A traditional practice whereby pigment is introduced under the skin to form permanent
designs for decorative or religious purposes, or as a means of identification. A tattoo
often functions as an expressive form, people choosing specific designs to express
loyalty, love, hate, mortality, and humor.
Tattooing in the Western world went through cycles of popularity, decline, and
revival. The Picts, or “the painted ones,” Teutons, Gauls, Scots, and Brits were tattooed.
However, since the Bible forbids it (Leviticus 19:28), tattooing declined as Christianity
spread through Europe. Subsequently, when European explorers in the 16th to 18th
centuries discovered, and eventually brought back and exhibited, tattooed natives of
North America and the South Seas, the practice was considered exotic; and in the late
1700s the Tahitian word tatau was adopted. European sailors who voyaged to the South
Seas returned with tattoos as souvenirs of their journeys, and tattooing became an
established tradition among sailors.
The beginnings of tattooing in the United States coincided with the beginnings of the
American traveling circus. From the 1850s to the 1930s, heavily tattooed sideshow freaks
were a popular attraction; also, itinerant tattooists traveled with the circuses.
At the turn of the 20th century, New York was a busy port catering to sailors, and
Chatham Square became a center of tattooing. It was there that the electric tattoo “gun”
was invented by Samuel O’Reilly and developed by his student Charlie Wagner. Besides
a network of master tattooists, there was also an abundance of unskilled amateurs. Lewis
Alberts saw much poor work done on, and by, shipmates when he served in the Spanish
American War. When Alberts returned to the United States, he established himself in
Chatham Square as tattooist “Lew the Jew” and endeavored to raise the level of artistry.
His background as a wallpaper designer inspired him to distribute sheets of popular tattoo
designs that tattooists could copy. Tattoo parlors, both in the United States and overseas,
displayed Alberts’ designs on their walls. Such wall charts, known as “flash,” account for
the widespread diffusion of tattoo designs; another factor in diffusion is the transience of
many tattooees.
Although tattooing is practiced by a relatively small segment of the American
population, tattoos record and reflect national experience. The first professional tattooist
in the United States did a booming business during the Civil War, tattooing military
emblems on both Yankee and Rebel soldiers. Tattooing flourished in both American and
European navies during the World Wars, when military and national emblems and
patriotic slogans became part of the standard flash. Characters from American popular
culture like Popeye, Mickey Mouse, and Betty Boop entered circulation as well.
Although in the 1880s and again in the 1920s tattooing enjoyed short-lived popularity
among American and European aristocracies, the art was generally associated with
drunken sailors, circus freaks, and members of motorcycle gangs. After World War II, it
became unfashionable, but in the late 1960s interest in tattooing was revived by hippies
and others active in the peace movement. The West Coast became the new center of
tattoo. Designs such as peace signs, astrological signs, and marijuana leaves reflected the
spirit of the times. Singing stars like Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, and Cher got tattooed and
subsequently so did many of their fans.
Until the 1970s, most people had gotten tattooed because it was a tradition of a group
to which they belonged. Since the mid-1970s, an increasing number of unaffiliated
individuals have been getting tattooed. In the 1980s, a new term for tattoo—“body art”—
gained some currency. In the 1990s, standard flash is still the norm, but there is a trend
toward personalized or even custom-made designs; Japanese and neotribal designs are
increasingly popular as well. Also, although most tattooists apprentice with a master
tattooist in order to learn the craft, traditionally practicing their skills by tattooing
grapefruit, a small number of tattooists in the late 1900s are graduates of art school who
have chosen the tattoo as their medium.
Ilana Harlow
References
Fried, Fred, and Mary Fried. 1978. Tattoos, In America’s Forgotten Folk Arts. New York:
Pantheon.
Governar, Alan. 1985. Tattooing in Texas. In Folk Art in Texas, ed. Francis Abernathy. Dallas:
Southern Methodist University Press.
Hambley, W.D. [1925] 1974. The History of Tattooing and Its Significance. London: H.F. and
G.Witherby.
Rubin, Arnold. 1988. Marks of Civilization: Artistic Transformation of the Body. Los Angeles:
University of California Press.
Sanders, Clinton. 1989. Customizing the Body: The Art and Culture of Tattooing. Philadelphia:
Temple University Press.
St. Clair, Leonard. 1981. Stoney Knows How: Life as a Tattoo Artist. Lexington: University Press
of Kentucky.