Colegiul național „Mihai Viteazul”

Sfântu Gheorghe, Covasna

Lucrare scrisă în vederea obţinerii atestatului de limba

şi literatura engleză

TATTOOSProfesor coordonator: Barabas Adriana Elevă: Moldovean Paula

Mai, 2014

Colegiul Național “Mihai Viteazul”

Sfântu Gheorghe, Covasna

TATTOOS

Profesor coordonator: Barabas Adriana Elevă: Moldovean Paula

Mai, 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction................................................................................... 3

Etymology...................................................................................... 4

Types of tattoes............................................................................. 5

History........................................................................................... 6

Process........................................................................................... 7

Associations................................................................................... 8

Tattooe styles................................................................................ 9

Tattoo removal............................................................................. 10

Temporary tattoo......................................................................... 11

Conclusion.................................................................................... 12

Bibliography................................................................................. 13

IntroductionA tattoo is a form of body modification, made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of

the skin to change the pigment.

Put technically, a tattoo is a design or marking made by the insertion of a pigment into punctures or cuts in the skin. In technical terms, tattooing is micro-pigment implatation.

Tattoos are permanent markings in the skin, usually made by way of ink and needles. Once ink is deposited into the dermis, the second layer of the skin, the wound scabs over and the skin heals to expose a design under the new layer of skin.

Tattooing is one of the oldest art forms known to man. It is a type of body modification that

involves creating permanent words or images on the skin. In order to get these images on

the skin, ink must be injected under the surface of the skin, by piercing it with a small needle.

In ancient times, tattoos were not only applied for decoration, but they were also held

symbolic significance as well. Some tattoos were applied because they had religious

meaning, for instance, while others were status symbols. At a few points in history, tattoos

were even used to mark slaves, as well as prisoners and other criminals.

Today, tattoos are generally used as a form of decoration and self-expression. Some modern

tattoos can be quite simple, while others may be very elaborate. Different images can range

from simple flowers and cartoon characters, to more ornate portraits and scenes. While not

every tattoo has a deep meaning to its wearer, most tattoos still signify something.

Individuals will usually choose a tattoo that means something to them, such as an important

turning point in their lives.

While the practice of tattooing used to be illegal, it is now an acceptable form of body art and practice. Depending on where you reside, there are certain age restrictions that may dictate the minimum age for getting a tattoo. Check with an established tattoo shop for local laws or jurisdictions specifying these tattoo requirements. In most cases, you'll need to be 18 years of age or have parental consent before getting a tattoo. You'll likely need that time to select a pierce with significance anyway.

Whether it be a memorial piece or one that expresses interests, hobbies, or even love themes, tattoos are rich in cultural history and deserve a bit of respect.

People receive tattoos for a variety of reasons: to identify themselves with a religious or social group, to adorn their bodies, as protective symbols, to cover skin discolorations, or as ongoing art and social projects. Most tattoo artists are themselves heavily tattooed. Some individuals have been forcibly tattooed, most notably victims of the Holocaust and prisoners.

EtymologyThe word "tattoo" was brought to Europe by the explorer James Cook, when he returned in 1771 from his first voyage to Tahiti and New Zealand. In his narrative of the voyage, he refers to an operation called "tattaw". Before this it had been described as scarring, painting, or staining.

Tattoo enthusiasts may refer to tattoos as "ink", "pieces", "skin art", "tattoo art", "tats", or "work"; to the creators as "tattoo artists”, "tattooers", or "tattooists"; and to places where they work as "tattoo shops", "tattoo studios", or "tattoo parlors".

The Japanese word irezumi means "insertion of ink" and can mean tattoos using tebori, the traditional Japanese hand method, a Western-style machine, or for that matter, any method of tattooing using insertion of ink. The most common word used for traditional Japanese tattoo designs is Horimono. Japanese may use the word "tattoo" to mean non-Japanese styles of tattooing.

Types of tattoosThe American Academy of Dermatology distinguishes five types of tattoos: traumatic tattoos, also called "natural tattoos", that result from injuries, especially asphalt from road injuries or pencil lead; amateur tattoos; professional tattoos, both via traditional methods and modern tattoo machines; cosmetic tattoos, also known as "permanent makeup” and medical tattoos.

Traumatic tattoos

According to George Orwell, coal miners could develop characteristic tattoos owing to coal dust getting into wounds. This can also occur with substances like gunpowder. Similarly, a traumatic tattoo occurs when a substance such as asphalt is rubbed into a wound as the result of some kind of accident or trauma. These are particularly difficult to remove as they tend to be spread across several different layers of skin, and scarring or permanent discoloration is almost unavoidable depending on the location. An amalgam tattoo is when amalgam particles are implanted in to the soft tissues of the mouth, usually the gums, during dental filling placement or removal; another example of such accidental tattoos is the result of a deliberate or accidental stabbing with a pencil or pen, leaving graphite or ink beneath the skin.

