“If a tattoo wasn’t posted on social media did it really happen?”
So Kevin came to me with a juicy topic to discuss for the blog this month. Me and Kevin could spend hours pontificating on many things, mostly adult life and social media but this month it felt more poignant. He put me on to a tattoo artist that had a bit of a facebook rant (amazing rant to be honest, you can find it here) and my blog will be in the same vein of thought as this fellow as everything he said is something that both me and Kevin agree on. It's clear that the tide is turning on social media, especially in the tattoo sphere.
I would describe myself as someone who likes to think, wonder and imagine. I often find myself comparing the life of my own to the times of the past, a simpler life. Yes, it's obvious that life in the past would have been difficult without as many modern technological conveniences but at which point do you think it must have been nice not being a slave to a screen or a system to survive. How many people, although they could have dreamt of more, were content with what they had?
Although I’m not a tattoo artist, I am a creative person who often finds my creativity trapped within the constraints of modern day life. I dream of times when whole families would carry a skill, or a trade for generations. It pains me to see so many heritage crafts and artisanal skills be traded in for minimalism matched with a soulless stone grey sleek finish. What skills and talents have we lost as a human race for the sake of ease and speed. The labour of love is lost in 2026, everything is now. Quick.
To find a modern level of success you have to subscribe to the World Wide Web whether you like it or not. If you are an office worker, you may use Linkedin or an artist you may use Instagram or an internet personality you may use TikTok. But how much of this relates to what you do on a day to day basis. If your Linkedin looks great but you miss targets and you don't complete your work to a high standard, then what does your Linkedin represent? An Idealistic version of you, photoshopped and embellished to make you seem superior to who you are in the real world. You can’t even order a meal in some restaurants without having to download an app and scan a QR code (which is preferred by some people but not everybody). The reason for all these analogies and comparisons is to show how this is an issue that is prevalent across all facets of life, no matter who you are and what you do you are we are all slaves to the algorithms that run the world.
To exist as a tattoo artist or any kind of artist for that matter, this is something you have to come to terms with. How much of your time are you willing to remove from your art to facilitate your art? If an artist is great at editing and photography and being personable on screen, should they not use their skills elsewhere? Well no, because to be successful in the modern world you need to stand out and unfortunately just art doesn't make the waves it used to. This is the rage against the machine that some tattoo artists are silently fighting inside.
It's great to see tattoos become more mainstream, the stigma doesn't feel as bad. You can have tattoos in whatever job you want because this image of the ‘badboys’ or misfits has softened over time. Having lived in Tokyo in my early twenties, I understand personally what an underground subculture feels like having had tattoos whilst there. Whilst there I got a real insight into what it means to guard and protect traditions. The word we use is gatekeeping. To stand and manage this small pocket of culture or identity, when ultimately it comes down to the question of ‘does it matter though?’. Well yes, gatekeeping is something that has a bad connotation, when it could be translated to guarding traditions and values. I wouldn’t respond to someone who says ‘Please do this, it shows respect’, with ‘does it really matter though?’. Well yes it's been stated that, that is the culture and the done thing.
The old heads of the tattoo world saw expression of self change and transform alongside technology. They lived and died by the identity with whatever stigma it carried, they did flash and you came for their flash. They were the artist and you were the uniformed guy/gal who wanted something you would be proud to wear forever. You would then walk their artwork around the streets, name-dropping your artist and continuing that natural circle back to the artist where everything was motivated by ‘Yo, that's sick! Who did that?’.
‘Not like it was back in my day!’, Yeah and you can believe them. Look at the world we live in; survive in. There is no more exploring, there is no more pioneering, there's no more juice in the lemon and the lemonade we make nowadays tastes vile. Today, everyone is looking for the newest catchy trends to jump on…but none of them have anything to do with actually tattooing!
Tattoo social media is now a slew of recycled ideas, copied artwork or attention grabbing clickbait. Why can’t the tattoos speak for themselves? What happened to a good quality portfolio and walls and walls of flash?
I was getting tattooed a few days back by Kevin and I asked a question that only sounds bad when it's said aloud, and the slight pause before he answered told me it would be an interesting answer. ‘How do you see the artists who are locked into one style and are very niche?’. Now I will preface this by saying that this is an opinion that only reflects Kevin's own experiences as an apprentice. During Kevin's early days, he set out with a mind set to do everything. There was no option for ‘I don't want to do that’, because it was understood that there was lots to learn from multiple styles and those skills were transferrable. Now we find ourselves in a world with two week tattooing courses where people are picking up machines and let loose within such a short period of starting the journey. Pfft journey, no one wants a journey anymore. Everyone wants everything quick, easy and now, it kills me inside.
Okay, I’ve taken a breath. The question is for you as a customer, not the tattoo artist. They are trapped in a cycle they cannot fight trying to keep the lights on in this attention economy. Do you find value in an artist who puts more effort into pleasing the almighty algorithms than into the art you are paying them for? Or do you want an artist who makes their own way, moves to the beat of his or her own drum? Someone whose focus is art above all else and you’re not paying to be part of the constant social media grift?
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