Should History Matter to a Tattooer?

It's about being in the middle, not being at the end. You're not initiating something, nor having the last word, you're just carrying it through with the time you've got. Dan Higgs, Interview by Ed Hardy, Tattoo Revue Magazine. When you consider how long tattooing has been part of our history (at least 5300 years according to tattooed Ötzi the Iceman) it forces you to reckon with the fact your life as a tattooer is a mere blip in the continuum. Kinda humbling. This is an ancient arcane craft that, despite its current pop culture visibility overexposure, will persist long after the tattoo TV dramas, dabbling artists, and cash-grab clone T-shirt companies vanish from our forebrains. Taking this perspective frames your tattoos and all your involvement with tattooing in a way that creates a sense of responsibility, a feeling that this historic thread deserves a measure of respect. I'm a strong believer that studying tattooing's past can only contribute to the tattooing you do today. The principles you learn about ingenuity, resourcefulness and tenacity essential for survival in tattooing's days gone by are just as useful now as they were then. Of course, moving forward while focused only on the rear view isn't wise. Tattooing's technical and aesthetic evolution depends on bucking convention and breaking with tradition to some degree, and by tempering innovations with knowledge of the past and an awareness of the context you're operating in I think you stand a much greater chance of making a lasting contribution. A lot of wacky shit is being done in the name of progress (and, ahem, profit) and unfortunate and ugly mistakes could probably be avoided by paying attention to hard-won lessons from the past. All of this isn't to say the old ways are the best ways or only ways, just ways that are worth thinking about. See enough 30+ year-old tattoos come through the shop door, how time weathers ink in the skin, and you'll be convinced the old guys and gals knew a little something with their approach to boldness, simplicity, and contrast. As this is my first piece of writing I'd like to dedicate this ongoing accumulation of writing and images to the folks that have passed on what they know about tattooing to me. Thank you for your trust. I hope I can contribute something, however small it is, and live up to being a worthy custodian.