The philosophy of tattoos

Is it a pretty picture? A memorial for a person or event? A statement of criminal intent? A place to list your lovers? Maybe it’s camouflage for a scar? Are they beautiful or shaming? Are they really addictive?Once upon the 20th century, tattoos were mainly seen on sailors and prisoners, but a 2006 poll found that 40 per cent of Americans between 26 and 40 were tattooed. That, writes Rocky Rakovic, means “there are more people with tattoos than there are blondes in the United States”.

Editor Robert Arp writes: “Everyone who has (or keeps) a tattoo probably thinks of the tattoo as a constant visual reminder of who they are and/or what they have experienced, whether the experience is a positive or negative one.”

Like any collection – and like tattoos themselves – this book is a mixed bag. To my mind, some of the best stuff comes at the beginning, in essays on the history of skin art, which dates to the Bronze age, and possibly longer ago than that. In many cultures tattoos were part of the rites of attaining manhood, though in ancient Egypt, it was predominantly a female practice. Tattoos may have been employed as talismans, protecting their bearers from harm. Mummies have been discovered bearing symbols of the god Bes, who protected women during pregnancy and birth.