The theme for this one is something that is many things, cultural, naval, penal, used to be more outsider, now getting to be more mainstream, almost standard practice, where it wasn't quite so before.
Tattooing is body modification, where a design is made by inserting ink or dyes into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment.
Tattooing has a long history. Humans have been fascinated with applying permanent designs on their skin for millennia.
If you would like to know a little more about Otzi's tattoos, check out this 'Science for the Curious' link.
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2015/01/30/scientists-mapped-otzi-icemans-61-tattoos/#.XJa5c_xMTcc
Tattoos can be:
- purely decorative (no specific meaning)
- symbolic (specific meaning pertinent to the wearer)
- pictorial (depiction of specific person or item)
- identification (a form of branding)
The word "Tattoo" came into European usage in the 18th Century. It is derived from a Polynesian word "tatau", meaning "to strike". Tattooing is a strong cultural element throughout all of Polynesia.
The Pe'a taditional male tatau of Samoa covers the body from the waist to the knees. It is an extremely painful and culturally ritualised procedure, an ordeal not to be lightly undergone.
http://www.zealandtattoo.co.nz/tattoo-styles/polynesian-tattoo-history-meanings-traditional-designs/
Malu is the traditional female tattoo of Samoa.
This link will take you to a great account of a Samoan woman's experience with Malu. She is sharing her story. I noticed the Malu on a young Samoan student at school a few years back. It was quite stunning and I remember thinking how strong she was to have endured the pain of such a procedure.
If you have looked at the 'Polynesian tattoo history' site you will have noticed Ta Moko is also covered. Ta Moko, the tattooing of the face and body by Maori. In pre-European time, it was the most high ranking Maori who received moko, and those without were considered of lower social rank. Historically, the skin was carved out with chisels, which left it grooved. Men received moko on their faces, buttocks and thighs. Women usually were tattooed on their lips and chins.
Since 1990 there has been a resurgence in Ta Moko due to the strong revival of the language and cultural practice.
This is a lovely documentary about the last of the kuia with moko. It is astounding what ages some of these wonderful old women were.
and this one is about contemporary Maori women who are choosing to have moko. It is about the importance of identity and symbolism.
https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/9k95ey/its-transformative-maori-women-talk-about-their-sacred-chin-tattoos
Sometimes this sort of clothing is not seen as acceptable, especially if the designer doesn't get it right. Here is an example of not getting it right.......
The issue is Nike releasing a set of women's sports gear (2013), with the leggings having the appearance of the Samoan Pe'a, which is reserved for men. Apparently Nike's response was:"These tights feature a distinctive black and white print inspired by tattoos from the southwest Pacific - Fiji, Samoa, New Zealand - with flattering, hand-drawn graphics celebrating the stories culture of Oceana (sic)." A case of cultural misappropriation I think...what do you think?
Cultural appropriation or misappropriation is the adoption of elements of one culture by members of another culture. It becomes controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from disadvantaged minority cultures. If you wish to know more, read the information on this site.
Some designers do get it right....like Issey Miyake, in his seminal "Tattoo" Spring/Summer 1970 collection, which included a dress and bodysuit incorporating Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. Consider, Janis and Jimi were both recently deceased.
The style of Miyake's print design is based on tattoos closely associated with Yakuza, an organised Japanese crime syndicate (the Japanese Mafia). Yakuza male members often have heavily tattooed bodies.
Want to see the ways they branded criminals, go onto this website.
http://www.iromegane.com/japan/culture/history-of-japanese-tattoo/
A cool image expressing Issey's A/W 1989/90 Tattoo Body. What glorious bodysuits.
In his 1992 Spring/Summer collection, Issey designed another Tattoo Body. Isn't it beautiful. Reminiscent of Ozti's patterns.
I like the patterns of the lines.
It's taking me to another cultural tattoo, which is experiencing a revival, especially among the women, The Inuit. The Inuit are the indigenous people inhabiting the Artic regions of Greenland, Canada and Alaska.
They had 2 traditional tattooing methods:-
1) Hand-poking, where a hand held stick tool and image created one dot at a time.
2) Skin-stitching, where a needle was used to sew trails of ink with thread under the skin
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| Image of skin-stitching. I go spare when I see students doing anything like this! |
In skin-stitching the tattoo is sewn into the skin with needle and thread, originally bone and hair, as discovered by the first Europeans who came into the lives of the Inuit in 1700. The thread was covered in a chosen material to create the pigmentation, like black soot from an oil lamp. The thread might have been left in the skin for a couple of days, before being removed ensuring the tattoo pattern would remain.
This website will give you a good insight into what the revitalization of this culture of tattooing means to the Inuit women who are maintaining it.
The skin-stitching of the Inuit makes me think of "scarification", which is the scratching or cutting of designs into the skin. It was/is a traditional method for the negroid people of Africa, because tattooing did not prove to have a prominent effect on their dark skin.
In my 7th blog I refer to a student who took 'scarification' as an inspiration for her Yr. 12 Fab.Tech. project. It was such a cool concept she developed. Take this site and scroll down a bit, you'll come to it. I think it's great.
Now, back to Issey Miyake's first Tattoo Body and the connection with Janis Joplin.
