{"id":965,"date":"2019-12-24T19:08:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-24T19:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2019\/12\/24\/2019124the-fight-into-mainstream-culture\/"},"modified":"2020-09-05T19:21:36","modified_gmt":"2020-09-05T19:21:36","slug":"2019124the-fight-into-mainstream-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2019\/12\/24\/2019124the-fight-into-mainstream-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"The fight into mainstream culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

How American society began to appreciate the art of tattooing<\/h1>\n

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Deviant<\/strong>. Unattractive<\/strong>. Criminal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

All words that have been associated with tattoos. <\/p>\n

For a long time, tattoos have come with a bad reputation within American culture. Tattoos have been looked down on. Tattoos have been portrayed negatively. These negative perspectives about displays of body ink created a stigma around tattoos and the people that have them. <\/p>\n

Dave Sevilla, a tattoo artist at Black Hatchet Tattoo Co.<\/span><\/a> in Wallingford, Connecticut, has always seen the artistic side of tattoos, which America has struggled with for decades. America\u2019s story mirrors his: tattoos were once not accepted as art, but that ideology has changed.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Sevilla\u2019s uncle and cousin introduced him to art and tattoos. He drew in high school, but was too shy to promote himself. <\/p>\n

\u201cI never showed anybody my art,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sevilla said he knew he wanted to be a tattoo artist right out of high school. He started working at Dunkin\u2019 Donuts to fund his apprenticeship. His apprenticeships were at Imperial Tattoo in West Haven and Elm City Ink in New Haven, which are now closed. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Dave Sevilla, at his tattoo station in the “Black Hatchet Burrow.” Photo courtesy of Black Hatchet Tattoo Co.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Sevilla started his professional tattoo career on his 18th birthday.<\/p>\n

When he started tattooing, Sevilla\u2019s family told him to stop. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat gave me more drive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sevilla comes from a very Christian family that thought he should not be getting tattoos, nevermind giving them to others, he said.<\/p>\n

This perception toward tattoos dates back to the 1950\u2019s. In the 1950\u2019s, less than 1% of Americans ages 25-40 were tattooed, according to a 2010 study<\/span><\/a>. This low number is due in part to the stigmas around tattoos at that time. <\/p>\n

Tattoos were often associated with gangs and criminals, rather than art. Looking back to ancient Greece, criminals and slaves were involuntarily tattooed as a form of punishment, according to a study<\/span><\/a> written in part by Gretchen Larsen, of Durham University. <\/p>\n

The Greeks also saw their neighbors, the Thracians, using tattoos as a marker of status. <\/p>\n

Criminals in ancient Greece later began tattooing themselves voluntarily as a way to document their criminal careers. Similarly, sailors also started to tattoo themselves to document their travels. They used tattoos as a way to differentiate their lives from everyday society, according to Larsen\u2019s study.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Sevilla\u2019s strength in tattooing is lettering and text, based on his years of studying those artistic disciplines. But as of late, he has started to step out of his comfort zone to try a different style.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing more surrealistic stuff now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

This interest comes from his idol, Megan Jean Morris<\/span><\/a>, who is known for surrealism, according to Sevilla. <\/p>\n

Morris owned BHTC under the name Painted Souls Tattoos. <\/p>\n

In June 2017, Morris sold Painted Souls to her apprentice Ricky Borchert. Borchert and his wife, Katrina, redesigned and rebranded Painted Souls into the modern-faced Black Hatchet Tattoo Co., located in Wallingford. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted a clean looking shop,\u201d Borchert said. \u201cWe wanted it to be our own thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The revamp of Black Hatchet mirrors the 1960\u2019s, when tattoo shops were turning into studios, artists received formal training and the issue of sterilization was taken care of. <\/p>\n

Borchert and Sevilla joke that Sevilla came to Black Hatchet to work with his idol, but she had already moved her career out west. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still waiting for (Megan) to show up one day,\u201d Sevilla said to Borchert with a laugh.<\/p>\n

Borhcert laughed back.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe one day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sevilla said he likes working with clients to turn their ideas into art.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople come in with an idea and I end up convincing them to let me do it freehand,\u201d Sevilla said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Tyler Main’s most recent tattoo is a scene from his visit to Japan, done by Dave Sevilla. Photo courtesy of Tyler Main.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

One of Sevilla\u2019s recent works features a japanese scene. His client, Tyler Main, said Sevilla is a relaxed guy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important that you can be comfortable with your artist, and he definitely created a chill environment,\u201d Main said.<\/p>\n

Main\u2019s tattoo is a scene from when he and his sister visited Itsukushima, Japan. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of my favorite places in the world,\u201d Main said. \u201cI love that I can look down at my arm at any time and it takes me right back there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Main\u2019s tattoo also has a few Japanese characters, spelling out \u201cdaijoubu.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt means \u2018it\u2019s okay\u2019 or \u2018don\u2019t worry,\u2019\u201d Main said. \u201cI loved the way the characters looked when I was learning Japanese, and I like the simple message.\u201d <\/p>\n

