Deborah Fisher
Tattoos:
The transformation from tradition to a trend
Pamela Anderson once said that “Tattoos are like stories…they’re symbolic of the important moments in your life.” But if you haven’t realized that’s just her opinion of how tattoos are viewed today. When tattoos first came about it was a more of a cultural tradition. However, in our present pop culture the art of tattooing has become more of a trend rather than a cultural tradition. First of all the first tattoo was actually created by accident, and there on it was viewed as a cultural work of art. In other cultures tattoos were used to identify people who belong to a certain social group in a culture. Within the last couple of decades, tattoos were just typical form of decoration to one’s body. One might wonder how it transformed in such a way. To how have the art of tattooing impacted on our culture so much that it became a trend rather than a tradition.
The art of tattooing first stated among the Egyptians, Japanese, Polynesians, and Chinese people. It later on then spread to Europe, Middle-East and North America. The word tattoo originated from the Tahitian word “tatau” which means “to get marked.” This first tattoo was actually created by an accident. It occurred by a person who got a cut or scrape on their body and when dirt or clay got into the wound it would leave a mark. Later on these people started doing it as a form of art. The simple design started off as lines, dots and spirals and then on changed and became more artistic as time went by. It’s very interesting to know and understand how to make a tattoo and also different variation to how they in pigment the skin.
Middle Eastern people came up with various ways to make a tattoo. They would purposely cut themselves and make markings on their bodies. Then they would rub the ashes from cremated bodies into their flesh wounds. This act was done as a ritual for the dead. They would do this as a symbol of honor and...