Alan_Enecial by Freestyle Academy

Beneath the Ink

Alan Enecial

Customers looking through albums of previous work done by the tattoo artists ath the shop

Acknowledgements I would like to the Humble Beginnings tattoo shop located in San Jose, CA and also Orly Locquiao for letting me into his shop. All pictures and designs within this book are courtesy of Humble Beginnings and its talented artists. I would also like to thank Pete Bjorklund and all other interviewees/sources used in writing and creating this book. Enjoy!

Business cards of the Humble Beginnings tattoo shop

Card designed by Humble Beginnings

Table of Contents Foreword...................................... 7 Introduction................................ 8 Chapter 1................................... 12 Chapter 2................................... 23 Conclusion.................................. 31

6 uncle getting his tattoo shaded by Chris Gonzalez My

Foreword

Tattooing: the thought of the process of getting one just scares some people away. Having something permanently marked onto your body can seem like a foolish decision but today, tattoos have become a growing trend. More and more people throughout the world are making the decision to get a tattoo and whether or not it is visually appealing, it sends a message to the public of who that person is. You might have not known this but the practice of tattooing has been around for many centuries. As a practice, It has had several meanings throughout history but today in our society, it has become an art (though not everyone has come to realize this). Having many family and friends who have intricate tattoos themselves, I was naturally interested in them. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always wanted to learn more about it and eventually get my own ink someday. Given the opportunity to choose my subject for this project, I chose to do it on tattoos and how those with tattoos are sort of this judged part of society. With this book, I hope to convince the general people that tattooing is no longer this rebellious decision: it is a new form of self-expression. Through several online studies and interviews with people involved in the tattooed community, I aim to show that tattooing has been, and still is, a respectable and acceptable practice within our community. 7

Introduction

Who is more likely to have success later in life: an average 18 year old attending a 4-year university, or an 18-year old covered in tattoos attending a community college? While most people would stereotypically jump to the conclusion that the 18 year old with tattoos attending a community college will end up being less successful in life than the 18 year old attending a 4-year university, this is not necessarily true. Both of these young adults have equal potential to become successful. Tattoos have always been looked at as vandalism to the body, marks that symbolize some sort of rebellious attitude towards the world. This, however, is not the case for todays tattooed community. Tattoos have been around for a long time and have developed into a whole new culture in itself and yet people still feel that tattoos are signs of bad personas.

Work corner

Despite the long history of tattoo owners being your typical bad guy, people with tattoos today are way above that stereotype and have taken the idea of permanent ink on the body and turned it into an art. Whether a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tattoo represents their social status in a tribe or their religious beliefs that sculpt their way of living, that person leads a life no different from yours. Although tattoos are becoming more acceptable in our society, people still assume that those with tattoos are inferior, or that they are associated with a criminal background. However, people with tattoos are no different than those without them, and in order for society to realize that, we need to see past the black ink so that way we can live out what our nation was founded on: the principle that all men are created equal. As Sir Francis Bacon once said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is no perfect beauty that hath not strangeness in the proportion.â&#x20AC;?

Chapter 1: Becoming More Than a Sign

As the tattoo community continues to grow, so do the publics’ generalizations that people with tattoos are affiliated with. The tattooed communities that are emerging out and around the world are still facing the same generalization from the public that they are connected with some sort of villainous background which is the exact opposite in today. “...People with tattoos are viewed different in society because people tend to see tattoos and think of people that are gang banging, convicts been in a prison. Just typical bad guys” (Locquiao). The majority of tattoo owners before molded this stereotype and has become the basis of how the general public acts towards those with tattoos. Although the “sculptors” did fall under the stereotype of tattoo owners (gang bangers, ex-convicts, etc.), the theory that tattoos solely represent some sort of gang or rebellious behavior is way out-of-date.

13 Dharma doll in the front desk of the Humble Beginnings stattoo shop

Photo album of Orly Locquiao’s previous work done on customers Photo Album of Orly Lacquiao’s work

Orly Locquiao, the owner of the tattoo shop Humble Beginnings located in San Jose, states in our interview that the majority of his clients coming into his shop all have some sort of meaning going into their tattoo. The idea of getting something permanent on your body has turned into more than just a gang related advertisement. The tattooed community is beginning to emerge from this prolonged stereotype and are attempting to reveal a new art in itself. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is a significant group of people in the worldwide tattoo community who are dedicated to exploring issues of meaning, cross cultural exchange, purpose, and the history of tattooingâ&#x20AC;? (Marczak).

Before the concept of tattoos emerged in the Western parts of the world, the significance of the ink before completely outweighed the significance of it now. For example, old Eastern European and Central Asian tribes of the Scythian-Siberian culture had practiced tattooing themselves. Their tattoos marked those who belonged to the higher part of society and only certain individuals were given the honor to have a tattoo (Marczak). How ironic. The practice of tattooing has been believed to exist since BC times. Tattooing however has not always been this praised practice. At one point, tattoos were used as markings for those below the common man.

