The Artification of Tattoo: Transformations within a Cultural Field

Abstract

Theorized as a Bourdieusian field, this article examines changes inside the tattoo world resulting in the valuation of certain tattoo practices as art and some actors taking ‘fine art’ positions within it. The category of tattoo art is distinct from tattoo because it positions the practice away from its traditional historic moorings as a lowbrow craft and occupation requiring a rudimentary level of technical skill. In contrast, tattoo art is created and evaluated within academic discourses and traditional fine art ideologies that stress innovation, creativity, and exclusivity. In addition to mastery of the medium, that is, applying the tattoo to skin, tattoo artists create original works that qualify as artistic by art world conventions. This process of artification has changed the symbolic meanings and valuation of a practice, imbuing tattoo art with cultural legitimacy from the inside.