Matt Lodder Archives - Page 3 of 3

July 3, 2012July 3, 2012

Tattoos: tasteful or trashy?

So who’s seen it? You know, Jodie Marsh and psychotherapist Marisa Peer debating tattoos on ITV’s This Morning?

psychotherapist Marisa Peer — Marisa Peer

There’s a few things I would have liked to have said to Marisa, if I had been on the for side and sitting in Jodie’s chair…

Marisa says that people with a sleeve of tattoos look impulsive, and while there’s nothing wrong with being impulsive, I think a person with a sleeve actually looks quite the opposite. They look like they have committed themself to getting a large piece of art on their skin. A sleeve is a significant undertaking and cannot just be decided on spur of the moment. And just because most of the people Marisa knows regret their body art, that does not mean that everyone will.

Also, Jodie talks at length about her tattoos having meaning, mine don’t all have meaning yet I do not regret them. Some I just like because of how they look and because I wanted to collect a piece of art from the tattoo artist who created it.

Another important point that doesn’t often get mentioned, everyone always talks about the permanency of tattoos, yet our bodies are not permanent. We are transient beings who won’t live forever and I think I would regret not getting tattooed more than I would collecting art on my skin while I am alive.

There’s lots more I could say about tattoos and the ridiculous amount of press they are receiving at minute – but I think Dr Matt Lodder (tattooed art historian) summmed up this particular ITV tacky/tasteful debate quite nicely in a tweet earlier today: “Are tattoos tasteful or trashy?”, @itvthismorning asked. Neither. Both. Tattooing is a medium, not a message.

I would be interested to see what Doctor Lodder would have to say, had he been on the This Morning sofa instead of Jodie Marsh….

And I want to know, what do you think about tattoos in the press at the moment? And do you think it’s right that it seems to be women more than men in the spotlight? Are tattoos tacky or tasteful? Tweet me @MoreWhiteQueen or comment on this post. Look forward to hearing your thoughts…

June 23, 2011

Matt Lodder – the art doctor.

On the 21st June 2011 I had the pleasure of hearing Doctor Matthew Lodder give a talk on his thesis – Tattooing as Artistic Practice. I have raved, in an adolescent fashion, about Matt Lodder in previous blog posts…

Back Business card — The back of Matt Lodder's beautiful business card.

Matt Lodder’s talk was extremely insightful, he posed a significant question: if tattoos are art, then why have they never been analysed as art objects? Discussions about tattoos tend to centre around the psychology of the tattoo wearer and motivations behind getting tattooed. So Matt’s thesis begins where many other discussions end – the tattooed body as art.

The talk raised important questions about the inherent problems with analysing the modified body as art. There are issues with authorship: who is the artist – the wearer or the tattooist? Problems with ownership and copyright.

Matt coloured his talk with examples to illustrate these issues. Lee Wagstaff, an MA printmaking student, transformed his body into a living piece of art. Lee designed all the graphics that would be inked onto his body, as the recipient he set out his objective clearly. The tattooer reproduced Lee’s ideas, he was the functionary. However the stylistic quirks of the tattooer will inevitably effect the way the final tattoo looks.

This example, plus others such as Wim Delvoye’s Tim, illustrate that tattoos can be art. Tim was sold for €150,000, for this price the piece has to be exhibited three times a year, of course meaning that Tim himself has to travel to wherever the artwork is to be exhibited.

Well, Doctor Lodder talked about his ideas far more eloquently than I, so if you get a chance to hear him speak I highly recommend it…

After all this academia we needed wine and discussion in the pub…

Alice Th'ink and Matt Lodder - in the pub for an apres-talk vino

Wine leads to chat about our own inkings and below is Matt’s beautiful padlock tattoo.

Matt Lodder padlock tattoo — Matt Lodder's padlock tattoo - I am hoping to get a padlock tattoo very soon too and I love this one.

Matt also has the words: Curiouser and Curiouser on his wrists, of course I love the Alice in Wonderland reference, being named Alice and having an Alice in Wonderland tattoo myself.

Top photo: www.swallowsndaggers.net Bottom photo: Ink it up

February 9, 2011

The day of the phantom tweet.

Dear Diary

It all began with one random tweet…

I have scoured the inner-most workings of my little ink-filled brain and I still cannot comprehend how it all happened. One sunny day in London, walking to Looby’s house, a beautiful sunny, if slightly chilly, day – one of those days that feels full to the brim of unlocked potential and wonder. My phone is happily tucked inside my handbag, my fur-coat is wrapped up around my earlobes and I am about to call on Looby, so that we can make our way to the Brighton Tattoo Convention (as I had informed you all I would).

I knocked on her door and made myself comfy on her couch waiting for her to finish preening herself in preparation for the day’s events. I got my phone out – as you do in these sort of situations. I gasped in horror as my – new still don’t know how to lock/work it – BlackBerry displays a tweet. One single tweet – a tweet that I did not write. The tweet in question had even managed to tag one man in it. One man – one man that I did not wish to mention in said single tweet. This man just happened to be the one tattooed art historian who I have previously described as my “ideal man”. I may have even swooned at some point in the sentence. Bloody twitter *swoons*.

@mattlodder Liv u by want do a bang thing

This is the tweet and how it tweeted I am quite certain I shall never be sure. So after this I thought the day could hold no more horrors. Things can only get better and all that. How wrong could I possibly be? Myself and Looby arrive at London Bridge station ready to board the high speed to Brighton, must point out that is already around 4pm by this point. So, we get in the queue for tickets only to be informed that we would have to catch a rail replacement bus, oh bugger! This just ain’t gonna work for us. After much deliberation, tears and tantrums (from me not Looby I hasten to add) we come to an *almost* unanimous decision to go to the pub instead. By this point I need wine (and cigs).

Alice — so upset that my arm gets inked with a grumpy face.

Off we trot with the waifs and strays we have managed to collect along the way (a boyfriend and his brother and his girlfriend). In the pub the drunken chat, as ever, turns to childhood dreams, jobs and tattoos we always wanted. It was revealed that one of us (I mention no names) wanted a snowflake and a ladder tattoo. We wittered on about best tattoos to symbolise our jobs, i.e. stock market numbers from the Financial Times, globes, books and trains (am sure you can pick out jobs to match). So the day didn’t quite pan out as I had initially hoped, however it was fun and it does provide me with another amusing anecdote in the days and life of Alice Th’ink.

But please, please, pretty please can someone fill me in on exactly what I missed? Thanks muchly.

And here are some of my fave photos from the day stolen from those of you who are more wise than I.

Photos: facebook

Photos: Tom Chambers

Lots of love
Alice Th’ink