Tattoo: An Art on Skin
For thousands of years humans have a history of marking their bodies with tattoos, only in recent years has tattoos become widely popular and more acceptable in society. Credit to celebrities and everyday folks who begin popularizing tattoos for its artistic purposes and thus, breaking the stereotype that tattoos represent gang and prison ideologies. Tattoos we see today represents fashion and has a story behind it. The tattoos we see on people today contains meaningful phrases, a image of something unforgettable or a special person. Tattoos with stories are always a reminder of the experiences we've had in our lives and is also one way to express individuality and symbolism.
Zombie Boy: Rick Genest
The popular tattoos today are mainly divided into five types:
1. Tattoos that contains quotes
This is one of the most common types of tattoo. English being the most dominant language in the world ranks highest in popularity, While words in Latin or Gothic represent a sense of fashion. Chinese characters are becoming increasingly popular among the tattooed masses after seeing it on numerous sports athletes.
Tip: Make sure you are 100% certain of the meaning behind the Chinese word and ask a person that knows the language to fact-checked it prior to getting the tattoo. Lastly, Buddhist Pali incantation has become a new favorite among a minor community. Angelina Jolie popularized buddhist Pali incantation by getting one on her left shoulder blade to protect her adopted Cambodian son Maddox from bad luck.
Upper left: Japanese actor & singer & guitarist Miyavi Ishihara: Prajnaparamita-Sutra tattoo covers his back. The big character seen above represents his Korean family name in Chinese character which translates to "Lee".
Upper right: David Beckham: Chinese proverb: "Man proposes but God disposes."
Lower left: Angelina Jolie’s Buddhist Pali incantation tattoo.
Lower right: Allen Iverson's "Zhong" representing his loyalty to his teammates and family.
2. Totemic and Symbolic Tattoos
Totemic tattoo has an ancient mystery and primitive sensation; which brings people unrestrained beauty. Certain people of religious beliefs will tattoo their religion to express their dedication. Face tattoo is a special type in this category. Widely used by people to remember loved ones or those that they have lost which brings encouragement to the living.
Hong Kong actor Shawn Yue:
Left: faces of his lost grandma and aunt;
Right: faces of his icon Muhammad Ali and Marlon Brando
3. Colorful Arms Tattoos
A full arm sleeve is becoming popular among many tattoo fans. Full sleeve tattoos are never done overnight. Piece by piece, different patterns joined each other with the spacing of skin on the arm becoming less and less that evolves into a full sleeve tattoo. Meticulous amount of detail and content can be found on a full arm sleeve. Those with a full arm sleeve tend to wear short sleeve t-shirts to display their tattoos.
4. Matching Tattoos
This kind of tattoos statement represents a bound between you and your significant other and reflect your relationship. Although couples always remove or cover their matching tattoos after they break up, new couples in love continues to tattoo symbols that marks their relationship.
5. Floral Tattoos
One of the newer popular tattoo designs are floral tattoos. As flowers underline femininity and beauty. Ukraine-based tattoo artist Rita is praised by her artwork which she uses real plants and flowers to create visually vivid tattoos that are gorgeous.
Rita‘s artwork: floral tattoos
Tattoos should never be a rushed decision, as they are permanent and can be difficult and painful to remove. One should never go get a tattoo just because they are trying to imitate another person and especially not when one under the influence of alcohol. If you are thinking about getting a tattoo you should first do a comprehensive research on the design you like and a suitable studio before getting a tattoo since it will last a lifetime. Tip: Set the design you like as the wallpaper for you phone, keep it on there for an entire year, if you still adore it after seeing it everyday for an entire year, it's ready to be tattooed.
Image Credits:
1) http://www.someecards.com/news/tattoos/the-most-regrettable-couples-tattoos-in-the-history-of-skin/
2) http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/angeline-jolie-tattoos-and-their-meanings/
3) http://www.tuenlinea.com/noticias/927751/quien-le-likeo-foto-justin-bieber-cindy-kimberly/
4) http://news.zing.vn/nhung-hinh-xam-giong-nhau-cua-son-tung-va-g-dragon-post517422.html
5) http://www.chinesetattoos.org/page/2
6) http://www.culture-tatouage.com/rick-genest/
7) https://www.duitang.com/blog/?id=650157644
