Customizing the Body (PDF file) - Print My Tattoo

81 The Tattooist
does it hurtT "Come on, tell me the truth. Does it really
hurtT So I tell them it does. I'm not going to bullshit people. I
tell them it hurts. How much does it hurt? Well, how much do
you hurt? I say, "You tell me what pain feels like." My personal
feeling is that some places it hurts worse than others but it is
mostly an irritating kind of feeling, a burning kind of a
sensation. It burns. How much does it burn? I don't know.
How do you feel burning? It's back to the same thing again, a
little circle. So I tell them, "Look, here's the situation. If you
want the tattoo I'm going to give you my honest opinion. It
doesn't hurt that much that you wouldn't be able to take it. It
hurts and some places will probably push you to the test. Youl1
have to deal with it. But if you really want it then youl1 do it." I
say, "If you have any second thoughts then don't even come in.
Don't even bother to try it."
Tattooists, who see themselves as being motivated by more than
commercial interest and feel some responsibility to both tattooing
and the client. maintain that education is a central facet of their
interaction with the customer. They reflect what Griff (1970: 156)
describes as the "compromise role" in his discussion of commercial
artists.
Those who assume the compromise role believe that they are
instruments of the clients; however, they conceive of
themselves as active, rather than passive agents. In carrying
out this conception of themselves, they translate the demands
of the client but at the same time attempt to persuade him to
accept innovations, specifically the interjection of fine-arts
symbols into their illustrations. Thus, many feel that they are
involved in a crusade for better art. They believe that by raising
the standards of their clients' art, they are at the same time
raising the level of taste of the public.
A tattooist who predominantly did custom work stressed the importance
of this educational, status-enhancing, client-oriented
approach to in-shop interaction.
If the decision to get a tattoo is made on an intelligent or
intellectual level by the public . . . if the public is uninformed