Modern Tattoo Culture

This week I decided to reflect on the modern era of tattoo culture. Specifically my experiences with modern tattoo culture. From my previous research exploring into the origins of tattooing and the various unique cultures that it originated from my views on modern tattoo culture have definitely changed. Previous to my research I definitely thought of tattoos just as something cool that I enjoy, but that others can definitely have a very strong opinion on. For example I know some people have very strong negative feelings against tattoos, and after all my research now I can’t help but wonder if those feelings are due to residual racist and colonial ideas and structures. It is very evident that unfortunately in Canada colonialism remains in many parts of our society, so some negative attitudes towards tattoos can definitely be traced back to that. However, I do know that some people just find them unattractive aesthetically, or do not wish to experience any pain as some people do find them quite painful.

In my very first blog post I mentioned that I wanted to get a tattoo for the purposes of research for my free inquiry. Well I have officially booked one for June which I am very excited about! The design comes from a local artist and they designed it themselves as part of their flash designs. My close friend and I both really admire this artist’s work and two of their flash designs were similar so my friend and I are each getting one as a sort of matching friendship tattoo. They are the owner of the Brass Iris Studio and I’ve attached their Instagram page below.

https://www.instagram.com/softwitchyboi/

A major part of modern tattoo culture at least in North America, is that social media now plays a huge part. All the artist that I have worked with for my tattoos I found through social media and I booked them all through social media directly with the artist. This has a lot of positives as Artists can reach a wide audience of people, but it can also be a bit frustrating that you have to book through social media for some. I know many people who do not use Instagram and have no desire to and I know others who are uncomfortable booking an appointment using social media. Depending on the artist they may be open to alternatives, but I also see how this is very convenient and beneficial to the artists. I also know other industries are using this method more and more.

Its hard to believe next week will be the last week I make an inquiry blog post. I will do a summative blog post about what I have learned and reflect on it as well. I’ve included an interesting article below that addresses how abuse can be prevalent in the tattoo industry and how many studios are making an effort to create safe and inclusive spaces. The studio mentioned in this article is in Calgary, but an excellent example of a local studio that creates safe spaces for artists and customers would be Tattoo Zoo which is where I have gotten all of my tattoos so far.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/hemlock-tattoo-studio-inclusive-policies-1.6287314