This chapter contains sections titled: A New Tattoo Space The Savage and Civilization Nothing Ladylike About Being Tattooed? Ornaments, Crimes, and the Creation of a Feminine Tattoo Space From Tattoos to Graffiti Skinscape Recuperating the Political Body.

This article suggests that a parallel exists between the practice of tattooing and the injection of heroin as both activities are represented in a body of literature here called `Junk Narratives'. These texts include William Burroughs' Junky, Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting, Jerry Stahl's Permanent Midnight and David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest. In these books, act and meaning, as in life, are inseparable: tattoos can be interpreted, but that they are tattoos, that they have been indelibly inscribed into the flesh, is also (...) stressed. In these books tattoos are represented as, in addition to whatever specific interpretive significance can be attached to them, visible markers of the hatred junkies feel for their own bodies. It will be suggested throughout the article that the body in these texts is always a source of shame and horror. Tattoos in these books do not decorate a body, rather they visibly emphasize its pathetic corporeality: no flesh, no image. The central dynamic of these texts is toward the transcendence of the body by the injection of heroin, a use of the needle which mimics the practice of tattooing and stresses the subservient, inessential nature of the body. (shrink)

This article examines the complex relationship between power and the physical and social practices of tattooing in contemporary United States. Briefly tracing the history of tattooing from ancient Greece to contemporary America, I highlight the temporal and geographical changes in the practices and perceptions of tattooing. In addition to creating a historical narrative, I situate the sociocultural practice of tattooing the body for the tattooist and the `tattooee'. This investigation into body inscription serves as a means to elucidate the contemporary (...) practice of tattooing as one that is simultaneously physical and social, with multiple levels of constructed meaning. Finally, I will explore how tattooing, as a form of body modification, can be analyzed as a form of resistance to or a symptom of a culture that has commodified the body. (shrink)

Stephen Davies offers a compelling account of adornment as a form of aesthetic enhancement that aims either to intensify or to contribute to beauty and sublimit.

This chapter contains sections titled: Nice Tattoo What is Art? Art World Theory: Art is Participation in the Art World Formalism: Art is the Result of Formal Properties Working Together Expressionism: Art Elicits an Emotional Response from the Viewer What Do These Theories Accomplish for Tattoos? Tattoos as Performance Art The Human Canvas Tattoos, Mortality, and Deep Meaning.

This chapter contains sections titled: Questions of Identity1 Personal Identity Across Time Somatic and Psychological Accounts Tattoos and the Somatic Account Narrative Identity Tattoos of Anchors … and Anything Else as Anchors When You Get a Tattoo, You Tattoo You.

PurposeThis study aims to explore the ethical and social issues of tattoo recognition technology and tattoo similarity detection technology, which are expected to be increasingly used by state and local police departments and law enforcement agencies.Design/methodology/approachThe paper investigates the new ethical concerns raised by tattoo-based biometrics on a comparative basis with face-recognition biometrics.FindingsTRT raises much more ethically sensitive issues than face recognition, because tattoos are meaningful biometric traits, and tattoo identification is tantamount to the identification of (...) many more personal features that normally would have remained invisible. TSDT’s assumption that classifying people in virtue of their visible features is useful to foretell their attitudes and behaviours is dangerously similar to racist thought.Practical implicationsThe findings hope to promote an active debate on the ethical and social aspects of tattoo-based biometrics before it is intensely implemented by law enforcement agencies.Social implicationsTattooed individuals – inasmuch as they are more controlled and monitored – are negatively discriminated in comparison to un-tattooed individuals. As tattooing is not uniformly distributed among population, many demographic groups like African–Americans will be overrepresented in tattoos databases used by TRT and TSDT, thus being affected by disproportionately higher risk to be found as a match for a given suspect.Originality/valueTRT and TSDT represent one of the new frontiers of biometrics. The ethical and social issues raised by TRT and TSDT are currently unexplored. (shrink)

Since ancient times, tattoos were a form of expressing spiritual trends or a life style. Our country does not have a very complex culture regarding tattoos or persons who practice this kind of art and thus for their bearers the majority of existing tattoos lack a special meaning. In forensic science, by conducting physical, traumatic expertise or by postponing the punishment, we find, a lot of times, persons in detention for different criminal acts, and the examination of these is necessary. (...) According to this retrospective study, we noticed an increased frequency of biblical tattoos in the case of convicts from the prisons that belong to Forensic Institute of Medicine from Cluj. We will try to find explanations in the forensic literature for the marks they have and if these have a special meaning for them, and also for the circumstances in which these were made. We will also present the church’s point of view regarding these practices. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Not Fade Away The Present Time of Things Past Memory as Presently Constructed Constantly being Imbued with New, Present Meanings.

