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Griffin Dempsey
Instructor Rebecca
UWRT 1101
31 July 2014
This Whole Tattoo Trend Is Going To Die Out Soon Anyway!
What are the most annoying things you can say to someone in the tattoo world?
The answers would be the following: Why do you have tattoos? Do they even have
meaning? Theyre permanent, you know? This whole tattoo trend is going to die out soon
anyway! Wow, youll never be able to get a job now. To some people, mainly tattoo
artists; tattoos are not a trend or a phase. They believe that their tattoos are a form of
artwork- just as painting, sculpting, drawing, etc. When the topic of highly respected,
famous artwork comes to mind, we tend to think of Leonardo de Vinci, the Mona Lisa,
Pablo Picasso, or even the American Gothic painting. For some reason our minds never
even begin to picture high-end tattoo artists such as Kat Von D or Ami James. This is
primarily a result from how our society has slanted the way people view and approach the
tattoo community with a misleading, negative portrayal of its members and the
community itself. When the topic of tattoos and tattoo artists comes to mind, we tend to
vision the stereotypical dressed male tattoo artist, young males and females with ink
designs permanently etched into their skin, or maybe even famous social icons
(professional athletes, band members, singers, etc.)
Methods
To help myself have a better understanding of what goes on behind the
stereotypes of the tattoo community, I decided to observe and interact with a local tattoo
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community here in Charlotte. I made a total of three visits to Tattooing U, tattoo studio,
over the course of three days. On the first day, Friday, July 25
th
, 2014, I visited over six
tattoo parlors within a thirty-mile radius of UNC Charlottes campus. The first two visits
rejected my proposal of interviewing staff members (they thought I worked for Yelp.)
The next three shops were already booked for the weekend. Finally, the last shop,
Tattooing U, was open and insisted I interview them.
My first day at Tattooing U consisted of designing my tattoo, receiving the tattoo,
and interviewing my tattoo artist, Chad Weezie. On the second day, Saturday, July 26
th
,
2014, I observed the environment and behavior of the shop, its staff, and their customers.
On my last day at the shop, Sunday, July 27
th
, 2014, I observed the tattoo shop and
interviewed Weezie once again as he effortlessly touched up my friends tattoo.
By observing Tattooing U on different days, I was able to note the consistency
and differences within the shops environment and the staffs behavior. However, I was
also able to observe the shops environment and behaviors from three different
perspectives. The first day I observed as a new client and customer of Tattooing U and
Weezie. The second day I observed as a bystander with no connection to the shop or its
members. On the last day, I was able to observe and interview within the shop as a friend
facilitating another friends tattoo process. As I observed and interviewed, I tried to keep
in mind the six characteristics of discourse communities that Swales provided to us. I
focused mainly on the lexis, intercommunication, goals, and image of the tattoo
community. My main goal was to see if tattoo shops held all the characteristics of
discourse communities and figure out why people in the tattoo community fit their
stereotypes.
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Analysis
I walked into the tattoo shop and noticed a large group of people had walked in
just seconds before my three friends and I had. The group consisted of four African
American females and two African American males. The women were very specific
about what they wanted. They said, We want a red bird . . . So, on of the tattoo artist, a
smaller guy, started drawing up a basic tattoo design. But then one lady requested the
exact size and placement of the bird, as a cover-up of a shoulder blade tattoo. The women
argued with the smaller guy for awhile, but he just replied with: . . . .I cant do a bird
that small with that much detail. Youre not listening to me. My friends and I were still
standing at the front desk waiting for the group to finish their designs, piercings, and
tattoos. The bigger man turned to us and said, Im really sorry, but this huge group
ahead of yall is probably going to last until our closing time. Do yall want me to write
yall in for an appointment tomorrow? Then, the larger guy stepped aside into the
argument and calmly said, your tattoos would be a lot easier if you let us use a bigger
design- it will raise the price of the tattoo because of the amount of ink we will have to
use, but Ill give yall a discount to help that shit out. The girls looked at each other then
left mumbling, whatever, they obviously dont need our business.
The bigger guy began laughing to himself; however, the smaller artist seemed to
be livid. He looked at the other artists and then stormed out. The bigger guy came up to
us and said, Im Weezie. Do yall want tattoos? Or do we not need yalls business
either? Ha-Ha. Weezie is younger than the other artists. Weezie is very large. He doesnt
have a beard like most tattoo artists either, but he has the copious amounts of tattoos,
stretched ears, and the overly decorated tattoo stall. Weezies workroom had posters
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and artwork all over the walls. He also had rap music blaring from speakers that were
connected to an old boom box.
Weezie called his workroom a stall. I asked why, and his answer was, its
different. It can be pretty damn funny to see the look on guys faces when I say, last stall
on the left. One guy really went into the bathroom last year. This showed me that tattoo
artists use different words to describe things that people outside of their environment
would not understand. Another form of a lexis that is used in this community was the
word shaker. A shaker? Ha-Ha. Thats like, uh, basically- its someone who doesnt
need to be getting a tattoo. Ha-Ha. When the needle hits the skin, their eyes get all big
and shit, and then they start bouncing and shaking. Dont be a shaker, please, girls. This
also showed me that tattoo artists like to be in a comfortable environment, unlike people
who work behind a desk all day and have to dress up. In our society, many jobs cannot be
attained without a certain degree or form of certification. For tattoo artists, You can do
tattoos without certification, but you dont make as much money. I dont know of any
shops that hire artists without certification. I dont think its legal. Weezie has been
tattooing for sixteen years; he tattooed for ten years without a license and six years with
one. Some non-certified artists are amazing- some suck. Shit, some certified artists suck.
They cheat people out of good artwork and tattoo care for money purposes. They dont
see it as artwork; we dont call them tattoo artists. This must mean that Weezie, as a
representative for experts in his field, really has a problem with those who give tattooing
a bad reputation for their lack of effort and passion.
The owner of the shop, or the hothead from the front desk, is named Curtis. The
other tattoo artists in the shop go by the names Puff and Crispy. Crispy looks like modern
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Napoleon Dynamite, but hes covered in tattoos. Puff is just very large and bald- also
covered in tattoos (but only on his legs.) When all of the artists are working with clients
in their separate rooms, they communicate to each other by yelling over the sound of their
individual stereos playing loud music. On my first day, none of the tattoo artists really
seemed to get along with Curtis. Then, on my third day, Weezie said to me, Curtis is so
funny, bro. He used to doum-standup comedy. How dope is that? Later I asked
Weezie some questions about his tattoo career and background. I loved tattooing since I
was a teenager- started way too young. Art was [always] up there too though . . . Its
pretty dope working here instead of where I was before- I made money, but not enough
for the artwork I was doing. [At Tattooing U], they give me everything I need to work in
a chill environment. Theres a shop minimum because of that shit, of course, but its a lot
more safe and stuff. I get more clients that are willing to pay more money for descent
artwork and cleaner tools- and- like- its chill here too.
Weezie seems to be very passionate about his tattooing and tattoo designs. His
portfolio on the front desk is full of his actual tattoo work along with some drawings and
sketches of tattoo designs. To Weezie, what he does is not just a hobby or an occupation;
Tattooing is his passion- its a place where he can be himself and do what he loves. I
dont think it bothers Weezie that some people dont see his tattoo work as artwork, but
I believe it bothers him that other artists work give people a legitimate reason to have
those inaccurate presumptions about his as well.