Customizing the Body (PDF file) - Print My Tattoo

160 Conclusion
ticipants with conventional academic credentials met to present
papers on tattooing and other modes of decorative body alteration
(see the papers in Rubin. 1988). Analyses of tattooing also have
been published in established art journals (see Tucker. 1981;
Sanders, 1986). These articles typically focus on exemplary practitioners
and emphasize their technical skill. innovative styles.
and experience with other, more conventionally accepted. artistic
media.
The recent spate of expensive "coffee-table" books presenting
photographs of some of the most striking examples of contemporary
western and Japanese tattooing provides another outlet for
serious critical discussions. The written material in these works
is. for the most part. produced by authors with academic credentials
and tends' to focus on the historical. anthropological. and
aesthetic context of the displayed work (see Wroblewski. 1987;
Rondinella. 1985; Fellman. 1986; Richter. 1985). Finally. a few
specialized tattoo journals have appeared in recent years that employ
the writing style favored by academics and contain articles by
social scientists. physicians, folklorists. and influential tattoo artists.
Tattoottme. The Tattoo Htstorian, and The Tattoo Advocate
are examples of this type of serious tattoo publication.
A primary thrust of much of the legitimating discussion found
in general interest magazines. academic publications. catalogues
accompanying tattoo exhibitions. and published materials directed
at members of the tattoo community is on the changing
characteristics of the new tattooee. The new tattoo client is consistently
presented as being drawn from the middle and uppermiddle
class-generally affluent, well educated. and involved in
professional and managerial occupations (see. for example. Green.
1982; Tucker. 1976). While this focus on the changing social
background of the contemporary tattoo consumer is somewhat
overblown and often part of a more-or-Iess consciously constructed
promotional strategy. it does reflect a general trend that
has been accelerating for almost two decades. A Significant
amount of diffusion of interest in and purchasing of tattooing is
occurring across class lines. The cooptive assimilation by elites of
cultural phenomena such as jazz (Bjorn. 1981) and film (MukeIji.
1978) that were originally enjoyed by low status groups resulted in