In fact, Japanese culture has had a large influence on tattoos becoming more mainstream.<\/p>\n

In the mid-to-late 18th century, English tourists in Japan sparked a \u201ccraze\u201d in Victorian England, according to tattoo historian Anna Felicity Friedman<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cKing George V had two very well documented tattoos\u2013a dragon he got in Japan and a Jerusalem cross tattoo he got in the Holy Land,\u201d Friedman wrote in an article<\/span><\/a> on her website.<\/p>\n

The craze continued in the 19th century, when European aristocrats were frequently tattooed, according to Larsen\u2019s study. <\/p>\n

Some scholars say the upper class\u2019 tattoo phase was a desperate effort to modernize the aristocracy and stay relevant in an anti-aristocratic age.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Those are Sevilla\u2019s words about his first tattoo. His first experience with ink was with his cousin, who tattooed an Aztec god on his shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually didn\u2019t want this, I wanted a grim reaper,\u201d Sevilla said.<\/p>\n

He said his cousin refused the idea. Instead, he decided to give Sevilla an Aztec god, based on their Mexican roots.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t want to send me home with a grim reaper, so we did this,\u201d Sevilla said.<\/p>\n

Sevilla has family portraits of his son and father that are very meaningful to him.<\/p>\n

But he also has more lighthearted and fun tattoos, such as a character from his favorite video game, Resident Evil<\/em>. <\/p>\n

\u201cI get shit that I like,\u201d Sevilla said.<\/p>\n

Sevilla said he is not the type of person who thinks every tattoo needs to have a deep meaning. This mindset took over in the 1980\u2019s, when tattoos began to be associated with art and free thinking, rather than crime and gangs.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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One scholar, Arnold Rubin, called the late 20th century the \u201cTattoo Renaissance.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the late 1980\u2019s, only 3% of Americans ages 25-40 were tattooed, according to the 2010 study. A 2% increase over 30 years. Despite that minor change, the youth of the 1980\u2019s shifted the perspective on tattoos entirely.<\/p>\n

Larsen\u2019s study describes two \u201cmajor forces\u201d that came together during the Tattoo Renaissance: ethno-history and aesthetic legitimacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cTattooists began to look to indigenous cultures and their traditional tattoos for inspiration rather than to more modern North American designs,\u201d Larsen wrote in her study.<\/p>\n

This trend of cultural inspiration is what built up the \u201cforce\u201d of ethno-history in the tattoo world and increased the cultural value of tattoos. The tattoo world also experienced a surge of artists who saw tattooing as a \u201clegitimate artistic pursuit,\u201d according to Larsen\u2019s study.<\/p>\n

The art world began to accept tattoo artists into their realm. This is how the \u201cforce\u201d of aesthetic legitimacy propelled tattoos into mainstream American culture.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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In the 1990s, tattooing was one of the most rapid growing service industries in the United States, according to Larsen\u2019s study. This push can also be attributed to celebrities with tattoos. <\/p>\n

Tattoo\u2019s push into mainstream culture was boosted in the mid 2000s with television shows like \u201cMiami Ink.\u201d In the late 2000s the percentage of Americans ages 25-40 with tattoos was 40%. <\/p>\n

Another 20 years passed, but a 37% increase, according to the 2010 study.<\/p>\n

Tattoos now have more cultural meaning, rather than being seen as deviant markings. Tattoos are a means of self-expression and often anchor a person\u2019s identity, according to Larsen\u2019s study.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll my tattoos are a reflection of me showing how much those who are present in my life mean to me,\u201d Emily McGuire, 20, of Kent, Connecticut said. \u201cThey are a way of expressing myself, and I will continue to use them as such.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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McGuire\u2019s dragonfly tattoo, representing her strong connection with her grandmother. Photo courtesy of Emily McGuire.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

McGuire got a dragonfly tattoo when her grandmother got sick. After her grandmother passed, she got the phrase \u201cLove you now and always, Love Gram\u201d beneath the dragonfly in her grandmother\u2019s handwriting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI added the words underneath (the dragonfly) after she passed as a reminder she is always with me,\u201d McGuire said.<\/p>\n

McGuire also has a tattoo on the back of her arm of her brother and mother\u2019s fingerprints interlocking to form a heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have been my rock my whole life,\u201d McGuire said. \u201c(the tattoo) reminds me to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sevilla said people are more open-minded toward tattoos, because they see the artistic value behind them.<\/p>\n

\u201cTimes are changing,\u201d he said. \u201cTattoos are definitely more acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sevilla has been on both sides of the needle. Given ink, and received ink. And he says that is right where he is meant to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t see myself doing anything else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tattoos haven\u2019t always been accepted in American culture. In fact, the story of tattoo\u2019s acceptance into American culture has a lot of history. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":966,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66,142],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-capstone-projects","category-homepage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=965"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1371,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/965\/revisions\/1371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}