Article published Apr 15, 2007
Tales behind the tats
Battles Museum's history buff takes his research in an unlikely direction: 'Tattoos: The Stories Behind the Ink'
By DAN MOREY
Contributing writer
Geoffrey L. Domowicz has served as administrator of the Battles Museum of Rural Life in Girard, lectured extensively on the Civil War and written Arcadia Publishing's "Girard, A Canal Town History."
But who would have guessed this mild-mannered history buff would one day produce a book on that most un-Victorian of pastimes -- tattooing?
While researching "Tattoos: The Stories Behind the Ink" (E-Book Time, $14.95), Domowicz interviewed people from all walks of life: secretaries, marines, students, housewives, strippers. He never says where exactly he conducted his more exotic tête-à-têtes, but he does admit to fishing for subjects in one particularly seedy milieu -- the Internet.
Here he had no trouble finding men and women willing to display and talk at length about their body art, which most of them consider a form of creative self-expression rather than purchased decoration -- an assertion that really only makes sense if they're tattooing themselves.
But this is the Internet, after all, where millions of people express themselves by barfing up the intimate minutiae of their lives in semi-literate blogs. Why should it come as any surprise that the same people are slobbering to exhibit their bodies as well, some going so far as to send Domowicz unsolicited nude photos?
In a culture where everyone thinks their lives are inherently interesting, where we go out of our way to flaunt our perceived uniqueness and where MySpace and YouTube have fulfilled Andy Warhol's prophesy (in the time it has taken you to drink your morning coffee, a hundred of us have posted videos, claiming our 15 minutes), none of this is out of the ordinary.
"Listen to me!" we beg.
"Look at me!"
And what better way to grab a little attention than with a tattoo?
A tattoo reveals "the innermost character of your true self," says Chris, a 38-year old father with his infant daughter's name inked across his back. "It identifies the type of person you are. ... It tells everyone that I am a proud Irishman who is deeply devoted to his wife and children."
A swell sentiment, to be sure, but one wonders why he feels the need to advertise it. What will his next tattoo be? A baby-seat on his forehead?
And the nonsense continues: "My tattoo represents a completion of many things," says Hannah of her goddess. "I consider myself a Jewish Witch, or a Jewitch. ... I only wish that it were lower on my shoulder." Or CJ on her "native Indian" tattoo: "The piece ... shows my strength in the eagles ... my humor with the ravens and ... my aloofness with the salmon."
After reading 200 pages of such self-absorbed symbology, I developed a sincere appreciation for the simple sailor who gets drunk on a Pacific atoll and wakes up with a hula girl on his bicep. When did the tattooed masses become so full of themselves? Probably around the time they started writing blogs.
One thing can't be denied: Tattoos are certainly art. Skin, however, makes a very poor canvas -- the artist's work must inevitably fade, wrinkle, be obscured by sagging lard and finally perish altogether, which makes photographing it while it's fresh all the more important. Unfortunately, the pictures in Domowicz's book aren't very good -- they're small, black and white, and often murky.
The stories alone, though, are worth the price. If you've ever spotted a girl at the beach with a godawful butterfly engulfing her lower torso and wondered, "Lord, what was she thinking?" you'll find your answer in "Tattoos: The Stories Behind the Ink."
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DAN MOREY is a freelance writer living in Harborcreek, Pennsylvania. It was obvious to me in his review that he has a genuine bias against tattoos and this subject matter; however, even with his bias, he found some sound merit for purchasing this book. I agree with him that the photos are small, and due to the expense of publishing, they had to be published in black and white. This is something that I wrestled with for many months before making a conscious decision. I could have included many photos in in this book, however they would have to be in black and white or I could select 20 photos to publish in color, I choose the former to help tell the complete story. As for the quality, I agree, some are not the best quality images; however, I again deliberately choose to include them to help further tell the story. They say that every story has a critic --- I say every critic's opinion is just one person's viewpoint!
