University of Washington
Skin Canvas and Ink:
Tattooing as the Medium of Art in the Twenty-First Century
Janice Nehren
BIS 470: Mexican Art and Culture
Dr. Deborah Caplow
November 29th, 2015
Nehren 1
Janice Nehren
Dr. Deborah Caplow
BIS 470: Mexican Art and Culture
November 29th, 2015
Skin Canvas and Ink:
Tattooing as the Medium of Art in the Twenty-First Century
With twenty-percent of adults, in 2012, having a tattoo, the tattoo industry is becoming one of the fastest growing of modern society (Greenblatt). And yet, even with these high numbers of individuals with tattoos, there are still many taboos relating to this form of art and several connotations made that still marginalize others. Culturally, research shows that tattoos are generally associated with bikers, gangs, criminal activity, prostitution, and even ignorance, often preventing people from obtaining jobs and moving up socially (Greenblatt). Often choosing to confine their tattoos and prevent as much visibility as possible, these individuals find themselves often discriminated against and feel as though they live double lives and in double standards; Dr. Lakra, a Mexican artist and tattoo artist from Oaxaca, Mexico, uses the medium of tattooing to challenge these social stigmas and present the trade of tattooing as an art form to the public that can be approached without social fear. Using photographs, postcards, and magazines between the early to mid-twentieth century, Dr. Lakra alters the original works by “tattooing” the figures in the frames to create works such as, Untitled (Films), Untitled (Maria Montez),Untitled (Emana), Untitled (Retrato de mujer con calaca), Untitled (1930), and Untitled (Símbolo de calidad); these works intentionally play with social juxtaposition through body modification.
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