“Cover

“The painter constru

“Cover-Up”

e painter constructs, the photographer discloses”. Susan Sontag

Susan Sontag

Abstract

This photographic project consists of a number of images of people who have chosen at some point

in their lives to decorate significant areas of their skin with body art in the form of tattoos. The six

boards presented for assessment show images of individuals from Birmingham, Oxford and

Berkshire and are a subset of the (currently) twelve pieces developed for this project. As with

previous projects my interest in this subject area has developed out of a wider exploration of

“identity” and more specifically so called “identifying marks” on the body. By relating the subject

matter to the presentation of the work I am also continuing to investigate current issues in

contemporary portraiture.

General project aims are to embrace Sontag’s declaration (above) and disclose the often unseen

construction of the body art. In addition the images overtly question the societal constraints

imposed on body art. Specific objectives include engaging with comparisons by presenting two

images side by side and by presenting boards in proximity to each other. I am using what is for me a

radically different approach to lighting employing a high key almost shadow-less set up to minimise

the description of form by highlight and shadow hence documenting the tattoo artwork without

“glamourising” the subjects. Post production involves working the image into a “hyper-real” stylised

presentation, when combined with the white background the result is expected to be closer to an

illustration than a photograph.

Dissemination

Some of the images have been displayed as part of an empty shop project in Berkshire, as well as

part of the Platform Festival art in the street project in Winchester and online at “Purpleport” a

portfolio hosting website.

Acknowledgements:

Freaky Von Dee's Tattoo Studio, Stafford Street, Walsall, Birmingham

MoreArts Open Shop Project, Wokingham, Berks

Platform Festival project, Winchester, Hants

Introduction

This project is designed around the following research questions:

• How well is the challenge of Blankness in a photographic portrait managed by

presentation methods?

• How can lens based still media express the fluidity of Identity?

It is my intention to encourage deeper engagement with the image and for the viewer to question

values, social and individual, concerning body image and in particular body art in the form of tattoos.

The starting point for this project was the image below by Joseph Pennell as seen in Photography

and the Body (Pultz 1995). Pultz observes that “while the tattoo may have fetishized Reynolds body,

Pennell did not”. Pultz also praises the frontal returned (blank-my observation) gaze.

Joseph Pennell Reynolds (1905)

Tattooing

There is archaeological evidence that may support the ancient practice of tattooing dating back

30,000 years (Rush 2005) and mummified skin of Egyptian origin clearly showing artificial pigments

forming decorative tattoos from some 6,000 years ago (Camphausen 1997).

The rationale for ancient peoples to decorate their bodies is of course inaccessible to modern people

living in a completely different cultural paradigm but current theories offer several suggestions

including; medicinal uses, magical properties (perhaps images of predatory animal spirits channelled

for increased hunting prowess), rites of passage or glorification of the body to enhance sexual

attractiveness. Woodward (2011) observes that the decoration of pre-modern bodies was driven by

“inherited models of bodies shaped through ritual in common ceremonies” as opposed to the

current tendency in the affluent West to see the body as a project to be shaped/decorated as part of

an emerging “individual’s self-identity”. Undoubtedly one reason that remains relevant in recent

times is that of a signifier of tribal or group allegiance (the military in the case of Pennell’s soldier). In

prehistoric, nomadic social groups this form of identification could have been a matter of life and

death when rival groups routinely contested resources. In modern (notably adolescent) society,

group allegiance is recognised as being paramount to evolving beliefs and social value systems and

ones individual sense of belonging. Martin Lister (1988) documented a photographic intervention

with teenagers in his book Youth, Culture and Photography where young people were invited to

present a photographic project illustrating their identity. One youth, Pete, produced a board

representing the sub-cultural skinhead iconography which included a number of tattoos.

The shock value of tattoos is far less today than in Pete’s 1988 due to the growth and acceptance of

body art which has increased significantly in recent years; the following statistics from the USA

illustrate this:

1936: 6% of Americans have a tattoo (life magazine)

2003: 16% have a tattoo (Harris Interactive poll)

2005: 25% of the general population have a tattoo (American Academy of Dermatology)

Research from the Pew Research Centre (2010) also found that 15% of 18-25 year olds think that the

increase in people being tattooed has caused a positive impact and 60% of 18-25 year olds think that

the increase in people being tattooed has caused no discernible impact. This attitude from the

younger generation predictably flies in the face of negative associations older individuals might still

defend, associations with societal punishment, prison culture, branding in Nazi concentration camps

or marginal problematic sub-cultures (e.g. Skinheads, Hells Angels and other gang cultures). In most

Western urbanised civilizations tattoo and body art is undergoing a renaissance and becoming

increasingly acceptable, however in contrast to this some emerging third world countries are

experiencing the exact opposite. In Thailand for example, where traditionally it was once normal to

be adorned in this way, government jobs now are closed to anyone wearing a tattoo. Similar

restraints are imposed in Malaysia and some African states. Camphausen (1997) argues that this is

due to repression of aspects of their cultural heritage that were once thought of as primitive to

Western eyes and is driven by market forces impinging on an emerging and competing economy.