This chapter contains sections titled: Punctured History Cultural Meaning Individual Meaning Self‐Expression and Double Skin Inescapable Seriousness.

In this paper I make the case that at least some tattoos are artworks. I go on to propose a definition of tattoo art that distinguishes it from other uses of tattooing, and from other forms of visual art. I argue that tattoo art is an art form that creates artworks in living skin, and that the living body is an essential component of and contributor to the artwork. This gives rise to several other distinctive features of (...) class='Hi'>tattoo art, in particular that it reconfigures in interesting ways the relationships between artist, artworks, and viewers. Like street art, tattoo art by its nature resists inclusion in and valuation through art institutions such as galleries and museums. (shrink)

Tattoos are widely regarded as morally neutral, and the decision to have them as carrying no ethical implications. The aim of this paper is to question this assumption. I argue that decisions to have tattoos involve risks that are not merely prudential—they are normative. The argument starts with a thesis that the power we presently have over our lives is constrained by the need to respect our future selves. If we make a discretionary choice that disregards our future interests and (...) preferences, then, under certain circumstances, we can be morally to blame. I argue that certain decisions to get tattoos fit this description. Therefore, getting some tattoos makes us blameworthy. (shrink)

The origins of tattooing are very ancient, and the modern fascination with the practice serves to remind us that it has been an enduring fixture in human history. Its functions are many and often overlap, but the particular focus here is on the tattoo as an aspect of punishment. Comparative evidence, however, is welcomed whenever it proves useful. This article first marshals and examines the late antique literary evidence extending from North Africa in the third century to Constantinople in (...) the ninth. Then that evidence is put in its legal context. From at least the time of Augustus, the penal tattoo, which was generally placed on the face or forehead, had been associated with degradation. Such remained the case in late antiquity, and it also becomes clear that the tattoo accompanied a sentence of exile and hard labor, usually in mines or quarries. The deeper meaning of the tattoo and its placement on the forehead is considered in the light of modern understandings. There follows a discussion of the actual form taken by the tattoo, which normally displayed the name of the crime, the name of the emperor, or the name of the punishment. Based on the available data, the last option appears to have been the most common penal tattoo in this period. Finally, the article hypothesizes that the Christians effected a transformation of the tattoo and subverted its original intent, so that, rather than being a sign of punishment, it became a sign of glory in which one could take pride. Thus the penal function, in some settings at least, was overtaken by a primarily religious one. (shrink)

Prior interpretations of the tattoos of nonhuman animals etched upon the preserved human bodies from the Pazyryk archaeological culture of Inner Asia have focused on solely human-generated meanings. This article utilizes an ethnoarchaeological approach to reassess these tattoos, by analogizing the nature and possibilities of human-ridden horse intersubjectivities in the present with those of the past. As enlightened by people who live with horses, including the author, the process of learning to ride can be seen as an interspecies apprenticeship process, (...) where both humans and horses pass along social knowledge as thoughtful actors with defined roles. From this perspective, the horse tattoos are presented as polysemic materializations of the bonds between particular Pazyryk horses and people, of blended identities, and of cosmological values related to time, memory, and belonging. The article concludes that exploring smaller-scale human-nonhuman animal interactions in the present allows for fresh interpretations of similar interactions in the past and provides a means for archaeology to move beyond the objectification of animals as sets of resources or symbols. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Dispelling a Confusion ‘You Shall Not Make … Any Marks Upon Yourselves: I Am YHVH’ ‘You Are Not Your Own … Therefore Honor God with Your Body’ ‘We Must Not Injure Our Bodies: This Is the Beginning of Filial Piety’ The Christian Confucian Confusion.

This article examines how tattoos may function as a way to deal with personal trauma. First, I examine a recent theory of how personal trauma cannot be fully experienced; thus, it calls for a return to the event in order to incorporate it into the psyche. Second, I look at how that return, often achieved symbolically, might include the process of acquiring a tattoo. Finally, I turn to various examples, taken from memoirs, film, and an interview, of trauma that (...) has been expressed through tattooed images that turn bodies into memory‐laden texts. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: I Tattoo Myself, Therefore I Will Commit Murder The Mark of Cain Tatau: First Signifier Name Beyond Face Truth Itself, Unread Tattoo Devotion.

This chapter contains sections titled: Uh, Because I Am a Buddhist Impermanence and Permanent Tattoos ‘No Self’ and Body Art as Self‐expression Suffering, the First Truth of Both Buddhism and Getting Tattooed Mindfulness of Ink.

