Mifflin’s article reminded me of all the times I have heard the people around me say that tattoos aren’t art. It’s interesting because what separates tattoos from the traditional art we see is the canvas. The idea is the same. The image was still made from someone that put in time and dedication to improver their art. The only difference is that the art of tattoo artists get put onto people meanwhile traditional artists place theirs on some form of paper. Despite this little difference, it was interesting to read about the different people that try to find ways to make tattoos be accepted in what I would consider the “fine art community.” The article stated that one of the main reason’s for people’s aversion to the inclusion of tattoos is because it is unclear how they should go about being displayed. Some promise their skin upon death and others signed a contract that would require them to be exhibited. It’s definitely shaping up to be an interesting dilemma with no clear answer.
In addition to reading Mifflin, I created a presentation on Kim Joon, a South Korean artist mentioned in Mifflin’s article. I did some external research on him and I found that he sees tattoos as a way of representing the internal in art. In other words, he saw tattoos as a way to externalize the identities of the figures he makes. Seeing his works and how he described the meaning of the tattoos he draws, I started to think more on how tattoos could be displayed without the physical tattooed bodies being present.