Tattooing and Myth

TATTOO ART 101 WITH MADAME LAZONGA

So, after reading my title, you’re probably wondering what the hell does myth have to do with tattooing? I guess the best thing to do is start at the beginning and define myth. That word means a lot of different things to different people. The dictionary defines myth as “a traditional story or ostensibly historical events that serve to unfold part of the worldview of a people or explain a practice, belief or natural phenomenon.” It also calls it “an allegory, a parable, or a person or thing having only an imaginary or unverifiable existence.”

Let’s simplify. To me, myth is a story or symbols agreed upon by a large number of people to explain the great unexplainable.  It is storytelling and wisdom being passed to the next generation. Storytelling has always been a focal point in every culture; a non-threatening and sometimes fun way of keeping ethics and spirit alive. It has also proved to be one of the ways that cultures pass their most important teachings, stories and wisdom to the hundreds of generations that are to follow; even generations not of their own culture. I’ve always believed that artists are visual storytellers, so why shouldn’t the process of obtaining a tattoo be a conscious endeavor, one that explores our own personal mythology?

To add to this idea, I also see myth as the essence of creating something from out of the void and, as you know, the void is not really a void. It’s just the infinite source of energy. Tattooing and myth have so much to do with our primal instincts and our ability to thrive and survive together on the planet. Without mythology, without this essential voidal energy and its subsequent interpretation, as we are discovering ever so alarmingly with our changing earth, our lives would be meaningless. We would accept that we are simply automated machines doing the bidding of those in power.

Humans have known about our eminent global imbalance for centuries. Our collective ancestors have spoken and written about it for generations, sending us warnings in their own mythologies. I am thinking specifically of the Medieval example of Nostradamus and the more contemporary example of Chief Sealth (Seattle), one of the great tribal leaders in the Pacific Northwest. Despite being separated by hundreds of years, thousands of miles and very different cultures, their warnings were essentially the same. The earth is changing and, unless we change with it, she will have no use for us any longer. They created analogies and mythologies to better explain to all of us what they saw in our future, a future they could see but not yet understand. Can you imagine how difficult it was for a medieval seer to describe a modern skyscraper or a plane, not to mention computers and cyberspace? Shouldn’t we be more mindful of the mythology we ourselves will leave behind to the next generations and what mythologies, energies, and stories we are currently creating?

As time seems to speed up, our evolution as intelligent beings is speeding up with it and maybe it’s helping us to discern what really is important. Our new world is changing, but perhaps it is allowing us to come back to our human roots and see the personal mythology we all have inside. Please start asking yourself, “What is the intent behind the tattoo that you are getting?” I’ve seen many variations of designs with fuck you written in them, or the equivalent profanity and I think, Oh yea, oh well, so much for that. I guess it’s funny, and maybe I’ve lost my sense of humor, but I tend to take my work more seriously, and that’s just me. In the world of tattooing there is the full gamut of the extreme beautiful and the extreme profane and everything in between, but I still go back to that universal energy. Is fuck you what you want your great-grandchildren to see on your skin when they find family photos of you, forgotten on an old CD ROM they find with your old computer, long after you are gone from this world?  What mythology are you leaving behind by saying that? Maybe that really is the expression of individuality you wanted to leave behind, but the question remains, did you think about that before you got it inked in your skin?

I remember in the early ’90s, there was a fad of getting portraits on your skin. Some were really beautiful and then, of course, there were the ones that were not done so well. What I was surprised at was that equally beautiful and profane subject matter was chosen by people to be portrayed on their bodies. Somehow, I can’t help but think that whatever you surround yourself with has a permeating effect on your life. I remember one time I saw a really great tattoo of Jack Nicholson portrayed as the demon-possessed from the “Shining.” I was amazed by the fact that, despite its technical beauty, it contained such negative energy, and I don’t know if the wearer ever considered that when choosing the subject. Perhaps they loved that book, that movie, or just loved Jack Nicholson. Maybe that is the message or personal mythology they wanted to leave behind, but were they really asked to think about it that way?

I know that this is something that no one has ever really talked about openly in our community, but ethically or spiritually these images truly do have an effect on your life. I’m not trying to be judgmental, but just offering another perspective of the process of being tattooed. It’s a very subliminal and subjective thing. I can appreciate the demonic with the best of them, but perhaps the energy such a piece can bring to a person was not something the client actively considered. Perhaps as artists, we could make sure they do consider it?

With our world changing as it is, and the modern tattoo world continuing to emerge from what typical society sees as a negative childhood, we as artists, tattooers and collectors can try to live better, be more mindful of what we are doing here, especially those of us who have the responsibility of tattooing others. Tattooing has a way of getting us back into our bodies, exploring our tragedies, triumphs, stories, families and allowing us a measure of independent expression like no other. The act of getting tattooed is a declaration of an alignment with one’s personal, inner knowingness and is the outward manifestation of the culmination of many different components. We artists are the conduits of this energy, this personal mythology and, thus, we have a huge responsibility to the next hundred generations. No wonder many people of power are afraid of bodywork.

This is such an exciting time for tattooing. I have this uncanny feeling that everyone is positioning himself or herself to be in a place that represents a safe haven, a place where they can be more then just a mindless consumer. The terrorism that Clinton warned us of manifested itself much later then expected, and now it seems that our whole reality has changed. All I know is that with so much suffering in the world, I feel an obligation to be respectful of tattooing, to keep the storytelling alive in the most positive and creative way I can.

Please remember, I’m always interested in what other tattooers experience and how their ideas related to tattoo art as storytelling, so until next time, thank you for allowing me to express my opinions. Feel free to send me yours.

Your sister in tattooing,

Vyvyn

madamelazonga@hotmail.com