Body art
人体艺术
Tattoo you
潮流达人,你纹身了没?!
May 22nd 2008 | NEW YORK
From The Economist print edition
Inked skin has gone mainstream
纹身艺术已经跻身主流文化之列
BTATTOOISTS masterfully etched Japanese-inspired fantasies and intricate tribal designs on to living bodies at the 11th annual New York City Tattoo Convention. The event, held over the weekend of May 16th-18th, drew the obvious burly biker and rockabilly types, but also a surprising number of families. Vegan O’Donnell, aged three, and her one-year-old brother Sidney watched as their mother got a tattoo on her torso. Josh Thompson, winner of “best overall tattooed person” at the convention, got his first tattoo, an eagle, in 1984, when he was 18. Today his whole body, bar face, neck and naughty bits, is covered with tattoos. Such dedication is no longer unusual.
在纽约召开的纹身体绘艺术展上，纹身艺术家们在现场大玩真人活体创 作，他们用娴熟的笔法在人体上生动地描绘了以日本文化为灵感的创作及某些神秘部落的复杂图腾。艺术展为期三天，从5月16日到18日，展会吸引了众多魁梧 彪悍的飞车迷和山区乡村摇滚乐的狂热拥趸；尽管艺术展恰逢周末召开，但是一众家庭的到来着实出乎人们的预料。3岁的维根.奥丹诺和1岁的弟弟西德尼正在一 旁观看他们的妈妈绘制纹身的过程，纹身技师正在这个女人的腹背两侧精心创作。本次展会的“最佳全身刺青”的获奖者是乔希.汤普森。自1984年，18的乔 希初试纹身,在身体上绘制了一只雄鹰后，时至今日，他除面颊，颈部和不宜纹身的部位外，全身遍布着各式各样的刺青图案。如此的献“身”之举早已司空见惯， 不足为奇了。
Over the past decade, with safety standards improving and with famous actors and sportsmen displaying them proudly, tattoos have become ever more common. According to a 2006 Pew Research Centre study, 40% of those aged 26 to 40 have one. In New York some 1,400 tattoo parlours have opened since tattooing was re-legalised in 1997 after a 36-year ban caused by fears of hepatitis. No longer a symbol of rebellion, a tattoo is now seen as art. Karen Bettez Halnon, a sociologist at Penn State University, says tattoos are no longer a subculture; they appeal to almost everyone from doctors to bankers and even to soccer moms. “It’s gentrification,” she claims.
过去的十年中，刺青体绘的安 全规范措施大为改善，加之文体明星高调展示的名人示范效应，纹身倍受追捧，日渐流行起来。据PEW研究中心，2006年的一份调查报告显示，全美26- 40岁的成年人中，有40%的人绘有一个纹身图案。由于担心纹身导致肝炎传染，纽约禁止纹身长达36年之久；1997年，在解除禁令，将纹身重新合法化 后，纹身体绘店犹如雨后春笋，纽约有近1400家店铺开门迎客。纹身早已摆脱昔日愤世嫉俗的反抗形象，如今已经成为了一种艺术。宾夕法尼亚州立大学的社会 学家Karen Bettez Halnon指出，纹身已经不在是一种亚文化现象，它的触角几乎延伸到社会的各个阶层，从医生到银行家，甚至是重视孩子休闲活动的中产阶级妇女。 Karen宣称，“纹身脱胎换骨，旧貌变新颜，已经摇身成为了中产阶级的流行风尚。”
Well-known marketers, such as Nike, Converse, Mountain Dew and Victoria’s Secret have used tattoo designs as part of their brands. You can get a cover for your BlackBerry with a design sketched by a tattoo artist. Several Las Vegas casinos have opened tattoo parlours.
诸如：耐克，匡威，百事激浪，维多利亚的秘密等知名品牌也都开始在他们的商标中融入纹身图案。你可以为自己的黑莓手机购置一款由纹身艺术家设计的花样贴纸，让手机也有个漂亮的纹身。目前一些拉斯维加斯赌场也开始经营纹身体绘业务。
Traditionally, designs were simple: an anchor, a pin-up girl or just “Mom”. Now anything goes. “People no longer get something small for their first tattoo and are getting a whole sleeve [arm] done”, observes Jason Buhrmester, editor of Inked, a glossy magazine for tat-fans. Women usually choose the lower back for their first tattoo, a decoration now so prevalent that it has been nicknamed the “tramp stamp”.
传统而言，纹身的 图案一般比较简单：轮船的锚，香艳女优，或是干脆就纹“妈妈”。不过，现在的情形大为改观。《INKED》是一本面向纹身爱好者的全彩页杂志，它的主编詹 森.博尔玛斯特评论道“人们已经不满足于用简单小巧的刺青图案初试牛刀，很多人往往第一次纹身就选择整条手臂的满绣图案。大多数女性选择低腰丰臀上的部位 进行自己的“处女绣”，因为最近十分流行在此纹身，以至有人用“婊子印章”的昵称来特指这个部位的纹身。
A recent issue of CosmoGirl! advised its teen readers to “think before you ink”, as removing a tattoo is neither painless nor cheap. Ozzy Osbourne, who is well covered with ink, once wisely advised his daughter: “To be unique, don’t get a tattoo. Because everybody else has got tattoos.” She got one anyway.
近期出版的《时尚女孩》杂志，建议那些十来岁的读者“纹身之前须三思”，因为清除纹身印记既疼痛不堪又花费不匪。本身 就绘有精美纹身的欧兹.奥斯博恩曾经向他女儿提出明智的建议：“要想与众不同，千万别去纹身，因为现在人人都纹身，那样做你只会雷同而不会出众。尽管如 此，他的女儿还是将自己献“身”给了这门艺术。
译者： margaret_von http://www.ecocn.org/forum/viewthread.php?tid=11693&extra=page%3D1