Category: Features

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Do you want a Tattoo with your fries?

You thought he wouldn’t do it again, you were wrong!

Stian Ytterdahl, 18, from Norway, who got his McDonald’s receipt tattooed on his arm has outdone himself!

A week later he has had the receipt for the McDonald’s tattoo inked onto his other forearm! He’s gone supersize with this one!

He posted his new tattoo on his Facebook with the caption #yolo

Ytterdah told Norway’s Romerikes Blad newspaper that the first tattoo was just a joke between friends.
“Now I’m a living billboard, but I think it’s all just fun,” he said. “Maybe it won’t be as fun when I’m 50 or 60 years old, but that’s my choice.”

Think what he’d have to buy to have a receipt as a back piece?!

 

 

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Street Spotting in London

While interning at Things&Ink I spied some cool tattoos and stopped the owners for a brief chat.With everyone rushing to wherever they were going, it was difficult to ask everyone lots of questions about their tattoos!

Things&Ink reader  Mia MaCauley, 20, art student in London on a college trip.
She often gets tattooed at conventions, her chest piece is by Billie at Afflecks  in Manchester.

 

Her favourite tattoo is this little creep by Jemma Jones at Raincity, Manchester

 

Louise Fury, 36, body piercer at Original Skin, London. Originally from America but she lives in London.


She had just had a six hour sitting on her back tattoo and I didn’t want to bother her too much, we all know how tiring getting tattooed can be!

 

Daniel Herridge, 34, Birmingham. In London with his girlfriend.

Jen, 30 and Bruno 35 Owners of Gypsy Stables Tattoo Emporium, London.

 

Have you spotted anyone out and about with tattoos?

 

 

 

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“Rule number one: Don’t fuck with librarians”

Nicola, Features Editor

Quote by Neil Gaiman
Words by Nicola Cook
Photos by Heather Shuker  

Original article featured in Issue 5 The Celebration Issue, which can be purchased at ThingsandInk.com

 

Cast your mind back to our launch issue; gracing the pages, and baring all, were the misconceived tattooed professionals. You’ve seen the doctors, lawyers and accountants but what about the tattooed librarians? Arguably one of the most inaccurately stereotyped professions of the 21st century – not just for their appearance, but of their job descriptions too – it’s actually quite common to come across a tattooed librarian in recent years. When was the last time you visited the local library? Or the one at your University, College or School? I don’t know if you’ve noticed but those shh’ing book-stampers of the past (and of our cultural imaginations) have practically vanished. Gone are the days of uniformed frumpy cardigans and season-defying socks and sandals combinations, or even the sexy lady-librarians with their neat buns, pencil skirts and thick rimmed glasses… Kind of. With increasing amounts of young people entering the profession from various different interest areas and backgrounds, the information-world has diversified and what’s more, we’ve started to see antiquated and parochial perceptions turned on their head.

Within the professional circle, the librarian/archivist stereotype is hotly deliberated. On one hand, over on the web, the info-pros are trying to reclaim their profession by illustrating the fact that (shock horror) a librarian is not a cut-out caricature. There is a Tumblr dedicated to their wardrobes, and another which uncovers the tattooed librarian. The stereotype is flaunted by the media – “Librarian chic” even appeared on the catwalk (thanks Chloé) at Paris Fashion Week – but over in the States, tattooed librarians have been revelling in their own media storm surrounding various tattooed librarian fundraising calendars that first appeared in 2009.

On the other hand, librarians are frustrated that they have to even justify their outwardly appearance at all. Some are worried that the perpetuated stereotype thwarts any professionalism and cultural relevance, which – in the age of government cuts – is exactly the kind of perception that needs to be shaken off. It couldn’t be more important, or relevant, to ensure that access to knowledge (for free) is valued and maintained. So, meet the info-pros who are challenging the stereotypes in both their appearance and their jobs, proving they’re not ones to mess with (and Neil Gaiman can vouch for that…)

 

Anna Brynolf, originally from the Wirral, then lived in Sweden and now London. Systems Librarian at a university library

“My first few tattoos were done by Richie Clark (now Forever True Tattoo in Liverpool), but after that, everything has been done by Tommy Lompad at Tattoo Inkarnation in Malmo, Sweden. Flowers have become the main theme (below my collarbones, on my back and incorporated into the Celti/Nordic design on my right lower leg), but my very first tattoo was almost inevitably a tribal design on my lower back. My second was a small tribal design on my left arm which has been incorporated into my full sleeve.
“If I’d known back then that I would go on to do so much more, I might have started differently, but I don’t regret any of them.
“I think people are more surprised that someone so heavily tattooed would be a librarian. At work, some customers are surprised when they see my arms for instance but they still take me seriously in my role, whereas in social situations with new people, they are sometimes quite shocked.
“I haven’t noticed any negative effects of having tattoos in my profession and I’ve only had positive comments on my tattoos at work, from colleagues and users. The only negative comments I’ve ever had have been out on the street as I was walking along, minding my own business.
“I am planning more, there’s still room left! First, I’d like to finish my back (it’s about halfway done). After that, there’s really  only my chest and upper legs left.  And my face, but I’m not sure that I want anything there yet.”

