Lovers want tattoos recognized as art
Lovers want tattoos recognized as art
Leo Wahyudi S, Contributor, Jakarta
When I was in high school, I used to temporarily tattoo my
girlfriend's initials on my left hand. My mother didn't like it
at all.
She would get in my face and scream: "Never get a tattoo! You
are not a criminal!"
Since then I have only been able to admire the art of painting
on skin.
Several months ago, I met Mamen. He was getting a small tattoo
of a human skull surrounded by flames on his left arm.
"I love tattoos. Many musicians have tattoos all over their
bodies and they look cool," said Mamen, who is in his early 20s.
He said he could not put the tattoo in a more visible place
because "I'm afraid my Mom will find out".
His statement reminded me of my own fear of my mother.
My mother definitely was not Betty Broadbent, the tattooed
American woman who became the first person to be honored by the
Tattoo Hall of Fame in 1981.
If she was Broadbent -- who received a tattoo body suit from
Charlie Wagner and Joe Van Hart back in 1927 -- she would surely
have let me cover my whole body in ink, swirling across my
shoulders, creeping up the back of my neck and crawling down my
arms and legs, like the members of Motley Crue.
My mother is just one of those people, and there are a lot of
them, who fail to appreciate tattoos as works of art. Her
attitude is strengthened by public opinion in Indonesia, where
tattoos and criminal behavior have become strongly connected in
people's minds.
For 17-year-old student Icha, herself a tattoo lover, it is
time the public changed their opinion.
"People with tattoos are not always criminals," said Icha, who
has a tattoo on her left arm.
Young tattoo artist Boy Charles Misson -- who has tattoos
scattered all over his body -- also criticized the public's
misperception of tattoos.
"It is important for the public to acknowledge that we (people
with tattoos) aren't criminals because we have tattoos," said
Boy, who has an outdoor tattoo parlor in Kemang, South Jakarta.
Boy is just one of a handful of people who have been working
to make tattoos more popular and accepted here. They have
established the Java Tattoo Club, which has members from Jakarta,
Yogyakarta, Semarang, Malang and, funnily enough, Bali.
The club tries to promote the art of tattoos through vivid
body decorations, tattoo-design T-shirts and exhibitions (two
have been held twice in 1999 and 2001 in Yogyakarta).
The popularity of tattoos has been given a big boost thank to
the many celebrities and athletes, both local and foreign, who
have inked their bodies.
In Jakarta, you can get a tattoo at your choice of indoor and
outdoor tattoo parlors.
Ryan -- a young tattoo artist who works in Blok M, South
Jakarta -- is one of dozens of tattoo artists working from
outdoor studios. Other outdoor studios are scattered around Senen
in Central Jakarta, and Kota in West Jakarta.
Both Ryan and Boy say their clients include businessmen, pop
stars, teenagers, police detectives and prostitutes. And they
both agree that they get both financial benefits and recognition
from their work.
Ryan will go to Japan next month for a one-year stay thanks to
an invitation from a Japanese businessman to go to that country
and promote his style of tattoos. Last year, the 27-year-old
spent six months in South Korea doing the same thing.
As for Boy, he and some friends are preparing to open an
indoor tattoo parlor called New Skin later this month on Jl.
Kemang Raya in South Jakarta.
In this modern era, people should be more open-minded about
tattoos, said Icha, criticizing her parents and the teachers at
her elite school in Tangerang for their lack of acceptance.
"Everyone has the right to have personal art such as a
tattoo," she said.
I-box
The history of tattoos
The word "tattoo" comes from the Tahitian word "tatu", meaning
to mark something. Tattooing is the production of patterns on the
face and body by inserting dye under the skin.
The skin is penetrated with a sharp tool. Today colored ink
and an electric needle are the material and instrument of choice.
In recorded history, the earliest tattoos can be found in
Egypt during the time of the construction of the great pyramids.
When the Egyptians expanded their empire, the art of tattooing
spread as well. The civilizations of Crete, Greece, Persia and
Arabia picked up and expanded the art form. Around 2000 B.C.
tattooing spread to China.
Evidence of tattooing was found in burial remains in Siberia
dating from 300 B.C. and Julius Caesar reported that the natives
of Britain were tattooed when he invaded the island in 54 B.C.
The purpose of tattooing has varied from its important role in
the social life of those who practiced it and throughout history
it has appeared in many guises: as a distinguishing mark of
royalty, a symbol of religious devotion, a decoration for bravery
in battle, a sexual lure, a pledge of love, a symbol of group
identification, a sign of individuality, a punishment and a means
of marking and identifying slaves, outcasts and convicts.
The Maoris are world famous for their tattooing. Though they
do not cover as much of the body as many of the South Pacific
people, the Maori developed an unusual style of tattooing.
They took a wood carving technique and applied it to
tattooing. With this, they achieved a unique chiseled design that
ink was then rubbed into.
After the Europeans arrived in the 1700s, they brought metal
to these islands and the Maori began a more conventional style of
puncture tattooing. Amazingly enough the word carving technique
of tattooing can still be seen in many museums around the world,
not just in drawings or photographs, but actually in the skin.
The art of tattooing then became popular and spread throughout
China, India and Japan. The practice was then spread across the
seas by early explorers during the 16th century to the distant
continent of Europe.
Today the practice is popular with a vast cross section of the
population. Within the United States tattoos can be found on
individuals ranging from gang members to fashion models.
From various sources