Ship-Shape! Tattoo Exhibition at the Cesar Chavez Student Center Art Gallery

Tattoo has evolved from an ancient cultural ritual, a sacred practice among indigenous peoples from diverse regions, such as: Africa, Asia, Europe and the Polynesian Islands, and has become a mainstream contemporary expression of one’s identity, interests, and desires.  Styles that have emerged today continue to progress, reflecting the varying nature of their clientele generating the multitude of styles, themes, genres and movements that continue to indelibly reshape the tattoo world today.

The distinct styles of many pieces in the exhibition are rooted from the “Old School” and “New Skool” styles.  The Old School tattoo style was derived from the sailors of the 30’s and 40’s made popular by Sailor Jerry (Norman Keith Collins) and has remained resilient through the decades and is experiencing an intense revival.  New Skool offers an avant-garde warping of traditional sailor symbols and motifs redesigning them with brighter colors, graffiti influenced text, and surrealism elements.