Customizing the Body (PDF file) - Print My Tattoo

26 Introduction
than the homogeneous. formulaic. and tradition-bound corpus of
work that, until only recently. has typified contemporary tattooing?
The majority of professional tattooists have consistently emphasized
a commercial. rather than creative. occupational orientation.
The desire to maximize profit reqUired the tattooist to cede
conSiderable control over his or her worklife and to attend primarily
to the demands of the customer (cr.. Sinha. 1979; Rosenblum.
1978: 63-86; Faulkner. 1983: 148-167). The typical clientele. in
turn. had only limited experience with tattooing and defined the
indelible images as having limited functional utility-principally.
decoration and/or symbolization of personal association or selfidentification.
Tattoo customers most commonly chose to purchase
images that were like those carried by friends. family
members. or other primary associates. The tattooist was. in other
words. subjected to limited market demands and felt little commercial
pressure to engage in innovative or educational interactions
with the client.
In addition to the dominant economic orientation of the producer
and the narrow demands of a stylistically conservative clientele.
tattooing has been highly formulaic due to the structural
centrality of and power exercised by a few tattoo supply firms.
Commonly run by ex-tattooists. these organizations prOVide most
tattooists with the eqUipment and materials (pigments. standard
design sheets. needles. acetate sheets for making templates. and
so forth) they need to do business. Of equal importance is the fact
that tattoo eqUipment suppliers have been (and continue to be)
at the center of the organizational communications structure.
Supply firms publish newsletters which contain interviews. photos
of tattoos. and general gOSSip. They also are responsible for
organizing yearly conventions attended by tattooists and tattoo
enthusiasts. The work on display in the newsletters and at the
conventions has continued to be overwhelmingly formulaic. although
the technical quality varies considerably. (See Eldridge.
1986. for a history of tattoo suppliers.) Most tattooists and tattooees.
therefore. have. until recently. had limited exposure to stylistic
diversity; and evaluations of tattoo quality have emphasized
the apparent technical skill rather than the innovativeness of de­
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