In wider photographic practice tattoos are still routinely erased by photographers working in the

fashion and glamour sector and aspiring models will list items of body art along with their vital

statistics and explain how to “cover up”. However the use of tattooed models in advertising is a

relatively new development possibly spurned by the fact that other media icons and role models

(celebrities) increasingly display body art.

Celebrity tattoos: Cher and David Beckham. Below, Diesel aftershave now available as a “Tattoo” version

Contemporary Art and Photography

The link between contemporary art and tattoo art often revolves around explorations of relevant

subcultures or historical cultural sources. In 2006 a touring exhibition “Under the Skin: Tattoos and

contemporary Culture” showcased a selection of international images and objects including

Japanese, Native American and Maori, demonstrating the inherent diversity. The exhibition also

included the work of contemporary artists such as Nan Goldin, Thomas Woodruff and Marc Joseph.

Nan Goldin: Bruno with Tattoo Marc Joseph: Joseph

Designs by contemporary artists have recently been used as the basis for tattoo designs and in the

case of Jeff Koons and Damian Hurst captured by photographer Hedi Slimane (below).

Hedi Slimane: Jack Driver, tattoo design by Damien Hurst Leaf Chang, tattoo design by Jeff Koons

Slimane uses a brooding low key aesthetic loosing the subject’s identity in favour of the identity of

the famous designer by focusing the viewer on the art work instead of the person.

Belgian independent photographer Olli Bery has produced several Tattoo related bodies of work

notably “La Modene Boucherie”, the title is not necessarily a comment on the process of body

modification, it is simply the name of the Tattoo studio featured.

Bery’s images are also dark and moody playing to pre-existing fringe subculture associations. The

individuals are largely anonymous and the documentary approach trumps identity with the tattooing

process itself featured as a noteworthy event.

In contrast, the photographs of Jeff Crisman fall squarely in the realm of portraiture.

Jeff Crisman Maryanne, IN (1995 )

Jeff Crisman Melvin, KS,

Inspired by the likes of Arbus and Sander, Crisman’s environmental portraits have developed over

the last 30 years as he has sought out and captured “celebrities” from the subculture, often heavily

tattooed people or well known tattoo artists. Crisman’s work is fuelled by a deep interest in the

history and symbolism of the artworks in addition to individual’s stories. In the 2011 catalogue for

the group exhibition “INKED: Tattoo Imagery in Contemporary Art” he is quoted as saying:

“At first I found the graphic impact of images on the body to be compelling and it was

enough to make pictures that were purely visual experiences. Thirty plus years ago a

heavily tattooed body was still an occasion for shock and awe. That quickly became

less interesting than the people and their stories and the project morphed into

environmental portraiture.”

Two artists worthy of note in the context of tattoo related contemporary art are Dr Larka and Abe

Koya both of whom have enhanced/defaced existing works by adding realistic depictions of tattoos.

In the case of Mexican tattooist and artist Jeronimo Lopez Ramirez, (known as Dr Lakra) found

images and objects are treated to a make-over with his own tattoo-style designs. His work was

featured at the Tate Modern in the exhibition, “Pin Up” where vintage kitschy “cuties” were

embellished with his own brand of tattoo art. The Tate explained that...

“The relative innocence of another era is politicised. Beautification or social

identification ... a collage of ideologies.”

Jeronimo Lopez Ramirez: Especial a Go Go: (2003)

Similarly the Japanese digital artist Abe Koya destroys/enhances well known historical art works with

the addition of Japanese tattoo art to the figures.

Abe Koya: After Olympia, (2008)

Abe Koya: After the birth of Venus (2008)

For Koya “Japanese tattoo, (Irezumi) is an art form that represents commitment, dedication and

physicality” where as “Digital media is an art form that represents transformation, flexibility and

emptiness.” His work also exposes cultural, social and historical correlations between Irezumi and

emerging digital media not least the vast cultural divide between Japanese Irezumi and the Western

until recently, fringe, taboo tattoo subculture.

Relevant Conceptual Framework...Blankness

Following the Tate’s Cruel and Tender exhibition in 2003 the prominent style of contemporary

photographic portraiture features individuals displayed as a series of large prints. Typically each print

includes just one person who is shown front and centre, gazing directly into the lens with little or no

facial expression. Stallabrass (2007) identified a recognised historical lineage linking this “blankness”

of expression to the photography of August Sander, Bernd & Hilla Becher and even earlier the

ethnological, pseudo-scientific, documenting photography driven by the criteria devised by James

Lamprey and Thomas Huxley in the colonial British Empire of the late nineteenth century.

The almost impenetrable visual message offered by the blankness in portrait images (produced for

example by Thomas Ruff and others) is amplified and potentially easier to decode, when images are

presented together in what has been a labelled a typological series. The viewer, when challenged by

these (often anonymous) typologies displayed as a large scale spectacle on the gallery wall can

search for meaning not just in the one image but also by comparing each with its neighbours.

