Not because he isn't a fan of art and pictures and such, but because people print off grainy tattoos that a hundred million people have and want to put them on their bodies. When all he wants is to design something awesome and unique to the individual wanting to put something permanently on their body. I can see how this can be frustrating. Do you know how many people have an infinity symbol with the world 'love' in it? A gazbillion. And where do they put them? On their wrists. Upside down, of course. Because it's for them and they want to read it.
And I never really thought about upside down tattoos until Mr. Sidekick said, "What are you going to do, have a whole sleeve the wrong way on your arm?" Whatttt???? Yep. So here I am, with two upside down tattoos on my wrists (neither of which say love or have an infinity symbol in them) and knowing I have to cover them up because they are in fact UPSIDE DOWN. Then I ask the man, "Why didn't the guy tattooing them steer me right?"
Do you know what he replies?
Because people don't listen. What a sad state of affairs! I would have listened. As soon as Sidekick pointed out how if I wanted to build a sleeve it'd all be upside down I felt silly! Thank goodness for cover ups. And just the other day I ran into a girl with upside down tattoos on one arm. The word 'believe' on her wrist, I believe, but then she put two birds under it, which were upside down as well, then another tattoo under that, also upside down. It looked terrible.
So, I guess I understand why Sidekick dislikes Pinterest. It's detracts from originality and spreads poorly done work. It's great to have an idea for what you might like and using pictures as a stepping stone and jumping off point, but there's something to be said about being open minded enough to have an awesome piece of work designed specifically for you.
On the other hand, I love Pinterest. Mostly because I do love art and pictures and weird things and it inspires me. I can create boards for my novels and give myself visuals of the characters and places inside my books and that's something to be grateful for. Also, it allows me to save awesome imagery! There are some really odd things on the internet. It's kind of nice to have one place where I can collect these wicked and weird and beautiful pictures.
That being said, only one of my pins has ever really gotten a lot of attention. A picture of Charlie Hunnam (Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy). Goes to show you where most pinners minds are at.
Anyhow, this is my account over there.
But before you click the link, beware. I am a bit of an odd duck. And no, I don't have a tattoo board.
2 comments:
While I do share your sidekick's dislike of Pinterest for similar reasons, I think that it's representative of the nature of social media and culture as a whole.
Most of what I see shared anywhere is a repost of a repost of a repost. Very few people are creating (or seeking, for that matter) original content. As someone who works in a creative field this is increasingly frustrating as the call for truly unique design is becoming less and less and the desire for "What that guy has, only in blue" is the status quo. People seem to be satisfied with less quality and even less originality as long as it appears to their untrained eye to be what is the norm.
Far be it from me to tell anyone what they should and should not like but... actually no, I take that back. I think as a creative, it is our job to tell people what they should and should not like as long as we take the time to explain our reasoning.
That happens to be the luxury of being a creative professional, your words do (or should) carry some weight. If someone chooses not to listen, all we can say is, "I told you so" when their design looks dated, trendy or just wrong. Sadly, though, if 80% of the people in the world have upside-down tattoos for the wrong reasons, then they become the norm and so is it truly upside-down or are we just fuddy-duddies who aren't staying with the times?
I think people need to be taught the difference between inspiration and emulation, from social media to Hollywood. Pinterest isn't the cause, it's the effect and ultimately a natural part of the evolution of pop culture. We will always live in a world where it's cool to be uncool, whatever your definition of uncool happens to be. We all want to be different, just like everyone else.
This post of yours has been bugging me since I read it last night. You see I'm planning on getting another tattoo, this time on the inside of my upper left arm. It's going to be a phrase in Maori for me to read so it will be angled toward my line of sight...make sense? Now I'm worried it'll be upside down or at least wonky. Not that I'll ever get a sleeve (although we never know do we?). Thanks for sowing the seeds of doubt. Think before you ink.
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