Annotated Bibliography
By Larry Shute Jr.
Professor Philip Linder
Anthropology A104
Date: April 15, 2012
The Culture of Tattooing
I have always found tattoos to be a very beautiful, personal expression of one’s self. They are used to express personalities, beliefs, telling stories, labeling of groups, medicinal and many other ideas. Nowadays, tattoos are everywhere. It’s like being in a constantly changing museum of art with an infinite number of styles, artists and stories being told. I myself want a tattoos however, I have not figured out the exact story I want them to tell.
The art of tattooing originated more than 5000 years ago. Since then, tattooing has touched nearly every part of the world. Many tribes and most cultures from all over the world use tattooing as a means of displaying their individualism and connect themselves to their ancestors and or groups. Tattoos have had a colourful history. The Japanese used to mark criminals by tattooing their foreheads. The Nazi’s used tattoos to dehumanize the Jews and take away their identity and replace it with a number. Many criminal gangs use tattoos to show their loyalty to their group and to intimidate others. These are just a few of the reasons I believe that tattoos have a stigma. On the other hand, many tribe still use tattoos as a right of passage into adulthood. While others get them to celebrate life and remember the lives of others.
Many people see the body as a blank canvas to decorate. Tattoos are important to anthropology because so many cultures have adopted the practice and made it their own. We are now living in a world with a rapid pace of growth and many societies becoming more global. With each day of globalization people die and the stories their tattoos tell die with them also. Today, there are many studies that look at how tattoos have gone from being deviant to mainstream. This popularization of acceptance can be contributed to the massive amounts of celebrities and role models with them and the
Professor Philip Linder
Anthropology A104
Date: April 15, 2012
The Culture of Tattooing
I have always found tattoos to be a very beautiful, personal expression of one’s self. They are used to express personalities, beliefs, telling stories, labeling of groups, medicinal and many other ideas. Nowadays, tattoos are everywhere. It’s like being in a constantly changing museum of art with an infinite number of styles, artists and stories being told. I myself want a tattoos however, I have not figured out the exact story I want them to tell.
The art of tattooing originated more than 5000 years ago. Since then, tattooing has touched nearly every part of the world. Many tribes and most cultures from all over the world use tattooing as a means of displaying their individualism and connect themselves to their ancestors and or groups. Tattoos have had a colourful history. The Japanese used to mark criminals by tattooing their foreheads. The Nazi’s used tattoos to dehumanize the Jews and take away their identity and replace it with a number. Many criminal gangs use tattoos to show their loyalty to their group and to intimidate others. These are just a few of the reasons I believe that tattoos have a stigma. On the other hand, many tribe still use tattoos as a right of passage into adulthood. While others get them to celebrate life and remember the lives of others.
Many people see the body as a blank canvas to decorate. Tattoos are important to anthropology because so many cultures have adopted the practice and made it their own. We are now living in a world with a rapid pace of growth and many societies becoming more global. With each day of globalization people die and the stories their tattoos tell die with them also. Today, there are many studies that look at how tattoos have gone from being deviant to mainstream. This popularization of acceptance can be contributed to the massive amounts of celebrities and role models with them and the
Bibliography: Blair, Lorrie. “Tattoos Teenagers: An Art Educator 's Response.” Art Education. 60.5 (2007): 39-44. JSTOR. 15 April 2012. This article is about how tattoos have become apart of popular culture and how it has influenced teens to get tattoos Fulford, Benjamin.. "Adventures In The Skin Trade." FORBES. 174.5 (2004): 210-212. This article focuses the career of a well known tattoo artist from Japan, and the hard work that goes into becoming a expert at tattooing Gambino, Megan. “Can Tattoos Be Medicinal?” Smithsonian.com. 10 December 2012. Web. 09 Apr. 2013. This article is about Lars Krutak and his research that tattoos have a history of being used as a therapeutic treatment Horne, Jenn, Knox, David, Zusman, Jane, Zusman, Marty E. "Tattoos and Piercings: Attitudes, Behaviors and Interpretations of College Students." College Student Journal. 41.4 (2007): 1011-1020. EBSCO. . John Roberts, Derek.. " Secret Ink: Tattoo’s Place in contemporary american culture. " Journal of American Culture. 35.2 (2012): 153-165. EBSCO. . Kosut, Mary. “An Ironic Fad: the commodification and consumption of tattoos. The Journal of Popular Culture. 39.6 (2006): 1025-1048 . Lang, Julian. “Marks From the Past.” News from Native California. 17.3 (2004): 4-8 EBSCO. 16 April 2012. Lang covers the historical and cultural significance of chin tattoos among the northwestern California Indian women Leonard, David. "The Inked Academic Body." Chronicle of Higher Education. (2012): B2-B2. EBSCO. . Wagner, Erica. "The Needle and Art made Flesh." The Times (United Kingdom). (2002): 17-17. EBSCO. . Yamada, Mieko. "Japanese Tattooing from the Past to the Present." Tattoos.Com Ezine. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2013. This article covers the vast and colourful history of Japanese Tattooing and how it has transformed over the centuries