Customizing the Body (PDF file) - Print My Tattoo

168 Epilogue 2008
scale work easier to accomplish, easier to endure, and even less
expensive, as artists who are in high demand often charge by the
hour. The major pioneers in this style of tattooing are Filip Leu in
Lausanne, Switzerland; Mick Tattoo in Zurich, Switzerland; Luke
Atkinson in Stuttgart, Germany; and Tin Tin in Paris.
As these movements have developed along parallel lines, their
eventual merger was almost inevitable. This merger is currently
happening in American custom tattooing where a variety of artists
are now using the magnums to create works in the large scale associated
with Japanese work that incorporate decidedly American
imagery such as scenes from American horror movies and the
fantasy paintings of Frank Frazetta. As often happens with new
movements in tattoo art, some are wondering how well the boldness
of the colors and subtlety of the designs will hold up over
time.
The tattoo world is constituted by more than practitioners,
equipment, and styles. Tattoo clients are an essential component.
The tattooists presented in the first edition of Customizing the
Body spoke enthusiastically about the diffusion of tattooing and
the increasing diversity of their clientele. Recent discussions (for
example, Kang and Jones, 2007) continue to stress that doctors,
lawyers, priests, housewives, and university professors are acquiring
tattoos. While the increased popularity of tattooing is
clear, the decreased stigma associated with wearing a tattoo has
meant that people are more willing to display their tattoos in
public. This era, then, is marked as much by the increased visibility
of tattoos, as by their increased prevalence.
Tattoo Collectors
The most striking change in how people acquire and wear tattoos
comes from the confluence of increased artistic standards
and abilities among tattooers and tattoo artists, increased prevalence
of tattoo shops and studios, and the decreased intensity of
the stigma associated with visible tattoos. These changes are seen
in the growing number of “collectors” in the tattoo world. While it
is difficult to say with any precision how much more prevalent
collectors now are among the ranks of the tattooed, one thing is
almost certain: the time, energy, skin, and money people invest in
getting tattooed have increased markedly over the last ten to fifteen
years.