People of the past few decades have always envisioned tattoos very differently, as something taboo according to the general concept of society, an unhealthy memory of the person wearing the tattoo.
Even the visualization
of the pain of getting a tattoo is completely different. In the past, maybe Chinese squid, more dangerous, there were people who even burned the tires of their cars to get soot mixed with toothpaste as ink.
The "carving" on the body then viking apparel used a needle to dip the ink, more dangerous, some people even used a razor. Today, DC tattoo machines have made tattooing so easy, gentle, and simple that many people say "no pain, no different from an ant bite".
But in the midst of the transformation thanks to that industry, in contemporary tattoo art there are still traces of traditional tattooing methods. Not many people use traditional tattooing anymore, but those who still maintain it have raised it to a level of seriousness as a ritual.
In this Saigon Tattoo Expo 2018
in one contest category, a contestant entered with a completely hand taping tattoo. And strangely, it is as sharp as the mechanically assisted tattoo strokes. But what's more remarkable, it attracts viewers terribly. In each tattoo stroke, there seems to be a part of the spirit and intellect of the artist who created it.
Referring to the traditional tattoo that very few people have preserved, there is a rather strange story that a master tattoo artist with the technique of using bamboo nose (sakyak, tebori) of Japan revealed that the tradition is true. of bamboo tattooing originally came from Southeast Asia, namely Vietnam and Thailand.
And the people trying to preserve this ancient art of tattooing make me think of the artists of the traditional arts before the great possibility of loss.
For example
Apo Whang-Od, who resides in the mountains, has excellent tattooing techniques using pomelo thorns. Whoever wants to be tattooed by her will have to walk to the top of the mountain and skull pattern tanktop legging pray next to her. I don't know if anyone can learn from her or not.
Or like Ajan (master) Noo Kanpai with a unique bamboo tattoo that not everyone can be a customer and Angelina Jolie is one of the lucky ones to have his work on her body.
And in the transition from the world of manual tattooing to the world of tattooing with the help of machines, the perception of tattooing has also changed. That story is not only in Vietnam but it has spread globally.