 

Hong-Anh and Kirsty Morrison.

Hong-Anh, London. Information Specialist at The King’s Fund

“The first tattoo I got was an old-fashioned Sailor Jerry style grey swallow on my left wrist, by Andrea Guilimondi at The Family Business, which is where I also got a set of quotation marks done, one behind each ear, by Stuart Archibald. I have a Friday 13th one by Math at The Circle, and it’s a silhouette of a key on the outside of my right arm. There’s no real meaning to my tattoos, but I don’t think there needs to be.
“I think the superficial image of librarians isn’t going anywhere and I don’t really have a problem with it. It’s archaic and doesn’t represent most of our profession, but I am sure that’s equally applicable over lots of professions. The misconception that blights librarians most is the widespread idea that our job is mainly drinking tea, wearing a cardigan and reading a book. OK, so the middle one is largely true, and we probably do a lot of the other two, too. But I think there is a larger degree of skill, knowledge and passion which is required to be a librarian than is commonly thought.
Librarianship is quite a relaxed and liberal profession (remember, we’re all about access to information without censorship!) It’s not the kind of job, unless you work in corporate services such as finance and law, which has restrictions on what you wear or how you look.
“I’d like a really big tattoo next. I am in love with Rebecca Vincent’s work. I love the Victorian botanical thing that she does so beautifully.”

Kirsty Morrison, Originally Darlington now London. Information Specialist at The King’s Fund

“I became a librarian before I got my tattoos, but I had been planning them for years. I wanted tattoos from the age of 16, but hung on to make sure it was definitely something I would be happy to have on my body forever! I got my first tattoo two years ago at Frith Street – a dedication to my favourite person of all time, David Bowie! The other is from one of my favourite picture books: Our Garden Birds by Matt Sewell – who is also one of my favourite artists.
“Librarianship is plagued by stereotypes. From the sorts of people that work in it, to the type of work we do, to the sectors we work in. You get asked the same old daft stuff when you tell people what you do, to the odd sexist reaction like ‘oh, are you a sexy librarian, then?’ It’s nice to embrace this to an extent (spectacles, cardigans, cats, brogues) but obviously, like any group, librarians are diverse and individual, and I think tattoos help celebrate and express individuality and personality.
“I am dying to get more tattoos – I think they are very addictive. I have a stegosaurus on my wish-list at the moment, specifically by Rebecca Vincent, as I love her style, and I think it expresses my gentle herbivore ways quite well. I would love to have a literary tattoo as well, like the Quentin Blake illustration of Matilda sitting on a pile of books.”

Kirsty Fife, London. Archivist at Hoxton Hall theatre

“I have three large pieces right now – an antique sewing machine on my right outer thigh, a bird and antique typewriter on my upper left arm, and a pile of books on my right arm. I guess the latter is a literary tattoo, but as I work in archives and largely look after records, ephemera and objects, it’s not directly related to my profession. I do frequently joke that my tattoo niche is “old stuff” so maybe they are all archive tattoos really?
“I find that most people don’t even really understand what an archivist does. I have to explain it a lot. When people have heard of archives/archivists, they do seem to have an image of an older white guy/woman in tweed or something similar in their heads.
People outside of the profession always seem to find it amusing that I’m an archivist (again, I think this is tied to perceptions of what we’re supposed to look like), but my friendship circles are full of other radical information professionals who I don’t think bat an eyelid at me most of the time.
“I think, because I work in a theatre and arts space, I am less susceptible to tattoo shaming, and a couple of my other colleagues have them, too. I do tend to cover up for interviews, but mainly because I’m uncertain of what the attitude will be like. I’m sure if I worked in a more public-facing role, or if I worked for a more corporate institution with a dress code then I might face more problems.
“I’ve always got loads of ideas for new tattoos! I’d love to get a magpie on my calf next, and a rat somewhere too (I keep them as pets and they’re the best).”

Nicola, Features Editor on location at Brixton Bookmongers 

 

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Why not? A short history of women and tattoos

Amelia
Amelia

 

An edited version of an article by Amelia Klem Osterud – first published in The Launch Issue of Things&Ink magazine.

When was the first woman tattooed? Who was she? Who was the first woman tattoo artist? These are questions that we’ll never know the answer to, because, despite the idea that women and tattoos somehow are a modern phenomenon, women have been getting tattooed for as long as the idea to put ink and needle to skin has been around.  

Jessie Knight – picture courtesy of Neil Hopkin-Thomas

 

Sluts and sailors
Over the last 100 years, a stigma has developed against tattooed women – you know the misconceptions, women with tattoos are sluts, they’re “bad girls,” just as false as the myth that only sailors and criminals get tattoos. Nothing can be further from the truth. Look around you, lots of women have tattoos. Maybe your mum has a tattoo, maybe your grandmother or your colleague. Probably your best friend has one, maybe two. Of course, tattoos have risen in popularity over the past several decades among both genders, but a look at history tells us that women have been getting tattooed longer than that.  

