Customizing the Body (PDF file) - Print My Tattoo

33 Introduction
is presented as resulting in original and singular works rather
than simply reproducing a mass of replicas of limited economic
value.
The development of a body of knowledgeable clients is a fourth
step in the process of artistic legitimation. These collectors-individuals
and institutions-are intimately familiar with the product
conventions that differentiate inferior items from those that display
exceptional quality. They also have the economic resources
necessary to commission and acquire the most exemplary products
from the most skilled producers. Further. the chances of
achieving artistic sanction are enhanced if the products are displayed
in museums and galleries. the settings in which "real" art
traditionally has been isolated from the ordinary, mass-produced.
and aesthetically inferior objects of the everyday world. Finally.
the creators. the medium in which they work. the production
process itself. and the resultant product should be the focus of
"serious"-usually academic-discussion. When the "candidate"
medium comes to be the object of critical appraisal in academic
conferences and influential communication organs within the art
world. unique styles are differentiated. reputations are generated.
evaluative conventions are refined. and inclusionary rationales
are constructed. Abstracted academic discussion indicates the
significance of the product (why else would academics spend time
talking about it?) and helps to situate it within the legitimating
boundaries that enclose artistic work (see Christopherson. 1974a,
1974b; Rosenblum. 1978; Kealy. 1979; Schwartz. 1986; Neapolitan.
1986).
The contemporary art world. which has "allowed"-although
not without considerable conflict-the inclusion of such non-traditional
products as conceptual art (Meyer. 1972). art based on
the mass-produced materials of popular culture (Amaya, 1972),
computer-generated images (Prueitt, 1984), "postal" art (Fish,
1986), and Dadaist satire (Richter, 1965), is ripe for the acceptance
of fine art tattOOing.
Lead by an increasingly influential group of practitioners, the
isolated subcultural world of tattooing is laying siege to the walls
surrounding the realm of institutional art. These "creative barbarians"
typically have had formal academic training in art, have