Each project image is presented as a pair, clothed and unclothed to invite comparison of state. The

blankness of expression is betrayed by micro-expressions revealed by careful comparison of the

faces. Though the subjects were directed and encouraged to offer a blank expression in both

component image there is a discernible difference which may be read as more/less confidant by the

viewer. This reading may be accurate or may be a projection of the viewers own anticipated feelings.

Stephen Shore (2010) describes this “mental level” when trying to explain the Nature of

Photographs in the book of the same name. “The metal level elaborates, refines, and embellishes

our perceptions of the depictive level” (what the photograph actually shows). This of course is

different for every viewer as they make their individual interpretations fit with their unique

experience based value system.

The opportunity to compare images within and across the series feeds into the concept of social

conscience defined by the dichotomy of self and “other”. From the experience of birth our known

world splits into two with the experience of the mother’s body as something independent from our

own. Identifying and comparing gender, age and social types will I hope enhance the experience of

comparing others. Interestingly Rush (2005) further argues that tattooing is an “extension of how

we, as individuals view ourselves and bond to others”

Process

Through my initial work on identity, and subsequent castings, I have met and grown to know well a

number of people with tattoos including owners of tattoo studios. I found many willing volunteers

for this project possibly because the type of person who is in general committed to heavy body art is

also by nature an exhibitionist and by extension interested in aspects of visual representation. I

narrowed down potential candidates to those with significant tattoos and in particular chest pieces

like the soldier in the Pennell image.

The first images were created in a studio environment with full control over the space and lighting

etc. As the set up was relatively compact I decided to take it on the road and capture component

images in other locations, i.e. a hotel room, a tattoo studio and a domestic dwelling. The non-studio

capture was more challenging and required more work in post.

Each figure is a composite image made up of three exposures (i.e. six exposures in total for each

board). This is a purely pragmatic response to a lack of suitable specialised lighting and allows me to

use two large soft boxes as an angled background to introduce the wrap around highlight/rim light

effect which enhances the form in high key and also contributes to the illustrative style when post-

processed.

The stylisation and the white background coupled with frameless presentation were inspired in part

by Emmanuel A David’s 2004 essay Signs of Resistance featured in Stanczak’s Visual Research

Methods. David describes a tattoo featured in amateurish cartoon style activist graffiti on the walls

of vacant buildings in New Orleans as “marking bodily space” just as the graffiti visually marks the

wall. To celebrate this view I have tried to create a frameless presentation in which the images mark

the gallery wall, claiming the space and echoing the way the tattoos define and shape the identity of

the subjects.

3. Conclusions

To analyse this project’s effectiveness in terms of the research questions posed in the introduction

and to gain a measure of success in relation to intentionality I engaged in conversation with the

members of the general public who showed an interest at the exhibition of the work and have

elicited views from a more specific group (photographers and aspiring models) via on-line forum.

How well is the challenge of blankness in a photographic portrait managed by presentation

methods?

A more pleasing response to the concept of blankness and projection/comparison was achieved

when the images were presented side by side on the gallery wall. Viewers could more easily perceive

different expressions, certainly than the on-line presentation where it was common to find that

people consumed the images more quickly and more superficially as is dictated somewhat by their

expectations of the medium. In addition the on-line viewers had opportunity to further research the

subjects and see them in other contexts colouring their perception of the person and hence the

reading of the project images. I found good examples of mediation by the viewer in the public

spaces. For example the image of the older balding man was described as “feminine” by one woman,

“typically British” by a French man and “aggressive” by an ex-convict.

How can lens based still media express the fluidity of Identity?

A failure of still photography is to capture no more than a still image. When compared to video

where added movement can describe a person by virtue of fluid transitions of expression and

gesture the still camera is a poor substitute. Still images may remind us that “people’s identities are

much more fluid and complicated than can be expressed by an outward appearance or split second

judgement” (quote from “Tansy Blue” in response to the images on Purpleport.com). The split

second judgement of the camera prejudges our view of the person in the portrait. The diptych style

presentation of this project forces the viewer to disengage from the prejudgment and combine it

with another.

This work has strong associates with the work of Jeff Crisman in terms of the interest in the people

and the history of body art. The serial aesthetic owes much to the likes of Ruff and the post

processed illustrative effect sits well with the images produced by Jill Greenburg and David Hill. I

hope I have moved the photography of tattoos away from the dark moody imagery of the past and

into a bright high-key spotlight that reflects its emergence into the accepted mainstream.

References:

Barrett E ed. (2010) Practice as Research: Approaches to Creative Arts Enquiry. London, Touris

Brilliant R (1991) Portraiture. London, Reaktion

Camphausen R (1997) Return of the Tribal. Park Street Press

Lister M (1988) Youth, Culture and Photography. Macmillan Education, London

Pultz J (1995) Photography and the Body. London, Everyman Art Library

Rose G (2011) Visual Methodologies, 3rd

ed. London, Sage

Rush J (2005) Spiritual Tattoo. Frog Ltd, California

Stallabrass (2007) What's in a Face? Blankness and Significance in Contemporary Art Photography,

MIT

Stanczak (2007) Visual Research Methods. London, Sage

Vale V, Juno A (1989) Modern Primitives. RE/Search Publications

Woodward K (2011) Identity and Difference. London, Sage