History of American Tattoos

American Tattoo History takes us back to the turn of the 19th century. Things were a little different back then. Circuses and different side shows played a very important role in making tattoos common. Earlier in those days, tattoos were considered vulgar and derogatory and more often than not, tattoos were associated with criminals and savagery. It was considered a violation of nature and was more than just frowned upon. Of course, through various courses in the history, today our outlook on tattoos and inking our body has considerably changed for the good or worse. That is upon you to decide.

It is in the 1940s when the perception regarding tattoos started to change. That was primarily due to the number of increased soldiers in World War II that would come home with tattoos. Thus began the era of traditional or otherwise known as, old school tattoos. Such form of tattooing was associated with heavy, black, and bold outlines of different images. These images were filled with shades of blue and red ink. Without a doubt, one of the most popular tattoo artist associated with traditional tattooing at the time, was Sailor Jerry. He was also known as Normal Collins. He began tattooing at a very young age as a teenager. He would poke different designs onto the skin with his hands, and later, he grew up to be one of the most influential tattoo artists ever to be seen in the United States. To this day, several of Sailor Jerry's images can be seen on t-shirts, bottles of alcohol and glasses.

During the late 1970s through to the early 1990s, a tattoo renaissance occurred. It later came to be known as Modern-Primitive movement. This particular movement concerned piercers, tattoo artists and body modification enthusiasts. They aimed at reclaiming the art of tattooing and piercing, and bringing it to the mainstream, by looking at the global history of the art. The father of this particular movement was Fakir Musafar. During this time, the style of tattoo that originated was known as Tribal Tattooing, which is still one of the most famous styles today. Such tattoos typically had heavy, black outlines, which were then filled with black ink. The designs were intricate and were usually influenced by the cultures of Polynesia, New Zealand and other similar cultures.

In the last few hundred years, many social changes have occurred, which incidentally drastically changed the way tattoos function in the American culture. The outlook has changed on tattoos, and so have the styles. These changes are significant as a part of American history, because tattoos are now inked to relay a story regarding different people and the person himself.

Today tattoos have become more detailed, colorful and rather fascinating. Even though certain people are not in favor of getting tattoos, it is not considered an art, and is not associated with criminality and savagery. It has become more of a fashion accessory and several different styles of tattoos have come forward in the last few years, the latest being 3D tattoos.

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