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INK MASTER... As a followup (and possible closure) to my other tattoo blogs, The TV show Ink Master lured me in simply because of my fascination about people and tattoos. Personally, I wouldn't consider getting a tattoo or body modification, but I've spent a few hours watching TV and researching the many internet sites about tattoos and art. Maybe you're familiar with the show, it's about tattoo artists competing for $100,000 prize and the title of Ink Master. I had seen excerpts of the shows on YouTube, but a short time ago was my first chance to catch full episodes back-to-back on TV. I'm guessing there's more to the title and prize money... probably sponsorship or advertisement endorsements. Anyway, these artists are given sets of challenges over a wide range of styles and typically, the biggest obstacle is the time limit given to achieve each goal. One episode each artist was given a new tattoo machine... in the box and unassembled. There were no instructions and no diagrams. That was the first part. The second part was to make a tattoo of a bar code. They were judged on the straightness of the lines and creating different line widths... that is, after you got the tattoo machine together. Two of the women artists thought it was unfair as each of them were unable to assemble their machines. The men thought the machine was a vital part of their trade and all did well with assembly. With any ongoing competition there is a high amount of jealousy and arguments. One artist wasn't liked very well by the others... on one round, the goal was a Celtic design. His tattoo was clean even lines but really simple in nature. He performed this task in the allotted time. Some of the others were more elaborate and it seemed to annoy the other artists that he didn't make anything impressive... yet he won the judging for that round. I know the show isn't new and there were/are other seasons but it seemed to me most of the artists were of the 'new school' style where they excelled in free-form cartoonish work. Or in competition, they were limited to the new style. Most compromised their work simply because of the time limits. It's a shame the 'tattoo of a lifetime' is judged by the minutes your can perform it in. |
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its probably sad that the test subject submitted to be a part of this.
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