Amateur and professional tattoos

Many tattoos serve as rites of passage, marks of status and rank, symbols of religious and spiritual devotion, decorations for bravery, sexual lures and marks of fertility, pledges of love, punishment, amulets and talismans, protection, and as the marks of outcasts, slaves and convicts. The symbolism and impact of tattoos varies in different places and cultures. Tattoos may show how a person feels about a relative (commonly mother/father or daughter/son) or about an unrelated person. Today, people choose to be tattooed for artistic, cosmetic, sentimental/memorial, religious, and magical reasons, and to symbolize their belonging to or identification with particular groups, including criminal gangs or a particular ethnic group or law-abiding subculture.

Identification

People have also been forcibly tattooed. A well-known example is the identification system for inmates in Nazi concentration camps during The Holocaust. The Nazis introduced the practice of tattooing at Auschwitz in 1941 in order to identify the bodies of registered prisoners in the concentration camps. During registration, they would pierce the outlines of the serial-number digits onto the prisoners' arms. Tattoos have also been used for identification in other ways.

Cosmetic

When used as a form of cosmetics, tattooing includes permanent makeup and hiding or neutralizing skin discolorations. Permanent makeup is the use of tattoos to enhance eyebrows, lips (liner and/or lipstick), eyes (liner), and even moles, usually with natural colors, as the designs are intended to resemble makeup.

History

Tattooing has been practiced for centuries in many cultures and spread throughout the

world.The Ainu, an indigenous people of Japan, traditionally had facial tattoos, as did

the Austroasians. Today, one can find Atayal, Seediq, Truku, and Saisiyat of

Taiwan, Berbers of Tamazgha (North Africa), Yoruba, Fulani and Hausa people of Nigeria,

and Māori of New Zealand with facial tattoos.

Tattooing was popular among certain ethnic groups in southern China, Polynesia,

Africa, Borneo, Cambodia, Europe, Japan, the Mentawai Islands, MesoAmerica, New

Zealand, North America and South America, the Philippines, Iron Age Britain,

and Taiwan. The modern revival in tattooing stems from the voyage of Captain James Cook

in the late 1700s. Cook's Science Officer and Expedition Botanist, Sir Joseph Banks,

returned to England with a tattoo. Banks was a highly regarded member of the English

aristocracy and had acquired his position with Cook by putting up what was at the time the

princely sum of some ten thousand pounds in the expedition. In turn, Cook brought back with

him a tattooed Raiatean man, Omai, whom he presented to King George and the English

Court. Many of Cook's men, ordinary seamen and sailors, came back with tattoos, a tradition

that would soon become associated with men of the sea in the public's mind and the press of

the day. In the process sailors and seamen re-introduced the practice of tattooing in Europe

and it spread rapidly to seaports around the globe.

Process

Tattooing involves the placement of pigment into the skin's dermis, the layer of dermal tissue

underlying the epidermis. After initial injection, pigment is dispersed throughout

a homogenized damaged layer down through the epidermis and upper dermis, in both of

which the presence of foreign material activates the immune system's phagocytes to engulf

the pigment particles. As healing proceeds, the damaged epidermis flakes away (eliminating

surface pigment) while deeper in the skin granulation tissue forms, which is later converted to

connective tissue by collagen growth. This mends the upper dermis, where pigment remains

trapped within fibroblasts, ultimately concentrating in a layer just below the dermis/epidermis

boundary. Its presence there is stable, but in the long term (decades) the pigment tends to

migrate deeper into the dermis, accounting for the degraded detail of old tattoos.

Some tribal cultures traditionally created tattoos by cutting designs into the skin and rubbing

the resulting wound with ink, ashes or other agents; some cultures continue this practice,

which may be an adjunct to scarification. Some cultures create tattooed marks by hand-

tapping the ink into the skin using sharpened sticks or animal bones (made like needles) with

clay formed disks or, in modern times, needles.

The most common method of tattooing in modern times is the electric tattoo machine, which

inserts ink into the skin via a single needle or a group of needles that are soldered onto a

bar, which is attached to an oscillating unit. The unit rapidly and repeatedly drives the

needles in and out of the skin, usually 80 to 150 times a second. This modern procedure is

ordinarily sanitary. The needles are single-use needles that come packaged individually. The

tattoo artist must wash his or her hands and must also wash the area that will be tattooed.

Gloves must be worn at all times and the wound must be wiped frequently with a wet

disposable towel of some kind. The equipment must be sterilized in a certified autoclave

before and after every use.

Tattoe styles

Black-and-gray tattooBlack-and-gray (also black-and-grey, black and grey/gray) is a style of tattooing that uses

only black ink in varying shades.

The style is said to have originated in prisons where inmates had limited access to different

colors of ink, which then became widely popular in tattoo parlors outside of prison.

Typically, black and gray tattoo work is produced by diluting the black ink with distilled water

in various proportions, creating a "wash", lighter shades can be produced. Some artists mix

white ink with black to produce a gray shade, but it is not the traditional method.

