Blog #1

The first thing that I thought of when I read “something that caught your attention” was a guy that I went to high school with and his recent tattoos. Yes, tattoos can be considered artwork because it is a form of expression that a person displays on his or her own body. That individual has the choice to put whatever design on any part of his/her body that may or may not have some meaning behind it. The ones that do not have meaning behind them are the ones that bother me because I feel as though that person is just getting it done to say that they have something “cool” or they are trying to fit in. Art should NOT be about trying to fit in, but on the contrary it should be about being unique and being you. In this case, Cory (changed his name for identity purposes), I feel just got his to fit in and I personally believe that they are stupid. I can’t think of any other way to put it. The first one that he got was his last name across his back. Personally I don’t understand why people do this in general, I could see maybe getting your last name in a creative way, but his is just big bold block letters. It was something that didn’t require much deep thought or consideration and I don’t think that is appealing at all to look at. I also don’t think that his last name is a very “good” last name to have tattooed on yourself, the organization of the letters and the length just don’t appeal to my senses. The second one that he got (the most recent) says “est. 1989” which was the year that he was born. Okay, yes this is an important year for him, but I don’t understand why he felt the need to permanently carve it on his body. What… is he going to forget the year that he was born? And again looking at the style of the font it’s just in Edwardian Script which is so common, I can’t even consider it to have an artful taste. I feel as though body art should have more meaning to it. For example another person I know, who has many tattoos, but his have meaning and art. He not only designs his own tattoos but he incorporates his life in them. The one he has is of a wolf, with Indian markings around it to signify his Native American heritage. Incorporating the environment in which I was looking at the tattoos, the fact that I don’t really care for the first guy that I was speaking of (Cory) could have an effect on how I personally view/interpret his idea of art. The second guy that I mentioned is my cousin so naturally I am going to be biased to him and most likely be able to understand him better because I have known him longer and he is a part of my family. Views similar to these could be applied to any piece of art. For example maybe if you are in love with a certain artist and he comes out with a new painting, you are of course going to have some feelings of excitement and “like” before you even see the painting because you know that artist. As opposed to a painter that you don’t like coming out with a new piece, you obviously aren’t going to have the same feelings toward his piece before you see it because you already don’t like him and his ideas.