People and their first tattoo

People
and
their
first
tattoo
Dear Diary,
I served in the U.S. army and
protected my country. This eagle – a
symbol of freedom and great power – will
now protect me. It gives me the strength
to persevere through hardship.
Dear Diary,
I’ve always liked the peace symbol; I
feel that it represents my personality. One
day I hope to go into the Peace Corps and
do some good. This tattoo was a promise
to myself that I will always live by the values
tattooed on my wrist: strength, hope, love,
and peace. And I have. This is how I chose
and will always choose to carry myself.
Dear Diary,
Owls symbolize
wisdom. This cute little
guy perched on my left
shoulder will always
remind me to make wise
choices. I got him at a very
difficult time in my life
and ever since, I feel that
he watches over me and
protects me in my times of
need and tribulation.
Dear Diary,
This tattoo represents symbols of
great meaning to me: the Creative
Commons logo, by attribution, and share
alike. Thanks to the Creative Commons
initiative, I was able connect with others
and learn from others. In turn, I plan to
contribute back this growing network that
inspired me.
Dear Diary,
I am from Michigan and proud of it!
This state and my family are my home. No
matter where life takes me, I will always
remember where I came from. They will
always be with me to give me strength.
Dear Diary,
“Take the world nice and
easy and the world will take
you the same”. This Gaelic
quote represents words to live
by and how I choose to live:
believing in karma. I first
heard it four years ago in
Ireland and had it tattooed on
me as a reminder of my
culture and heritage.
Whenever I see this tattoo, I
feel that my ancestors are
watching over me.
Dear Diary,
Death has always fascinated me. It is
the only unknown left in this world and the
skull is a symbol of this uncertainty. The
letters D, M, K are my initials, my sister’s,
and my best friend’s. I do not know when
the Grim Reaper will come for me, but I
live for them.
Dear Diary,
The anchor on my wrist is a symbol
of hope. Hope for the better. Hope for the
best. Hope that the future will always be
bright. It reminds be to be optimistic.
Whenever I feel hopeless, I look at my
wrist.
Dear Diary,
I was named after my
father: Cedric. This tattoo
reminds me that he is with
me wherever I go. He calls
me Ceddy bear. No matter
where I am or how old I
am, I will always be my
father’s Ceddy bear.
Dear Diary,
I’ve been so fortunate and lucky in my
life that I feel I have my very own guardian
angel watching over me. My angel wings
are a tribute to her. They remind me that
she is always protecting me.
:
People and their first tattoos
Behind every tattoo is a story inscribed with ink
on skin. This photo essay is an attempt to capture,
through a series of photographs and captions, the
relationship people have with their first work of body
art.
In the opening paragraph of his book The
Meaning of Things written with Rochberg-Halton in
1981, Csikszentmihalyi wrote that the human “self [is]
to a large extent a reflection of things with which he
interacts” (p. 1). It comes to follow that a piece of
permanent body art ought to reflect a very
unforgettable interaction with a very memorable
“thing” (to use Csikszentmihalyi’s term). In fact, all the
tattoos I took pictures of told a story: either a story of
what was, a story of what is, or a story of what will be.
In an attempt to understand that story – the
relationship between the people I photographed and
their first tattoo – I echoed Csikszentmihalyi’s words
that “signs or symbols… represent something” (p. 20)
and asked them: “Well, what does it mean?” What
does the symbol permanently etched on your body in
indelible ink represent? After listening to their
responses, it became apparent that each of their tattoos
fell into one or more of Csikszentmihalyi’s four
categories of symbols:
1. Symbols that mediate conflicts within the self
like Robyn’s owl tattoo that she got during a
difficult time in her life and Derek’s skull tattoo
that helps him make sense the uncertainty of
death.
2. Signs that express qualities of the self like
Morgan’s peace tattoo that highlights her values
or Theresa’s Gaelic quote tattoo that showcases
her belief in karma or Alexandra’s anchor tattoo
that reminds her to be hopeful and Robyn’s owl
tattoo that reminds her to be wise.
3. Objects as signs of status like Charlie’s eagle
tattoo that tells the story of his days in the U.S.
army
4. Objects as symbols of social integration like
Leigh’s tattoo that represents her membership to
the Creative Commons network and Eric’s
Michigan and last name initial tattoo that tells
everyone where he’s from.
psychic energy [is needed] in order to realize the
transaction most effectively” (p. 187, 188).
I then asked: "Why did you decide to get a
tattoo?" All the people I photographed gave the same
answer: for strength. They all said they wanted to
remember their stories and the strength that blossomed
as a result: The strength to carry on. Angela wanted to
have a reminder of her guardian angel. Cedrisha
wanted a token of her father to be with her always.
Robyn wanted the owl’s protection. Charlie wanted the
eagle’s power and perseverance. Thus, the tattoos can
be thought of "objectified forms" (p. 173) of the psychic
energies that Csikszentmihalyi wrote about.
Arguably, Csikszentmihalyi could even say that
the process of getting a tattoo is a process of cultivation.
“Cultivation is a process of interpretation and selfcontrol motivated by goals rather than by origins” (p.
4). All the people I interviewed had a story interpreted
into a work of body art which the purpose of serving as
a symbol of a memorable experience: Life acted on
them, they interpreted that experience into a symbol,
and in turn, the symbol became a focal point for
psychic energy to help them direct their lives with
strength and shape their identities. This is reminiscent
of Csikszentmihalyi when he wrote that “as humanity
began to develop this procedure of making certain
things represent others, the symbols themselves were
creating human beings who, in turn, could reflect on
their surroundings and accordingly could change their
own conduct” (p. 21).
Many of the people I talked with said that
whenever they looked at their tattoo it gave them the
strength they needed to overcome or soldier on
through whatever hardship they were facing. They were
“concentrating [their] attention” to “make things
happen” (p. 5). Csikszentmihalyi would say that their
tattoo became a repository of psychic energy accessed
by attending to it. The psychic energy in turn yielded
strength to help them “realize some intention” (p. 5):
To carry on; to remember. In fact, “a channeling of
In fact, when looking at or thinking about their
tattoos, the people interviewed said that they would not
only remember the reasons behind them but also think
about how the tattoo itself helped change them and
“shape [their] life course” (p. 188). In
Csikszentmihalyi’s terms, they went beyond simple
recognition of the symbol and actually perceived
meaning from it. “Perception… involves an active,
critical receptivity to the objects so that its qualities may
modify previously formed habits” (p. 181). Therefore,
tattoos as artistic objects are fulfilling their inherent role
since “the purpose of artistic objects is to express
feelings and ideas and to stimulate new perceptions
through their own qualities” (p. 183). These new
perceptions light the path towards the “goals held to be
ultimate by individuals” (p. 188).
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Rochbert-Halton, E.
(1981). The meaning of things: Domestic symbols and
the self. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Your handwriting.
The way you walk.
Which china pattern you choose.
It’s all giving you away.
Everything you do shows your hand.
Everything is a self-portrait. Everything is a diary.” –
Chuck Palahniuk