After a tattoo has been completed with varying degrees of black, highlights are often added

using white. White ink can also be used to smooth out sharp transitions between the different

shades.

Body suitA body suit or full body suit is an extensive tattoo, usually of a similar pattern, style or

theme that covers the entire torso or the entire body.

They are associated with freak show and circus performers, as well as with traditional

Japanese tattooing.

Such suits are of significant cultural meaning in some traditional cultures, representing a rite

of passage, marriage or a social designation

Finger moustacheThe finger moustache tattoo, otherwise known as the "fingerstache", is a tattoo of a stylized moustache on the index finger. The finger is then placed between the nose and the lips, simulating a moustache.

Marquesan tattooA Marquesan tattoo is a tattoo design originating from the Marquesas Islands of the South Pacific. Marquesan tattoos can be recognized by 'trademark symbols', such as geckos, centipedes, the Marquesan Cross and other geometric designs. Marquesan designs distinguish themselves through the use of symbols and consistent artistic renderings of lines, arches and circles, which are uniquely attributed and linked through history to the South Pacific Islands.

Old school tattooOld School (also "Old Skool" or "Traditional") refers to a Western or traditional Americana tattoo style featuring bold, blue-black outlines, usually filled with solid red and green with rare additions of blue, yellow, brown and purple; and embellished with little or no shading. Norman Keith Collins, also known as "Sailor Jerry", (1911–1973) is one of the most well known traditional tattoo artist.

Sailor tattoosSailor tattoos refer to a type of tattoo traditionally favored by sailors and the traditions that accompany these tattoos. "Old school" tattoos were common among sailors, depicting images like swallows on either side of the chest, girls in sailor hats, and pairs of dice. Sailor Jerry's work typified this style of tattooing during the early-mid twentieth century. After falling out of style for several decades, these stylized tattoos are regaining popularity again among young people, both sailors and non-sailors. They are particularly favored among tattoo artists themselves. This returning trend is also seen in the increasing popularity of traditional Sailor Jerry designs, nautical tattoos and even clothing printed with stylized tattoo images.

ScarificationScarifying (also scarification modification) involves scratching, etching, burning / branding, or superficially cutting designs, pictures, or words into the skin as a permanent body modification. In the process of body scarification, scars are formed by cutting or branding the skin by varying methods (sometimes using further sequential aggravating wound healing methods at timed intervals, like irritation.), to purposely influence wound healing to scar more and not scarless. Scarification is sometimes called cicatrization (from the French equivalent).

Swallow tattooThe swallow tattoo was a symbol used historically by sailors to show off their sailing experience. Of British origin in the early days of sailing, it was the image of a Barn Swallow, usually tattooed on the chest, hands or neck.

The swallow also represents love, care and affection towards family and friends, showing the loyalty of the person always returning to them. The bird also represents freedom and hope.

Tattoo removalWhile tattoos are considered permanent, it is sometimes possible to remove them, fully or partially, with laser treatments. Typically, black and some colored inks can be removed more completely than inks of other colors. The expense and pain associated with removing tattoos are typically greater than the expense and pain associated with applying them. Pre-laser tattoo removal methods include dermabrasion, salabrasion (scrubbing the skin with salt), cryosurgery, and excision—which is sometimes still used along with skin grafts for larger tattoos. These older methods, however, have been nearly completely replaced by laser removal treatment options.

Temporary tattooInk or coloring applied to the surface of skin is sometimes referred to as a "tattoo". Mehndi, also known as a henna, is a traditionally Hindu method of staining the skin. Modern techniques include ink transfers on sheets of paper.

ConclusionA tattoo can be a drawing, a sentence, a word or a symbol that a person decides to draw on his skin. A tattoo can have different meanings and whoever decides to wear one, probably wants to mark a period of his life, a passion or something really important for her/ him.

I think that tattoos are something good because in some ways they are a form of art, and represent something personal, really important that people want to reveal about themselves.

No matter where you look these days it’s a common thing to see someone with at least one tattoo. This doesn’t mean that society is dwindling in any way, nor does it mean that mankind is becoming a bunch of clones following after one leader. Tattoos have built there own reputation over the years, gaining in popularity. Over the years more and more people have decided to get them – which only goes to show the phenomenon that is tattoos.

When you decide to look at the psychology of tattoos, you must first understand some of the meanings. A tattoo can tell you a lot about the individual and his past. Although some tattoos may be a bit frightening, that individual may have got the tattoos in his past and turn out to be nothing like that now. Like others out there – the tattoos that were obtained in the past may be left as a reminder for the future.

Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoo#Etymology

http://www.tattoojohnny.com/search/Mask

http://www.tattoo.com/

http://www.getinked.co.uk/about-tattoos.html

http://rattatattoo.com/

Steve Gilbert. The Tattoo History Source Book

Lal Hardy. The Mammoth Book of Tattoos

Jian Yi. One Million Tattoos

C.R. Jordan. Basic Fundamentals Of Modern Tattoo