Jessie Knight is considered to be the first professional British female tattoo artist. Her career spanned from the 1920s through to the 1960s

 

The Tattoo trick
A 2007 Smithsonian.com article includes photographs of a female tattooed mummy from the Pre-Inca Chiribaya culture and small female figurines with tattoos. Tattoo historians have found evidence of women with tattoos throughout the more recent past, including records of encounters with early tribal European women (Picts, Celts) and of course, South Seas Island women of various tribes. Native American women tattooed and were tattooed extensively, and there is conjecture that, despite the lack of written evidence, medieval European women bore tattoos like their male counterparts. 

Heavily-tattooed performing women awed audiences from sideshow and dime museum stages. Even British and American Victorian women decorated themselves with tattoos – newspapers from the 1870s forward reported on the “fad” of tattooing among upper crust women of the time. One of the earliest mentions of ladies and tattoos from that time period was in the New York tabloid National Police Gazette. This sensational paper reported on a female tattooist (neither men nor women were routinely called “tattoo artists” then) in 1879 in an article entitled ‘The Tattoo Trick.’ The reporter had located an unnamed woman “found in an unpretentious but neat house in a respectable locality” whose profession was to tattoo crosses, serpents, monograms, and circles on the limbs of the demi-monde of Philadelphia. She “proved to be a pleasant-faced lady, attired becomingly…” with fingers stained “black with India ink.” She said that business was good, and her clients were primarily women, who she tattooed in their homes. 

The lady tattooist then answered age-old questions – whether or not it hurt (“to some it is, to others not”) and what it cost (between $5-$25, though possibly as high as $50 for very elaborate designs.) It’s very similar to articles from The New York Times with tattooist Martin Hildebrandt from 1876 and 1882, with the main difference being that the tattooist is female. Hildebrandt comments in the 1882 New York Times article that his “patrons are primarily ladies” and “they pay well for… inscriptions” like birds, flowers, and mottoes. Clearly, women in Victorian New York were interested in getting tattooed and being tattooists, despite the stereotype. 

ARTORIA GIBBONS (16 July 1893-18 March 1985) and her husband decided that they would make a good living if she became a performing tattooed lady, so Charles Gibbons tattooed her with images from her favourite classical religious artwork, in full colour.

 

The negative response
In contrast, Albert Parry’s 1933 book Tattoo: Secrets of the Strange Art as Practiced by the Nativesof the United States is part of the reason that, despite many women having private tattoos, popular opinion about women with tattoos was overwhelmingly negative. Parry viewed everything about tattooing as overtly sexual. “The very process of tattooing is sexual. There are the long, sharp needles. There is the liquid poured into the pricked skin. There are the two participants of the act, one active, one passive. There is the curious marriage between pleasure and pain.” 

Most of Parry’s writing on tattoos is focused on men and their sexual desires. The very little in Tattoo: Secrets of the Strange Art that discusses women and tattooing is overwhelmingly chauvinistic and negative. Women, according to Parry, most often get the names of their lovers tattooed on their breasts because tattooing is such a sexual act. The women that grace the pages of Parry’s book are simultaneously ashamed of their tattoos and exhibitionist bad girls who cheat on their husbands who are “asking for it” when they are treated badly.

Unfortunately, Tattoo, along with several books like it, made an impression on the readers of the mid-century. The image of a tattooed woman as a bad girl lingered, like the books and articles that reprinted stigma and innuendo. Only now, with more and more women both getting tattoos, and getting publicly visible tattoos, are things starting to change. Certainly, there are many who don’t understand the urge to decorate one’s body, and are afraid of something they don’t understand. But as women start to take control over their public images and public bodies, tattoos are going to only become more visible and accepted. Someday soon, the question won’t automatically be “Why would you do that?” but “Why not?” ❦

All issues of Things&Ink magazine can be purchased from, thingsandink.com/buy – we are currently working on issue 7, due out in May 2014.

 

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A dark twist – DINA GOLDSTEIN

Photographer and pop surrealist Dina Goldstein aims to evoke feelings of shame, anger, shock and empathy from her work.

Her Fallen Princesses series is a rage against the “happily ever after” motif… It is an ironic look at children’s parables, from Grimm fairytales to Walt Disney. By placing iconic characters such as Little Red Riding Hood in modern situations, the series became a commentary on such everyday scourges as poverty, obesity, cancer and pollution.

I don’t want to send out a negative message just a realistic one. My main message is that this world is so complex and everyone has their own challenges to deal with. What might seem ‘perfect’ on the outside is most likely not, says Dina.

Snow White becomes an unhappy mother

Snowy

Cinders is an alcoholic

Rapunzel has leukaemia  

In The Doll House is a series that plays out as a narrative, peeking into the home and marriage of the world’s most iconic dolls, Barbie, and her partner Ken. It offers a profound commentary on the transient nature of beauty, the difficulty of marriage and the importance of authenticity.

Good art creates conversation and discussion so I’m really pleased that my work has sparked some controversy, says Dina.