The first American tattoo studio opened in New York in 1870; the invention of the first electric tattooing machine in 1891 significantly reduced the inflicted pain, skill, and time it took to execute a tattoo. By 1900 every major American city had a tattoo parlor, and the ubiquitous images of hearts, eagles, snakes, God, and country were on their way to becoming Americana. Known in the trade as “flash,” these are the images that are displayed on the walls of tattoo establishments, and many still in use today were originally drawn by Lew Albert, an early New York tattoo artist who played a significant role in shaping the look of standard-issue American tattoo.

Another prodigious talent was Charles Wagner, who tattooed tens of thousands at his New York studio from the Spanish American War until the mid-1950s. The first to cosmetically tattoo women’s lips, cheeks, and eyebrows, Wagner tattooed socialites and Bowery folk alike—and completed more than 50 full body tattoos for circus performers. Many would-be circus people saw extensive tattooing as a means to permanent employment in show business, the most prominent being the Great Omi, an international star from the 1930s and 40s. Sitting for more than 150 uncomfortable hours of needling by England’s greatest tattoo artist, George Burchett, the “zebra man” emerged with his entire head and body covered with wide black stripes. Even today when body modification has become more and more extreme, the Great Omi would command respect at any tattoo convention.

Beginning in the late 1960s, several trends radically changed the international tattoo world. Tattoo artists with a background in fine arts began emerging, and people began to see tattoo as a legitimate art form, shown in galleries and respected as a unique collaboration between the tattoo artist and the tattooed. Greater opportunities for communication among tattoo enthusiasts during this era accelerated the pace of cross-cultural sharing that has always played a part in the tattoo story. And various forms of permanent body modification became more popular, making tattooing a much more broadly practiced form of personal expression today than it has ever been before.

Contemporary tattoo artists blend differing styles into a world beat of graphic and representational visual images drawn from innumerable sources. Influenced by Western art, tattoo continues to thrive in Japan; in Polynesia, where it was long suppressed by colonists, indigenous artists eager to reclaim their cultural heritage have revived the full body art form. Each person who chooses a tattoo does so for a different reason, but the same notes are often struck: courage in the face of pain, unconventionality, the search for spiritual truth, and the desire for beauty.

Penelope Hummel is a freelance writer and public relations consultant in Portland.
This is her first article for Reed.