The world of art and creative expressions is where my passion in life resides. Art of all different forms and mediums inspire wonder and admiration within me. However, there is one particular form of art that intrigues and fascinates me nearly to the point of obsession: the art of tattoo. Talented tattoo artists create beautiful works of art in the absence of the luxuries provided by art mediums such as drawing and painting. A painter gets to choose his or her canvas, while a tattoo artist does not. Tattoo artists work with the most delicate and inherently unique canvas; the human skin. Not only do they have to constantly acclimate to different colors, textures, and ages of the skin, they also have to tailor their designs to the form and qualities of the body parts they tattoo. All the while maintaining a high degree of finesse to execute the tattoo as painlessly as possible on a living human canvas that is rarely perfectly sill. Tattooing indisputably has the highest stakes of any art form. Tattoo artists must mitigate high levels of pressure associated with the moral, emotional, and ethical implications of permanently altering the human skin. Of all artistic mediums, tattoos arguably provide the most physically intimate connection between oneself and art. Our bodies are the most sacred canvases to exist, which is why they craft of tattooing deserves to be amongst the most highly respected art forms. This can be observed in different traditions and cultures all around the world, but unfortunately, this is not currently the case in today's world perception despite such a large portion of the population having at least one tattoo. This could indeed be accredited to the outdated and largely unfounded stigmas surrounding people with tattoos which have been used to unfairly diminish tattooing as an art form. In addition to the negative stigma, tattooing as an art form has rarely been celebrated in the built environment. Artists usually practice in the dark, neglected, and unnoticed spaces associated with the "bad part of town". The driving force behind my project is to eradicate these harmful stereotypes and secure tattooing's rightful place in the world of fine art. Through architectural intervention the true essence of tattoo is revealed and celebrated.
