Can A 16 Year Old Get A Tattoo In Texas

Much to the chagrin of some longtime tattoo aficionados, the aboriginal art of ink is no longer equally edgy and counterculture as it in one case was. Celebrities like David Beckham and Angelina Jolie flaunt tattoos, inked supermodels endorse loftier-finish fashion, and reality shows like Miami Ink attract millions of viewers.

Compare that to the early 1900s, when tattoos were mainly the province of sailors and military men, and it's like shooting fish in a barrel to assume that perceptions toward tattoos over the past century have been on a steady rise. Just in his new book, 100 Years of Tattoos, David McComb charts out a "roller coaster" history for tattoos in the Due west–ane that shows attitudes toward ink fluctuating wildly over the by century.

In his introduction, McComb writes:

"From being worn as a mark of patriotism during both World Wars to being an expression of left-field views during the counterculture revolution of the 1960s–via being denounced every bit a symbol of deviance and criminality in the 1940s and '50s–tattoos have carried an assortment of meanings for different generations, and attitudes towards ink have wavered depending on politics, earth diplomacy and the vagaries of fashion."

In McComb's history, the 2 most important figures responsible for bringing tattoos into the mainstream are Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins and Don Ed Hardy. In the 1960s, Collins shifted tattoo civilisation away from the confrontational ink worn by outlaw bikers and gangs with his influential tattoo technique, which involved subtle backgrounds and took inspiration from traditional Japanese body fine art.

In 1974, Hardy–a student of Collins's–opened Realistic Tattoo, America'southward first custom studio, in San Francisco and encouraged tattooists and customers to work together to create unique work, rather than simply copying pre-existing designs. In the 1970s, largely because of Hardy's influence, people began looking to tattoos equally a means of self-expression. A new moving ridge of tattoo artists–many of whom came from art school backgrounds–started developing their ain innovative techniques, which were equally varied as Jason Butcher's photorealistic horror-themed images to Jean Pancois Palumbo'southward conceptual designs that blend traditional tattoo images with graphic art.

These artists take blurred the line between fine art and tattoos, and body art is now exhibited in museums and galleries, and incorporated into fashion shows. "Although tattoos were once used to make a statement or register a protest, contemporary body art has become as disposable as final flavor'due south fashions," McComb writes, "and rapid improvements in laser applied science allow people to erase their ink and start over again."