TATTOO : A New Form of Art
Tattooing is one of the popular forms of art. Do you want to know more about tattooing, and experience having a tattoo on your body? ST will lead you to the charm of tattoos. ........................ Ed
Every person nowadays has various images of what a tattoo is like. Its colors, shapes, and moods are all different. If you think of Irezumi-style tattoos and nasty impressions as symbols of the power of the Yakuza, or Japanese gangsters, you can’t get away with old-fashioned treatment. Thus, the public’s perception has been aroused. Tattoo is rewriting its history as a genre that is either fashion or art. However, it is still considered a non-mainstream culture in Korea due to the absence of related laws. The exhibition, “TATTOO: A New Form of Art” is designed to reveal the aspirations that tattooing will no longer exist on the precarious confines of what is legal and illegal, and what is art and non-art, but on a lawful cultural and artistic trend. The exhibition is largely divided into two sections. “Section 1: Tattoo Artist” consists of five separate spaces containing plaster figure objects that show their unique tattoos.
Silo, a tattoo artist who expresses nature in transparent and clear colors
Kuba, a tattoo artist who works on black work about Oriental materials and themes
Joul, a tattoo artist who uses UV ink and light lines to depict the kitsch mood in black work
Git B, a tattoo artist who works with a hand fork on abstract images, including different colors, faces, lines, and objects
“Section 2: Tattoo Archiving” explains the tattoo tools that local tattoo artists actually use, along with paper works, and shows a universal shop of Korean tattoo where tattooing is simulated. There is also an experience zone where visitors can try drawing and
working on the five tattoo artists’ designs. You can also enjoy artworks featuring tattoos by visual crews like SF9 and 308 Art Crew. “Alive” of SF9 lets viewers to see and feel the process of tattooing as an art, while looking at a plaster bust. They want to show that tattooing is becoming a visual art that allows someone to express one’s own story beyond the elements of fashion. “Mornado” of 308 Art Crew is located on the last line of flow of the exhibition. The piece is a work that breaks the boundary between art and ideals for the writer, and reminds the audience that the experience of art is in the same context as the experience of everyday life.
Interviews with tattoo artists and the public are included in the exhibition. Though they have the common jobs as tattoo artists, their works and lives are different. Even in the midst of an era still unprotected due to the absence of a law, Korean tattoo artists are building a self-sustaining system and expanding its scope. The exhibition runs through April 8. It might be a meaningful opportunity to see and feel the various forms of creativity of those who love tattoo, an art with no boundaries.
Lee Hae-been (News Editor)