The Enigmatic Tattoo

The prevalence of tattoos in today's society mainstream. Sport's Stars, actors, teachers, students, all have tattoos. But how often do you see a Tasmanian devil, a favorite sports team, or band logo. Everyone wants to express themselves in different ways. Some of the most unique tattoos I first saw several years ago were tribal tattoos. I had at the time never seen them before and their wild designs intrigued me.

But as time has gone on, the past few years reveals that tribal tattoos are not so uncommon. A tribal band around an upper arm, a neck, or ankle are becoming almost as common as a little blue or red devil. And not only are tattoos of various kinds becoming common but where they are located on the body is becoming an undebated yawn factor. The small of the back, side of the arm, over your heart are all common places. Even more taboo places barely cause us to bat an eye, only cringe slightly in pain.

However, despite all this un-hype about tattoos I propose a challenge. Not that you actually get a tattoo, but rather that you design something that make us wonder what it is we are looking at and why it went where you said it went. Tribal design for example are generally just that, designs. Their meaning is lost in which one looks cooler than the other. The pattern of design is often which is more wicked looking or flashy than the next. I have seen once a post modern, Kandinsky-ish looking tattoo in a magazine that made me wonder however it's meaning was about as deep as the Kandisky paintings, how the music makes you feel. (Don't get me wrong, I love Kandinsky, especially Composition VIII.).

My challenge is this, design a tattoo that makes us think. I suggest you follow the idea of tribal, but if you have something more enigmatic in meaning, by all means go with it. Work out the tattoo on paper, sketch it out, redo it, make a few different versions. And the second part of the exercise is an exercise in imagination. You are to imagine a place on the body, try to keep it clean, that the tattoo might be placed. I know that some people such as "the Enigma" have their body entirely covered in tattoos, so that it's been done before, but imagine someone who is getting their first tattoo, the one you designed. They aren't putting it in any of the obvious places but rather in an obscure special place for a reason known only to them.

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