saving Time is really just an excuse to let golfers to get a round in, after work.

I think Daylight Saving Time is stupid, but I don't hate golf, or golfers. To each his own.

Ralph L said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ralph L said...

Desmond Morris claims that clear, unblemished skin is one of the few things considered sexy in all cultures. Some people are trying to prove him wrong, but how drunk or high do you have to be to think a neck or facial tattoo is a good idea?

wv - of oreo po
a day late

Mr. Forward said...

I've been considering a tattoo on my forehead that says "This Space For Rent".

Rusty said...

Just remember "Rusty's rules of body enhancement."


"Things like tatoos and spandex are look really good on about 2% of the population. The odds are really good that you aren't in that 2%".

This holds true for everything except boobies. enhanced boobie are always a nice idea. When in doubt..............go big.

DrSquid said...

When I finished aircrew training at Pax River in '74, my fellow trainees and I threw ourselves a big bash (beer, dancing girls, other features not allowed in the new Navy). On the regretful next morning I looked in the mirror and found a ring pierced into my left ear. With great trepidation I checked myself all over, fearful of finding a tattoo. None were there, as far as I could see anyway. The ear ring did nto see another dawn.

Bryan C said...

I see a lot of 18-20 year olds at my job, and visible tattoos are very, very common now. I don't have any myself, and I'm not likely to get one, but I think a well-done tattoo can be attractive. Though I tend to favor the old-school designs myself, rather than the modern photorealistic style. And I appreciate consistency, not a messy jumble of random styles and placements.

"I have to wonder what some of those people in the tattoo article will look like when they are in their eighties."

They'll look wrinkled, saggy, and old. But doesn't everyone?

prairie wind said...

Not a fan of tattoos but have to admit that I was really taken with Donald Driver's tattoos when I saw him on Dancing with the Stars. They were beautiful and accentuated his physique. That's a specific instance, though, in a situation where bodies are expected to be decorated (costumes, makeup) to enhance the dance.

The blonde in #15 stood out. No visible tattoos. I'm sure she has something horrifying where I can't see it but in this photo, she was a breath of fresh air.

Tarzan said...

I can understand the thrill of getting a tattoo, to some degree at least. "Hey! Check it out. I did it!"

But the thrill of actually living with one from that point on? Not for me.