Asian Asian tattooing is often considered a style in and of itself, but I have a hard time lumping the biggest continent in the world’s tattoos into a single category, so I’m splitting it into three, and even then, when I talk about Asian, allow me to be clear that I’m referring to Oriental-styles, not expanding to all of Asia proper or the subcontinent which have their own tattoo cultures. Japanese Irezumi Tiger Japanese Irezumi Tiger Traditional Asian It is thought that the Japanese might be the first people to have ever practice tattooing or irezumi (insertion of ink under the skin). Some believe the practice goes back to 10,000 BC, where the tattoos had spiritual or purely decorative uses, but what we recognize today as Asian tattoos started probably closer to 1600, when woodblock tattooing became fashionable – mainly among the lower classes. Woodblock tattooing is what is today thought of as traditional Asian tattooing. The original artists had gained their skills on actual woodblocks, and only subsequently when it became fashionable did they start tattooing, often using the same tools. Horiyoshi III is considered by many to be the definition of a traditional Asian tattoo artist. Modern Asian Modern Asian tattoos are a mix of the style of traditional Asian tattoos and the American style of tattooing. The subject of the tattoos remain the staples of Japanese and Chinese mythology, featuring dragons, koi fish, phoenixes, fu dogs, etc. However, the style borrows more from the style of comicbooks and manga, rather than the traditional look of woodblock tattoos. Whereas there are few masters of traditional Asian tattoos, there are a number of very good modern Asian artists, many of whom are outside of Asian, and aren’t Asian at all. Kanji and lettering Chinese and Japanese lettering are so intricate, that writing in these logographic scripts is an art form in and of itself. The combination of the beauty of the script and the ability to associate a meaning to the symbol (because it’s actually a word) have made these very popular flash tattoos. Kanji is the Japanese term for the writing system borrowed from the Chinese hanzi character system. Both types of characters are popular as tattoos. Photorealistic Full Colour by Moni Marino Full Colour by Moni Marino. Realistic tattoos are a relatively recent phenom enon in tattooing for two reasons. First, as the tattooing has become more popular, the skill level of artists has increased. Second, the technology of the inks and guns has progressed to a point where doing fine levels of detail have become increasingly possible. Realistic tattoos are often portraits, but wildlife is another common subject. Celtic Traditional Celtic Design Traditional Celtic Design Celtic tattoos are composed of large black lines, and are generally only done by experienced Celtic tattoo artists, because of their complexity. Celtic tattoos originated as a form of war paint. The subjects of a celtic tattoo are often Celtic symbols, such as the Celtic knot, and animals. Another common, but more recent addition to the list of subjects of Celtic artists are trees. Biomechanical Ripped flesh covering circuits Ripped flesh covering circuits Believe it or not, but the history of this style of tattooing is normally traced back to a single movie: Alien. Whether or not the Alien movies were the source of biomechanical tattoos, the imagery can’t help but make one think of them. For the hardcore sci-fi fanatics, the biomechanical tattoos generally portray some combination of human and robotic parts intertwined. Tattoos that mimic ripped flesh exposing mechanical parts underneath are the most common variety, and are normally placed on muscular parts of the body like the arms or legs. Caricatures Classic Caricature Classic Caricature As caricature artists are to portrait artists, so too are tattoo caricatures to… well, every other kind of tattoo. Caricatures require their own special kind of skill, quite different from the skill to create photorealistic tattoos. Colours are usually used in loud, flash patterns, and features of an otherwise recognizable piece are exaggerated for a comical effect. It’s a safe bet that people who choose to ink themselves with a caricature piece have a good sense of humour. The above styles, along with those depicted in part one, are just one attempt at giving a high-level overview of some of the most popular tattoo styles. There are countless other styles from around the world that could turn this into a 20-part series, but rather than trying to explore every style at a surface level, look for us to dive deeper into the history and practice of some of these styles in future articles.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 16:07:02 +0000
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