Chapter 12

Captian Cook from England, South Pacific, 1769, merchant and seamen discover and bring back to Europe.  At first regarded as repulsive.

United States, 1869 the railway connects east and west - Circus.

Tattoo Culture:
decoration
rites of passage
marks of social status and rank
symbols of religious devotion
decoration for bravery
marks of fertility (figure of baby on head)
pledges of love
punishment
amulets and talisman
protection as the marks of outcasts and convicts
as children come of age - boys reaching manhood
men when they marry
married women tattooed on hands, feet, thighs, blue lines between lower lip and chin
British soldiers, deserted, "D", Chapter 12
sailors to exotic foreign lands, souvenirs (dragon-China)

Greek and Romans.  Belonging to a religious sect or to an owner (slavery).  Rulers tattooed themselves - ie: ivy leaves to symbolize devotion to Dionysus (Greek god of wine and patron to the royal house).  Roman soldiers also tattooed. 

Found in 1988, in Germany, carbon dated 32,000 years old, thin lines across upper arm.

German mystic Heinrich Suso, 1295-1366, name of Christ tattooed over his heart.    Others - Emperor of Germany, 12th century, cross designs on back of hands.

Holocaust, concentration camps.

PT Barnum brings Prince Constantine to U.S.

Nora Hildebrandt.  German born father is Martin Hildebrandt - started career in 1946, first tatoo shop in America (in NYC). - Civil War, both sides.  Nora exhibits herself beginning 1882, tours with PT Barnum.

Olive Oatman 1851, United States westward expansion

United States, 1947, stereotyped symbols - represented courage, patriotism, defiance of death, longing for family and loved ones left behind.  World War I and II - C.H. Fellowes follow the fleets.

"A table set with a knife, fork, wine, a bunch of roses and a hand grasping a dagger are tattooed on to human skin. The tattooed skin was purchased by one of Henry Wellcome’s collecting agents, Captain Johnston-Saint, in June 1929 from Dr Villette, a Parisian surgeon. Villette worked in military hospitals and collected and preserved hundreds of samples from the autopsies of French soldiers. In the late 1800s, tattoos were often seen as markers of criminal tendencies, or ‘primitiveness’. Medical men tried to interpret common images and symbols. Tattoos were also used as a tool for identification, a practice that continues today."  Source is Science Museum, London, link here. 

Demi Moore, film Scarlett Letter, based off of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, 1850, fiction, set in mid 17th century Puritan Boston.

Egypt.  Circle - eternity, sun, moon.  Vein to heart.  Ownership, engagement ring.  Men begin wearing after WWII.  

feminism |ˈfeməˌnizəm|
noun
the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.
The issue of rights for women first became prominent during the French and American revolutions in the late 18th century. In Britain it was not until the emergence of the suffragette movement in the late 19th century that there was significant political change. A ‘second wave’ of feminism arose in the 1960s, with an emphasis on unity and sisterhood.
ORIGIN late 19th cent.: from French féminisme.

Uterus tattoo as a sign of female power, not hysteria.
Tattoo - comes from the Tahitian "tatu"meaning "to mark something"

Hannah Wilke.  Link here for more images and to read about the artist.

Ana Mendieta.  Link here for more images to read about the artist.

Christian Boltanski.  Link here to see more and read about the artist. 

William Kentridge. Read about the film - read sections "The Face and The Landscape.  Link here.