Janis Joplin was one of the first female muso stars who had tattoos. I actually thought she had 'PEARL' tattooed across her heart, but not so. Don't know where I got that idea.
It is this wrist tattoo and a tiny heart.
This is her cool Pearl album cover, the wrist tat is visible, as is the ciggie and the glass of...I always thought Southern Comfit was her tipple, again, I could be mistaken...I like the outline of her thigh under her skirt, such a 'hippy chick'.
She looks so young in this shot, she probably was so young.
Something about it reminds me of that classic shot of Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver...
maybe it's something to do with vulnerability.
Want a trip back? Take this link to hear the songs from Pearl.
and if I'm going to be writing about Janis Joplin, well, I just have to include her encounter with Leonard Cohen in the infamous Chelsea Hotel
Connecting to my tattoo theme is via the likes of these, as I don't think L.C. had any tattoos himself...again, correct me if I am wrong, please.
As mentioned previously, clothing designers gain a lot of inspiration from tattoos.
This is Martin Margiela S/S 1989
and Jean Paul Gaultier S/S 1994
And of course CdG...
Comme des Garcons Homme A/W 2015 collection featured a collaboration with fascinating tattoo artist Joseph Ari Aloi aka jk5.
Rei Kawakubo took his sketchbooks telling him CdG would have full creative control over what was used and how.
The result being...
Of course RK will always deliver the aesthetic of the collection in a very wearable t-shirt
jk5 is an interesting guy, as revealed in this videoed talk he delivered following the publication of one of his books. He found the CdG experience quite emotional, which I can understand.
CdG S/S 2019 RTW collection was described as one of self-criticism instigated by "internalised female psychological conditioning" (Sarah Mower). Be that as it may (I may discuss it in a future blog), but what I am taken with are the tattoo like patterns that appear on some of the under garments.
The tattoo style is very obvious in the fabric used to construct these tops..
This is the closest I come to anything like a tattoo t-shirt in my wardrobe. I'm inspired to make an outer garment I can wear it under, such as the red smock shown above.
Junya Watanabe CdG delivered a retro gangster theme in his Spring 2017 menswear collection. Tattoos made an impression, with sleeves a feature...think tattoo sleeve. (A tattoo sleeve covers most of a person's arm, from shoulder to wrist. They have become very popular)
Still with tattoos, for his Spring 2019 women's collection, Junya Watanabe delivered a kinda romantic mood, while playing with the patternmaking process, something he is highly skilled at doing. But it's the garments worn underneath that also interest me...
... long sleeved t-shirts that cry out tattoo.
Interested in these tat stats? I like the male and female figures, because they look like they are wearing clothing from a CdG collection.
This is an interesting video about the craft of tattooing in New York city. People who have a passion for it and how they got into the business. There are some beautiful images of tattooed bodies.
Charlotte's tattoo is symbolic of her Father, who sadly passed away Christmas eve 2017. It is an image of a nikau palm, which he had planted. The two roots relate to both Mother and Father, and the three fronds are the three daughters/sisters who dearly miss their Dad. Close friend Kate Mitchell designed it and Rios Figueiredo applied it.
Kate’s tattoos start with the family crest on her lower back. Her husband has the same tattoo on his arm. The larger peonies on Kate’s upper back represent her 2 daughters and the smaller one her niece, who Kate was an egg donor for.
The lion on Kate’s right leg symbolises her being a Leo and the owl on the left leg, a Morepork, one of Kate’s favourite animals from her childhood as she loved hearing them at night when out camping with her family.
Colette was at a tattoo shop with a boyfriend, helping him to choose a tattoo. As she was doing this she was truly taken with this image.
It totally captured her wonderful ex-racehorse Ace, The image had been designed as a one-off by the tattooist who applied it. Another positive sign for Colette to have it tattooed. Soon after this experience, Colette was bridesmaid at her sister's wedding. In the off-the-shoulder dress, Colette's family were exposed to her tattoo. It was a bit of a "shock-horror" for some family members, with one calling it a "hookers badge!" Colette loves her tattoo, as it is a celebration of Ace, who meant such a lot to her.
(Just as a matter of interest, it's more common for a hooker to tattoo her pimp's name on her body than a horse's head!)
If I was to get one, I think I would go my "21st century needlewoman" way.....E is far from happy with his penned work! The skin moves when you draw on it, hence the tattooists needing to punch down into the dermis.
We had our school Family Festival the other day.
Some of the students run a 'Henna Tattoo' stall. It is always popular.
Some of the henna tattoos after 5 days....
Here is an ugly aspect of tattoo history...Nazi identification of inmates imprisoned in their horrific concentration camps. Initially the identification of inmates was by way of numbers on the clothing, but when that method proved to be problematic, the Nazis took to tattooing identification numbers on the skin.
Some of the grandchildren of concentration camp survivors are choosing to have themselves tattooed with the ID numbers that are on their grandparents arms. Symbolic tattooing at work.
The one that I am most familiar with is the Scottish Military Tattoo, a wonderful spectacle of the Edinburgh Festival. Check it out via this link, I think it's fab.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXCsHq4vU2k
"Forward as one" (not won)
Maybe that would make a good tattooed message on my body! I think I probably will embroider something pertaining to this, as opposed to tattooing.
SLTSLTBsigning off.
