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05/12/2008
Tattoo News Review
Last night, I was going through the week's tattoo news when my sister insisted I stop and watch her most favorite TV addiction, Chelsea Lately -- a late night talk show surprisingly smart and witty especially considering it airs on the E Channel (a channel that puts on shows like Top Ten Celeb Baby Mamas Dramas). But even in my TV break I couldn't get away from needled news. Chelsea's hilarious opening monologue focused on one thing: Tattoos. Specifically, the classy, dare I say, highbrow 'wedding ink' of Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon. I expect nothing less than from the woman who put forth that tour de force Glitter. Grey Goose shot out my nose as Chelsea mocked the misguided celeb body 'art' . I just had to put the clip of it here for ya to start the news round-up. Enjoy!
The thing is that Carey's Mrs. Cannon lettered tramp stamp and Cannon's Mariah tattoo on his back dominated the headlines this week, even beyond tattoos. I understand. Divas are much more fun to read about than bloated dead bodies on the shores of Myanmar. Bummer. But I worry if doing these regular Monday news briefs is making me dumber.
Why are interesting and educational tattoo stories so rare?
Why are we subjected to celeb skin snafus week after week?
Why is there more than one person with a Mariah Carey ode on his body?
I blame the Bush presidency for making stupid en vogue. But thankfully, there were a few stories this week that won't insult your intelligence:
The most interesting for a tattoo law nerd like me is the case of a tattoo artist who is suing the city of Watsonville, in federal court in San Jose, California for violating free speech and equal protection rights in its new and highly restrictive zoning for tattoo studios. Now, almost every week we read about artists suing over restrictive zoning, but what makes this unique is that the grounds are based on civil rights. The US federal court has never effectively ruled on whether tattooing is protected speech under the First Amendment and this could be a precedent setting case. It's also a very tough case to make but tattooist Geoffrey Wells has a lawyer willing to take it on: his mom, Kate Wells, a Santa Cruz-based civil rights lawyer and activist. The law suit itself is pretty creative. According to the Mercury News, Wells claims "the city's ordinance is discriminatory because it doesn't restrict similar businesses, such as art studios, where the difference is the medium, canvas vs. skin, and beauty salons, which routinely use permanent dyes to color hair." I'll definitely be keeping tabs on how this case progresses.
No tattoo bans for Guelph, Ontario. Considered one of the ten best places to live in Canada, the city's tattoo studio and collector population is growing according the Guelph Mercury's extensive article on its local tattoo artists.
Even in Saudi Arabia, the recent popularity of tattoos and piercings are fueling underground studios.
The debate over UV tattoo ink continues, this time with Canadian tattooists arguing over the safety of the blacklight illuminated rave stamps. Keep in mind that some UV inks claim to be approved by the US FDA, but when you read the fine print, it is not approved for human use but for fish and animals. The results of UV tattoos tend to be mixed: some have no problems at all while others have nasty reactions that leave scars. It's your skin to gamble with.
A Niagara Falls tattooist was forced to surrender his tattoo equipment to the Niagara County Health Department for violating the cease and desist orders that prohibited him from tattooing after eight people developed skin infections from his tattoos. Tattooer John Portik III worked out of his home and at 'tattoo parties', which usually spells kitchen-table scratcher. But I bet his tattoos came at bargain prices!
A 15-year-old is tattooing in Arizona. The Arizona Daily Star called him a prodigy but judging from that work shown in the article, I may just take my chances with John Portik's dirty needles. The kid and his mom went to tattoo school over the summer and now wanna open up shop. I prefer my artists with 15 years of experience, not birthdays.
Hell, I'd even prefer a felon over a fifteen year old: one Indiana county just changed its tattoo ordinance lifting its general ban on tattoo licenses for felons.
A Pittsburgh mayor is getting a tattoo for each victim of violence killed since he took office. I think it's a great reminder of the most important part of a mayor's job: keeping citizens safe. I'd vote for him.
In shiny, happy tattoo news, one of my favorite artists Goethe Silva Mier is featured in the latest Lowrider Art magazine. Check out his site and see why he's the master of pre-hispanic imagery.
US soccer star Natasha Kai of the U.S. Women's National Team is a total tattoo hottie. Vote for the full-sleeved forward, who has more than 19 tattoos on AOL Sport's Hottest Olympian poll.
The Vancouver Sun profiled fully-sleeved elite chef Robert Belcham, focusing more on his body art than secret recipes.
Finally, I'll end where I first began -- celeb tattoo dumbassness:
Baywatch actor Jose Solano was busted for stealing a tattoo design portfolio from a Placerville, CA studio. Insert your own joke here: _____________
Meanwhile, Pam Anderson is now removing all traces of ink from her aging bod because she no longer likes the way they look. She is keeping those famous boobs of course. Because we all now that large perky breasts on old ladies is way more natural looking. The great thing about tattoos--which many find a negative -- is that they grow old as your skin does so it's more organic and elemental. Then again, if I had a barbed wire tattoo armband, I'd probably remove it as well. Like soon after the nineties were over.
Posted on 05/12/2008
Tags: Chelsea_Lately, Civil_Rights, Guelph, Mariah_Carey, Natasha_Kai, News, Nick_Cannon, Pam_Anderson, Saudi_Arabia, Tattoo_Law, Uv_Tattoos, Zoning
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