Designs courtesy of Humble Beginnings and its artists

17 Signs located in the front of the tattoo shop

Completed shading of my unclesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tattoo

During the periods of Greek and Roman domination of Europe, indigenous European decorative tattooing, which was considered a barbaric practice (barbarians being those who did not speak Greek and later Latin), gradually diminished and, according to some scholars, simply died out. The practice was instead put to another use â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the marking of slaves, criminals, and soldiers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; either as punishment or for administrative purposes. (Marczak). The practices and treatment towards those with tattoos from the Greeks and Romans are believed to what stemmed the attitude towards tattoos today. Their marks of shame have carried out into todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world where those with tattoos are looked at as lesser beings who belong with others who associate themselves with violence. Although there are more people starting to venture into the world of tattoos and go into depth with the practice, the general public still see tattoos as signals of risk-taking behaviors from that person and the studies stand behind that claim.

21 An award the Humble Beginnings shop won at a tattoo convention

Miscellaneous wood work at the shop

Chapter 2: Accepting the Facts

The continuing development of tattooing is faced with the continual decrease in the value of the tattoos itself. The assumptions made about those with tattoos are the barriers that hold the true beauty of tattooing from the general public. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A tattoo is more than just painting on the skin; its meaning and reverberations cannot be comprehended without a knowledge of the history and mythology of its bearer. Thus it is a true poetic creation, and is always more than meets the eyeâ&#x20AC;? (V. Vale and Andrea Juno). The majority of people with tattoos today are living above the common stereotype that they are faced with day to day and yet a vast number of studies today claim that those with tattoos still fall under the generalization that they associate themselves with some sort of riskful lifestyle. Several online studies that I have read all state that tattoos come with a riskful behavior and a bad take on life.

A 58-question survey, based on the 1997 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Survey, was offered to all adolescent beneficiaries that came to the Adolescent Clinic.Participants with tattoos and/or body piercings were more likely to have engaged in risk-taking behaviors and at greater degrees of involvement than those without either. These included disordered eating behavior, gateway drug use, hard drug use, sexual activity, and suicide. (Carrol). I partially agree with the study that a majority of adolescents who decide to get a tattoo at a young age are usually those who make bad decisions. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve have friends who fall directly under this stereotype and end up getting kicked out of high school and fall into this spiral of bad decisions. But still, I know there are those who do choose to get a tattoo at a young age but are still able to lead a successful life. Along with meeting your stereotypical teen with tattoos, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve met those who have tattoos but lead a life far above this stereotype. Adolescents who choose to get tattoos at a young age are faced with a generalization that is sort of set in stone in the publicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mind. People assume that teens with tattoos aspire to do nothing with their life and that you will only be faced with hardships later in life, not happiness. But there are few groups of teens who are beginning to break away from this stereotype. As the concept of tattoos continue to change, the people getting them are as well and sooner or later, the common will become the uncommon, and vice versa. With tattoos becoming more acceptable in society, there are studies that are beginning to reverse the view on people with tattoos. There are several new articles that are beginning to come about throughout the web that show the continuing change in the generalization of people with tattoos in public. 24

25 Photo albums of the work done by Humble Beginnings tattoo artists Sef Samatua and Orly Locquiao

Why do people want the tattoo? Numerous reasons have been suggested for tattoos including expressing individuality, communicating rebellion, defining group membership, conveying spiritual meaning, or marking milestones such as life or death. While tattoos can be deviantly and/or risque behavior, there seems to be consistency in the various expressions of self-identity when tattooed people talk about their purpose and reason for the markings. (Armstrong). In this quote, the article states that despite the common mentality of tattoos being signs of a certain behavior, there is a consistent number of people getting tattoos for self expression. The stereotype associated with tattoos is slowly being changed but it still has a long way to go until it becomes completely acceptable by everyone in society.

The practice of tattooing is continuing to develop as an art and while most people still only see permanent ink, a growing group of people are beginning to show the true beauty in tattoos. The general public still seems to have a misrepresentation of what tattoos mean. They have become more than what the stereotype defines tattoos as. Gang affiliation, a risky lifestyle; things like these are continuing to shroud the idea of what it means to have a tattoo. Whether or not the tattooed community becomes accepted as a normal part of society, self expression will always be the reason why the practice will continue.

Design created by Melissa Manuel

29 Several pieces art in the shop

Conclusion

“I always feel like I’m being judged. With or without tattoos you’re gunna be judged, by your personality, the way you walk the way you talk, the way you carry yourself but most of the time I just don’t pay attention because I just do what I have to do to keep myself on my toes and work hard to where I get at, so people are alway going to judge me for my tattoos but that’s always how it’s going to be” (Locquiao).