[quote]What is the purpose of being tattooed with a symbol that holds no depth? A meaningless public stamp? I would hope not - although it is true many prefer this point of view.
Still, it might be more considerate to call it art, but even artwork requires some mild forethought and emotion, or it is not art at all... or is it? I suppose it's to the artist to decide.. haha.[quote]
Indeed darkintrospect it is, as you said on another thread, a controvertial subject and worthy of a topic all its own.
So what do you all think. Does a tattoo with no meaning have a point? To go even further is it possible to have a tattoo without meaning?
Why do people have tattoos. We have already explored those who feel the need to do so to express something powerful and important to themselves, but what of those other 'meaningless' tattoos.
It seems to me that it would be rare for anyone to have a tattoo that didnt have a meaning to them, why would they? Even if that meaning was just...look at me I am hard....it is still a symbol of something, an expression of something within themselves.
Hmmm this is actually a very interesting subject and I look forward to seeing everyone's thoughts on this.
Shall I post again? Well, it won't hurt.
I've placed this idea in the original thread: it seems that pop culture brings things to the most shallow perspective.
Where I am, having a tattoo is viewed only as a rebellious symbol. If a person is 'stamped', the conservatives assign to them a negative stereotype. Why this is so desirable, I can only imagine... I suppose it has something to do with the 'rebellious minds of the modern youth'.
Piercings, tattoos, alternative hair styles... all these things have become the norm. Not alternative in the least.
So to say it is meaningless, I suppose,would be a false ideal. Nothing you initiate can truly be meaningless, for there must have been a nudge that inspired you in the first place. A person doesn't 'accidentally' get a tattoo. Things like this don't 'just happen'.
Even if the tattoo's purpose is to impress others, that is still a meaning. It is shallow and irresponsible, but purpose does exist. Unless the image is a cattle brand, which I'm beginning to believe such things are becoming.
Any other opinions?
I think you are right that a tattoo can be seen as a form of rebellion which is why there are laws about how old you have to be to get one. I also think you are right that a tattoo can be a 'cattle brand' particularly in some cultures, for example the gang culture where the tattoo is the mark of which gang you belong too, but is that really any different to the 'clan marks' or 'tribal marks' that are so much part of many cultures and are certainly not meaningless or shallow.
I have a theory that some of the problems of societies such as ours is that there is no rite of passage for young people. There is no going out to make your first kill, or enduring your trials etc and so there is no clear line to mark you out as an adult and full member of the tribe.
Is this why young people often feel that they need to have a tattoo to mark themselves as part of some kind of gang whether it is an implicit gang or whether it is a more loosely defined 'gang' or peers or sub culture etc.
Interesting
Where I live piercings(ie. eyebrows, lip...) and tattoos even crazy hair is strange to see(my moms done them all) I'm looked down upon simply for how I dress. You could say any form of piercing, tattoo, and even clothes is a form of rebellion. A teen phase even. I have seen people in their 40s even 50s getting tattoos and piercings.
I do agree with the fact that getting a tattoo just to get one is quite meaningless and I'm sure these people will look back on it and say "why?" Then relize they wanted to do it to fit in or stick out for some reason or another.
I know when I tell adults about my future tattoo plans they always ask what it means to me. I have met a few people that got tattoos just to get them and are ashamed they even got certain ones.
Even piercings can be the same way. Sure piercings are cool, but they can also mean something to someone. I'm not saying getting one just because is the same as getting a tattoo just because. My mom has an industrial and the pierce is an arrow(like an arrow in the heart) in memory of my brother. Same thing with her tattoos. They all have some meaning for her. I know my nose piercing(when I'm old enough)will be "for" my mother as hers kept healing up and I joked with her that mine wouldn't. To me thats a memory of my mother that will always stay with me. The cratlidge(sp) piercing I have is because of my friend and the next one I'm getting is for my other friend whom has gone through so much. I may be considered a "rebellious teen" by some but to me it all has a meaning.
Whenever I talk to someone with a tattoo I try to make a point of asking what it means or why they got it.
Just my thoughts
TC
to be honest i cant wait to get a tattoo, ive always wanted one but i could never think of anythink to have done.
so i began to think about things that have effected me in my life and made me the person i am today, and thats what i am going to have tattooed on me. im going to have a dove to represent my grandad who i lost.
i also wanted something with a magickal tie or meaning, so im designing an ankh to go on my shoulder with the eye of horus with it.
i know this seems cliche because everyone has got one but i want it for a reason.
my dad has the eye tattooed on his arm and ever since he had it done, he has never been ill or had even a cold!
i wanted the eye as a sign of protection, and i wanted the ankh because i like the design and the meaning behind it.
i dont like tattoos that people have done just for the sake of it and i also dont like repeated designs, when you see hundreds of people with the same love heart and an arrow through it, it gets a bit boring. thats why i would design all my tattoos myself, one to make them more personal and two to make the individual
I do not like tattoos that are too large. The ones that go from the top of your arm all the way down to your wrist and depict some kind of garish dragon, or snarling black cat are just completely tacky, and mostly meaningless.
But I would love a small one perhaps at the top of my arm or on my shoulder blade.
I'm not keen on the ones people have on their ankles, although I did see a very nice one done to look like a chain with a small cross dangling just below the outside ankle bone. Not for me, but very cute.
I like the idea of using it as a protection symbol, which of course the original ones were. Either that or totum energy symbols or warrior symbols to show how strong and dangerous the warrior was and to bring victory in battle.
Tattoos over the ages, like many other things, have lost all their original meaning. They are now considered a fashion accessory by most and that is a pity. Tattoos have a long and distinguished history and frankly, I think, they deserve better treatment.
C.T.M.
im not a fan of the sleaves either, and the ones on the ankles and lower back do look very "chavy" and tacky.
i wouldnt mind a tribal tattoo but again i would have to re draw it and add my own personal touch
.
i agree tattoos should have better treatment. it seems these days the only people you see with tattoos are lads trying to act cool and so had a football logo done and teenage tarts with love hearts, roses and chinese words on their lower backs.
i think tattoos should be personal and so should be on show with every top you wear.
I love the Chinese ones LOL.
They have them done, thinking they're so cool and amazing. Thinking they say 'love', 'power', 'peace', or some other empowering word, and every single Chinese person in the world sees the name of a popular Chinese supermarket lovingly emblazoned on their skin.
Oh dear.....
Am I wicked to find that so funny?
C.T.M.
lol no the best one was a girl in my class who had the name of her former boyfriend tattoed on her lower back in chinese, then they broke up so she now tells everyone it means peace or love or somit stupid,
i really dont see the point in people having parteners names tattooed on them. i would only have memorial ones done to be honest
I want to redraw this one to make it Phoenix and have it on my chest.
The eye is pretty good but the scales need work and the claws aren't quite right.
But it is so close, I think its a good representation of what I want.
Then when I win the lottery I want my right arm doing with a flame based wing but I am not sure how to carry that one off yet.
I know what I want, but drawing it is a different matter.
Zygo