Ink in Ingram

Tattoo Art Revival showcases art, emotions, beliefs worn on skin

Katie Blatman - blatmaka@plu.edu

mast a&e reporter

Instead of oil on canvas or pencil on paper, ink on skin becomes a new medium for artistic expression in the Tattoo Art Revival. Tattoo art and the stories attached to the images are presented as the focus of an exhibit featured from April 2 to April 25 at the University Gallery in Ingram.

“It seemed like a way to give people an opportunity to participate, to talk about their own experiences,” professor Heather Mathews said.

Inspired by what Mathews calls a recent “flame-up in popular culture,” the exhibit includes photographs of tattoo art with narratives located below them, which also include the location of the tattoo parlor and, in some cases, the artist who created the tattoo. Narratives reject the old-fashioned assumption that only the tough don skin art. Submissions included in the exhibit came from a wide array of students.

The art on display does not only serve the artistic community. The majority of works on display have significant religious and spiritual symbolization.

“It reminds me of my faith and relationship with God,” sophomore Nathan Himes said, who designed his own tattoo of a cross and dove constructed of thorns. “It shows the balance between peace and the chaos of life, and the sacrifices Christ made for us to give us what we have now.”
Other strong themes include using art to express and strengthen family ties, visual representation of personality, and a dedication to a creative pursuit.

“It involves a lot of thought and decision making, but then people want to tell you the story,” Mathews said.

Photos by Destinie Day