In researching for this presentation, I looked into the many styles or kinds of tattoos that exist. One of my sources mentioned 12 different styles which helped me to understand a broad definition of what each style consisted of. There were definitely tattoo styles that I knew very well and others that I had never heard of. When relating this back to what I would deem as “my typology,” I found that I was strictly drawn to styles that all fall under a similar artistic style, tattoos with clean, simple designs: minimalist, fine line, floral, abstract, or negative space. As I was looking for a tattoo artist to help me relay my typology, I found that Emily Reid, who works at Blanc Space Tattoo really matched what I think would emulate my typology.
Emily Reid’s tattoo typology varied from minimalist to floral to negative space and additionally did include some blackwork ones. At first, I was intimidated by the vast amount of tattooists that exist and were possible options for me to look at. Fine line and minimalist are both tattoo styles that have interested me since I began looking at tattoos. This is due to the fact that my artistic eye has always been present in everything that I do, including the organization and style of my room, the way I aspire to have my art appear, and the organization of my work as a whole. I also found that there was a personal aesthetic to her tattoos that stuck to me in a way that I would want to be perceived.
One of the reasons that line art appeals to me is its ability to be complex and simple at the same time, while the design or imagery may appear clean or simple, the deeper meaning could be personal or intimate to the tattooed. I also think that minimalist and line art styles are similar in the nature that they are portrayed and what they represent. The connections between the use of ink and the idea that “less is more” is applicable to both of those styles.