22 Comments
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Judith's avatar

I can't stand looking at them and since I live in Japan, they give me the creeps. I avoid the Japanese that do have them because it indicates criminality. Want to see old faded wrinkled skin? Find a bathhouse that allows yakuza and you can get great view of what they will look like on a 70 or 80 year old. My friend's father had a long number tattooed to the inside of his arm after surviving a camp and fleeing to America. What a horrible reminder of what an ugly stain he had to live with.

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Terry J. Allen's avatar

I wonder if things have changed in japan and the equation of tattoos and criminality still holds.

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Carol's avatar

I often wonder what happens to the tattoos as people age or opinions change.

CL

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Catini's avatar

Oh it's not scandalous! It's on my left bicep. Back in the day some/many? tattoo artists would not do them where you could not cover them. This one, a woman in Eugene, Oregon, would not even extend it past my shoulder to my lower neck or down to my elbow. The '80s!

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Catini's avatar

This too will pass. Some day it will be cool to have no tats. I have one, no regrets, but i can hide it. I do appreciate not spending all those bucks for more. There could be a day when a tattoo is an identifier you don't want to have....like a number inked across your forehead.

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Terry J. Allen's avatar

Soooooo, where is it?

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Jay Weedon's avatar

Ever seen Memento? Thrilling tattoo movie!

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Terry J. Allen's avatar

i cant remember .HA!

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Maureen Mehlman's avatar

I’ve never gotten one myself but my husband has quite a few. They are very painful and if not done by professionals in good shops they can have disastrous consequences. I like many tattoos I see but some are just ugly. I like the big back tat in the pic but the faces on the lady’s shoulder isn’t very appealing. The puppy though is quite cute and those ears make it look like Dobbie the house elf.

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Terry J. Allen's avatar

oh yeah, the dog is cuter than the tat.

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Jonathan Allen's avatar

I have never been a fan of tattoos, especially on women. I question though whether tattoos derive from a "wholehearted commitment" rather than a momentary whim, peer pressure, or a dare.

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Terry J. Allen's avatar

different for different people, i suspect.

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Janet Van Fleet's avatar

It's so cool that you have SO many photographs that you can extract three tattooed backs!

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Terry J. Allen's avatar

Waaay too many. The backs were sparked by the guy who fixed my furnace yesterday and we go talking about his more visible tats and he showed me this impressive one.

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Janet Van Fleet's avatar

It is truly impressive. I wonder when he displays it (aside from for you!)

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Georgia Landau's avatar

In early days of Studio Place Arts I suggested we have a tattoo show. For the opening celebration people with tattoos would be walking art. On the walls photographs of tattoos and examples of idea images from tattoo artists.

I would also love to hear descriptions of why someone wanted a particular image on their body.

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Terry J. Allen's avatar

great idea!

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Terry J. Allen's avatar

Waaay too many. The backs were sparked by the guy who fixed my furnace yesterday and we go talking about his more visible tats and he showed me this impressive one.

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Nancy Disenhaus's avatar

Terry, I so agree with all of your comments. A recent beach vacation in Georgia gave my hubby and me a chance to observe and discuss hundreds of inked bodies, and I marveled at these people's confidence that what is meaningful to them should be shared now with the world and will be meaningful to them decades from now--a permanent bumper sticker on the body.

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Terry J. Allen's avatar

Yes, exactly, and i love that you compare with bumper stickers. I dont have any. I dont want people knowing and prejudging who i am and what i think. i wonder how much this has to do with privacy--in both its positive and negative aspects.

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Edie Shedd's avatar

I never did want a tattoo,and when I look at my old,wrinkled skin I'm so glad I didn't!

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Terry J. Allen's avatar

I think that especially when i see neck tattoos.

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