The skin is always and already a serietl of planes which signify race, gender, age and such. Tattooing creates a new surface of potential significance upon the body. Tattooing can call into question concepts of volition in reference to the power to inscribe and define one's subjectivity through one's own skin, and the social defining of the subject. Skin is the involution or event between subject and object, will and cultural inscription, the social and the self. Feminists, particularly corporeal feminists, (...) have attempted to think ways in which the female flesh may be recognized and self-defined without risking essentialism through reification of the meaning of ‘woman's body’. Thinking a tattooed female body thus resonates with some of the risks and benefits feminism has found in theorizing a marginalized body. Using Deleuze, Guattari, Lyotard and other major influences on corporeal feminists, this article explores ways in which significance is sought in skin, and possible configurations of skin and world, which challenge the desire to read the flesh as a legible incarnation of subjectivity. (shrink)

The aims of this study were to present themes in nursing motifs as depicted in tattoos and to describe how it reflects upon nursing in popular culture as well as within professional nursing culture. An archival and cross‐sectional observational study was conducted online to search for images of nursing tattoos that were freely available, by utilizing the netnographic methodology. The 400 images were analyzed in a process that consisted of four analytical steps focusing on metaphors and meanings in the tattoos. (...) The findings present four themes: angels of mercy and domination; hegemonic nursing technology; embodying the corps; and nurses within the belly of the monster. The tattoos serve as a mirror of popular culture and the professional culture of nurses and nursing practice within the context of body art. Body art policy statements have been included in nursing personnel dress code policies. Usually these policies prohibit tattoos that are sexist, symbolize sex or could contribute and reproduce racial oppression. The results show that the tattoos can be interpreted according to several layers of meanings in relation to such policies. We therefore stress that this is an area highly relevant for further analyses in nursing research. (shrink)

ABSTRACT Inspired by the concept used in the “tattoo scene” of blast over, which designates the use of spaces between tattoos to add others, without hiding or disguising the previous ones, we propose an exercise of analysis of an artist’s book, Coração com Estrela-do-mar Dentro [Heart with Starfish Inside] by Filipe Homem Fonseca (2019). The concept emerged from one of the pages of the book to become a target of questions of literary reading, from a pragmatic perspective as well. (...) The proposal will follow a route: enter the text through the book-object that gives an important place to the illustration, by death_by_pinscher, remove it from there and then include it again to make the global reading, in order to also enhance the appeal of the potential young reader to the text. (shrink)

The essential companion to Stieg Larsson's bestselling trilogyand director David Fincher's 2011 film adaptation Stieg Larsson's bestselling Millennium Trilogy—The Girlwith the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, andThe Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest—is aninternational phenomenon. These books express Larsson's lifelongwar against injustice, his ethical beliefs, and his deep concernfor women's rights. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo andPhilosophy probes the compelling philosophical issues behindthe entire trilogy. What philosophies do Lisbeth Salander and Kanthave in common? To (...) catch a criminal, can Lisbeth and Mikael becriminals themselves? Can revenge be ethical? Drawing on some ofhistory's greatest philosophical minds, this book gives freshinsights into Larsson's ingeniously plotted tale of crime andcorruption. Looks at compelling philosophical issues such as a feministreading of Lisbeth Salander, Aristotelian arguments for why we loverevenge, how Kant can explain why so many women sleep with MikaelBlomkvist, and many more Includes a chapter from a colleague of Larsson's—whoworked with him in anti-Nazi activities—that exploresLarsson's philosophical views on skepticism and quotes fromnever-before-seen correspondence with Larsson Offers new insights into the novels' key characters, includingLisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, and investigates the author,Stieg Larsson As engrossing as the quest to free Lisbeth Salander from herpast, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Philosophy isideal reading for anyone interested in unraveling the subtext andexploring the greater issues at work in the story. (shrink)

This article considers current advances in tattooing that are challenging community-held views of authorship and ownership, and the need to address this tension. The key challenge is from AI-generated artworks being used as tattoo designs, but the authorial role of the tattooist is also challenged by body art projects such as tattoo collection. Legal clarity for tattooing is lacking, and in addressing this, this article advocates for an open, community-based form of shared copyright ownership and authorship for projects (...) as tattoo collecting, drawing on Dusollier’s and Mendis’ work. This article contributes to both copyright and cultural heritage legal scholarship, and to tattooing scholarship and the tattooing community. AI-generated art being tattooed on people has not been explored in the literature to date, and this article fills this gap. Furthermore, this article contributes a pilot study of the tattoo community’s views on AI-generated tattoos, which is currently lacking from the scholarly debate on AI-generated art. This article argues that the debate within the tattoo community about AI-generated art being used in tattoos needs to be addressed within the community through agreed extra-legal norms, which may well depart from how copyright law decides to approach AI-generated art globally. This article also asserts that AI should _not_ be regarded as the “author” of tattoo works in the traditional copyright sense, as only a human tattooist can draw from a number of cultural, textual, audiovisual and visual, cultural folklore, history and mythical references in creating their tattoo designs, as well as drawing on the client’s personal stories. This article explores the following: (i) an understanding of tattooing as an artform; (ii) tattoos in UK copyright law; (iii) an exploration of the authorial role of the tattooist within tattooing; (iv) the authorial role of the tattooist within tattoo collecting; (v) AI-generated tattoos—perspectives from the tattoo community, through a pilot study of YouTube videos and viewer comments about this; and (vi) a consideration of whether copyright legal reform is the solution for the tattooing community. (shrink)

