Tattoo News Review … and contest

Tattoo News Review … and contest

Time Life photo of old school tattoos.

The tattoo news today is brought to you by people who distract Marisa by posting pictures from her high school geek years on facebook for all to mock. And no, I will not provide a link. This is because I was a proud owner of a square afro upon grad photo time.

I also spent waaaaaay too much time going through the Time Life/ Google Image collaboration, which is amazing. I naturally did a key word search for “tattoo” that lead to these images.

Then clicking on select images from that pool led to different sets like tattooing in Japan captured by Alfred Eisenstaedt in 1946, these sailor tattoos from the forties, and decades later, tattoo parlor photos by Ken Hayman. Warning: this will suck up a good chunk of time going through them but they are so worth it.

In the news, not many tattoo headlines dominated but there were an interesting few:

In Singapore, a tattooed man was told to cover-up in a hotel bar, which interestingly caused quite a brouhaha (I love this word). The bouncer at the Living Room bar at the Marriot there approached a 35-year old tattooed man (a bouncer at another club) and gave him a jacket saying that other customers would be “scared” of the tattoos on his arms; the tattoos were of animals, not gang symbols. The guy got pissed and rightfully complained and alerted the press (so that I would have something to blog about). A spokesperson for the bar apologized and said that it, “certainly does not have a policy against tattoos.”

The article goes on to talk about tattoo policies at some European bars like the Oceana nightclub chain in Wales. It quotes the general manager telling Western Mail that “there is nothing wrong with fashionable or discreet visible tattoos … However, those with ‘unsightly tattoos’ should not bother joining the queue at the clubs.”

Ok, I’ll give you something for free if you define what “fashionable” tattoo means. Best answer in the comment section wins something from my parent’s attic or random tattoo swag I carry around. I mean it.

Anyway, the article is of particular interest because, in just a couple of weeks, the first Singapore Tattoo Convention takes place and it will be swarming with the tattooed. The fabulous line-up of artists includes Paul Booth, Bob Tyrrell, Robert Hernandez, and my personal fave Daniel DiMattia of Calypso Tattoo.

In news stateside, Steve Ferguson of NJ’s Ink Spot tattoo is featured in this article for being the “Dr. Phil” oftattooing. He says that he may have been cast a thug for shows like The Sopranos and One Life To Live but he’s a gentleman tattooer with a good ear: “Being able to talk to and help people while I’m tattooing them is absolutely, for me, the best part of my job.”

I’d love to see more tattoo-psychotherapy hybrids popping up, but unfortch, much of society still thinks we’re all deviants. [And I bet a lot of you like that, you dirty birdies!]

For example, a Phoenix tattoo studio talks about dealing extensively with harsh zoning regulations in their county — where pawnshops and massage parlors can open up near churches and schools but not tattoo studios! The artists say that they want to fight for health regulations, not these morality based regs on where to open shop.

Here’s another example of tattoo studios being lumped in with adult businesses, this time in Greenville, SC.

Again, I’m all for regulation but there has to be legitimate health and economic reasons behind them. For example, I agree that 14-year-olds should not be tattooed This North Carolina tattoo studio did and is in big trouble for it. Hell hath no fury like the mother of a freshly tattooed teen.

That fury is often matched by certain communities who find tattoos serious religious sacrilege. Along these lines, here’s a great article on a Muslim woman who came out as a lesbian, traded her abaya for tattoos and piercings, and the consequence of her actions.

In more positive tattoo news …

A Memphis tattoo artist is featured for his Tats for Tots charity drive. In fact, lots of tattoo studios do this throughout the country but it was nice to see this extensive article on the event.

NY’s Rescue Ink makes the news in the UK. I just love those brawny animal lovin softies.

Carl Zimmer’s science tattoo blog features another hot geek, and I love those tattooed geeks just as much as the scary Rescue dudes. [Maybe it's all the spiked eggnog but I gotta love to give.]

Also check out this interesting article on an the tattoo-art trade in Canada. Ottawa artists are trading prints of their drawings for photos of their art as tattoos. Sweet deal!

Finally, in celeb tattoo news …

Fellow Brooklyn girl with the same first name, Marisa Tomei talks tattoos in Premier.com and how she chose them for her character in the new film, The Wrestler. I’m a huge Tomei fan and can’t wait to see the film.

Rihanna pulls down her jeans and shows off Sanskrit lettering for tattooed fan boy. I know, I can’t believe I wrote Rihanna and tattooed fan boy myself.

And ending on the lowest common denominator, a pubic tattoo makes Jezebel’s Top 20 Best Reality Tv Moments of 2008.

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