Author V. Vale once said, “A tattoo is a true poetic creation, and is always more than meets the eye. As a tattoo is grounded on living skin, so its essence emotes a poignancy unique to the mortal human condition” (Vale 55). From this, it is evident how intimate tattooing is. A life-long commitment to a piece of artwork that one will carry on one’s skin wherever they go requires careful consideration. Tattooing itself has been practiced for centuries all over the world, with the first known instance of tattooing dating back to 6000 BC on a Chinchorro mummy in Peru. Since then, the art of tattooing has spread throughout the rest of the world. In modern days, tattoos are extremely prevalent on all types of people. The art of tattooing goes beyond one faction of the population, and instead, a large
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By examining which images people typically choose in memorial tattooing, as well as why people choose to commemorate loved ones through tattoos, human views of death are easily revealed. Through the practice of memorial tattooing, the necessity of humans to be connected with their lost loved ones in any way possible is apparent.
In regards to memorial tattooing, there are some symbols that are chosen more often than other symbols to commemorate those who have died. In Death and Resurrection in Art, Enrico De Pascale explores how death and resurrection are manifested in artwork. One concept that De Pascale focuses on is that of vanitas, which is artwork “…depicted in a figurative medium through symbolic objects that allude to the fleeting passage of time, the ephemeral nature of pleasure, the brevity of existence, the inevitability of death, and the origin and end of every human life” (De Pascale 99). It is interesting to note that even though the symbols associated with vanitas are meant to emphasize that life is ephemeral, such as flowers and footprints, people still choose to get those symbols tattooed in an
By examining which images people typically choose in memorial tattooing, as well as why people choose to commemorate loved ones through tattoos, human views of death are easily revealed. Through the practice of memorial tattooing, the necessity of humans to be connected with their lost loved ones in any way possible is apparent.
In regards to memorial tattooing, there are some symbols that are chosen more often than other symbols to commemorate those who have died. In Death and Resurrection in Art, Enrico De Pascale explores how death and resurrection are manifested in artwork. One concept that De Pascale focuses on is that of vanitas, which is artwork “…depicted in a figurative medium through symbolic objects that allude to the fleeting passage of time, the ephemeral nature of pleasure, the brevity of existence, the inevitability of death, and the origin and end of every human life” (De Pascale 99). It is interesting to note that even though the symbols associated with vanitas are meant to emphasize that life is ephemeral, such as flowers and footprints, people still choose to get those symbols tattooed in an