How Are Tattoos Art? Part II

In the previous post, I mentioned how the possibilities are virtually endless. You have all the colors of the rainbow to choose from plus a few more, your image itself is unique based on details you add to it, and placements for your tattoo are certainly not limited unless you’re getting a specific body part tattooed or you have a size restraint. Just as tattoos are endless in their possibilities, so it art. There are several forms of art such as paintning, drawing, ceramics, sculpture, and even fabrics. You could even combine all of them together to make a piece of art your own. In the art world, a spectator may notice two styles right away; realistic/representative and abstract/non-representational art. Realism is just like it sounds: it represents reality. Abstract art is exactly the opposite because it does not represent anything in reality.

Abstract (by Jackson Pollock)

Realism (by James Neil Hollingsworth) 

 Tattoos can be the same way. You can see a majority of  tattoos as representational. Cartoon-type tattoos are still representing reality but in a different style. Abstract tattoos are less common but have a very interesting effect. Although tattooing may seem like a limited artform, it may can be pretty successful at representing art or images done in a painterly way or made to look textural. The image may seem non-objective but it is representing reality in that the brush strokes are real, etc.

These two images may look like they got into paint fights BUT they are actually tattoos!!

These are both by the same artist, Amanda Wachob, who does amazing abstract and realistic tattoo art.

            Another way tattoos are art on skin is that they have certain line qualities and shading involved. In many illustrations the outlining is purposefully noticeable and colors are flat (void of shading.) Several tattoos are done this way. Whenever shading becomes involved, the image completely changes. Instead of looking like a flat drawing, the artwork/tattoo becomes more three-dimensional and more representational. Some people prefer one style, others choose each tattoo differently and may have each type. Overall, it depends on each person’s preference.

The image on the left, Betty Boop, looks flat and just colored in with no shading to give it depth.

The image on the right has extreme shading and color changes to make it look very three-dimensional.