'Flash'on flesh makes for big regrets
LaNae Riviere
Issue date: 3/7/08 Section: Features
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Tattoos have been around almost as long as mankind. In ancient Ireland they were given to young men heading into battle. If a warrior survived a first campaign, his face and neck would be tattooed to mark his bravery. Polynesian men have practiced a similar tradition for centuries, being ritually tattooed from boyhood on.
In modern America, tattoos are sought for a variety of reasons that don't have much to do with tradition. Here, a tattoo could be anything from a loved one's name to a favorite cartoon character. Most enthusiasts don't even know what they want tattooed before they enter a shop. They just walk in and choose something from the "flash" (generated artwork) on the wall.
"I'll never understand why people want to pick their tattoos off of the flash," says local tattoo artist Gil Lichtenstein. "This is something that is going to be on your body for life, you should always want a tattoo to have some personal meaning. Otherwise, odds are you will end up with a piece of art that 100 other people have too."
According to Lichtenstein, there are several ground rules to observe when seeking a new tattoo. Don't try to turn a Western word into a Chinese symbol, for example. When meaning gets lost in translation it can have unintended humorous effects.
"First thing is not to ask for Asian (alphabetical) characters like Kanji. Most of the time, there's no way to guarantee that the word you're looking for will be accurate. Flash is mistranslated all the time. You might end up with the complete opposite of whatever you were trying to say."
He describes an incident in which he did a "cover-up" on a girl's arm.
"This girl came to the shop in tears. She shows me this Japanese character that was supposed to mean 'mother,' but turns out it really meant something very insulting. I've never seen someone so upset. That just goes to show you that you can't be too careful with what you're putting on your body."
When asked about names, Lichtenstein shakes his head and laughs. "No, never get a name tattooed on you unless it's your parents or your kid's name. I'd say most of the cover-ups I do are for someone's boyfriend or girlfriend who dumped them. Ask any tattoo artist, they'll be happy to tell you how generic these tattoos are."
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