Where did tattooing come from?
1770→Tattooing thrived in Japan. At first, tattoos were used to mark criminals. First offenses were marked with a line across the forehead. A second crime was marked by adding an arch. A third offense was marked by another line. Later in time, the Japanese escalated the tattoo to an aesthetic art form. Only royalty were allowed to wear ornate clothing. As a result of this, the middle class adorned themselves with elaborate full body tattoos.
1891→ The first electric tattooing machine was introduced. It was based on Edison's electric pen which punctured paper with a needle point. The basic design with moving coils, a tube and a needle bar, are the components of today's tattoo gun. The electric tattoo machine allowed anyone to obtain a reasonably priced, and readily available tattoo. Because any average person could get a tattoo at their own leisure, the upper class weren't interested in getting one. 1990→While tattooing was declining in popularity across the country, in Chatham Square in flourished. Husbands tattooed their wives with their best work. They played the role of walking advertisements for their husbands' work. At this time, cosmetic tattooing became popular, blush for cheeks, colored lips, and eyeliner. With world war I, the flash art images changed to those of bravery and wartime icons. 1920→With prohibition and then the depression, Chatham Square lost its appeal. The center for tattoo art moved to Coney Island. Across the country, tattooists opened shops in areas that would support them, namely cities with military bases close by, particularly naval bases. Tattoos were know as travel markers. You could tell where a person had been by their tattoos. 1930→By the turn of the century, tattooing had lost a great deal of credibility. Tattooists worked in the sleazier sections of town. Heavily tattooed people traveled with circuses and "freak shows." The cultural view of tattooing was so poor for most of the century that tattooing went underground. Few were accepted into the secret society of artists and there were no schools to study the craft. 1945→After world war II, tattoos became further denigrated by their associations with Marlon Brando type bikers and Juvenile delinquents. Tattooing had little respect in American culture. Now→Today, tattooing is making a strong comeback. It is more popular and accepted than it has ever been. All classes of people seek the best tattoo artists. This rise in popularity has placed tattooists in the category of "fine artist". The tattooist has garnered a respect not seen for over 100 years. Current artists combine the tradition of tattooing with their personal style creating unique and phenomenal body art. With the addition of new inks, tattooing has certainly reached a new plateau. "A Brief History of Tattoos." A Brief History of Tattoos. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. |