The article takes up the novel Sweet Rolls in a Tattoo by a contemporary Slovak writer, Zuska Kepplová, in order to interrogate the issues of migration, nomadism, travel and mobility in the post-Schengen New Europe. This novel, offering a narrative of transcultural mobility, consists of several interconnected stories of young people moving from the post-socialist Europe in order to study, find work, or merely experience adventure in major European cities such as London or Paris. Unlike previous generations, the nomads (...) of New Europe enjoy freedom to travel, but this unprecedented condition requires negotiating new social contracts, even searching for a new language for their new transnational and transcultural experience. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: The Belief in Jesus Christ, and Other Religious Beliefs and Disbeliefs Tattoos, Tea, and Testing Faith Unmoved Mover and Uncaused Cause Interaction of the Supernatural and the Natural The ‘Three Ms’ Meaning Morality.

This chapter contains sections titled: Of Ouija Boards and Bar Owners1 Bad Reasons for Condemning Tattoos Some Moral Compliments My Complaint Traditional Virtue Ethics Virtue Ethics and Tattoos Tough Tattoos … What Lies Beneath.

This essay offers an overview of the reasons why tattoos are philosophically interesting. Considered here will be a partial survey of potential areas of philosophical interest with respect to tattoos, fortified by a little historical context. Claims about the ethical significance of tattoos and about the significance of tattoos for self-expression and as expressions of identity will be canvassed in the first two sections, as will questions about what they express or signify, how they might do so, and whose expression (...) we might take it to be. The final sections will address the contention that at least some tattoos are art and will raise various considerations about their closest analogs as well as their authorship. Although it will be argued that analogs can be found between tattoos and works recognized as art, it will also be maintained that tattoos raise unique aesthetic issues for consideration. (shrink)

The impact of the Holocaust on the descendants of survivors and the ways in which they embrace, embody and memorialise their family histories is the subject of this paper. The paper explores intergenerational storytelling and silences about the Holocaust through the lens of the number that was tattooed on the bodies of inmates in the Auschwitz complex and has been replicated on the bodies of some survivor descendants. The number has become a symbol of the crimes of the Holocaust though (...) its meaning has changed during different periods of Holocaust remembrance. Using the genealogy of the tattoo, this paper explores its meaning in relation to private and public memorialisation for the descendants of survivors living in Israel who have replicated the number on their own body. An earlier version of this paper was presented in December 2020 at La Trobe University’s Agnes Heller Annual Sociology Lecture. (shrink)

From the time of British colonial settlement, innumerable taonga have been appropriated from the indigenous Māori population of Aotearoa/New Zealand, from cloaks, weapons, carvings and musical instruments to the practices and products of tā moko. This article focuses on the topic of cultural appropriation, homing in on a recent legal case, Whitmill v. Warner Bros., in which an artist sued Warner Bros. in a US court for pirating a ‘ Māori-inspired’ tattoo created for Mike Tyson, so as to tease (...) out the conflicts between intellectual property laws and norms on one hand, and international frameworks for human and cultural rights on the other. It examines the implications of the case for tā moko as an indigenous artistic tradition, and the tension between human/artistic and cultural rights, before discussing potential remedial strategies, drawing on the findings of the Wai 262 report into claims concerning New Zealand law and policy affecting Māori culture and identity. Theoretically, it employs Manuel DeLanda’s assemblage theory as a framework for analysis, the benefit of DeLanda’s work being that it provides a novel approach circumventing the usual ontological terms of intellectual property laws and norms, which tend towards a kind of methodological individualism or micro-reductionism. (shrink)

In this paper, we first investigate a bit of feminist and hermeneutical aesthetics. Building upon these theories, we expand the discussion of art to include the fleshy canvas.We argue that a feminist philosophy of art suggests a sound theoretical framework by which one can maintain that skin art is just that – art. In its contemporary practice, tattooing has become a new form of art, and feminist theory provides context for interpretation. The tattooed body may agitate conventional conceptions of fine (...) art – but art evolves, and history makes this much clear. Definitions of art tend to develop, as does artistic practice. Artistic innovations subvert what is old and stale within the institutional art world, while art theory empowers that subversion and provides a context for the appreciation of art. (shrink)