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Author
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Comment
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Midori
Unregistered User
(8/1/03 4:04 am)
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Folklore of Tattoo
Hey All,
I thought I would throw this out to the board to see if anyone had any suggestions. I am teaching a new class on Literature and the Visual Arts. One of the units I am putting together is the art (and language) of the tattoo. I do have quite a bit of non fiction material--everything from Yakuza, Moko to Russian Prison tattoos--though I guess I could always use more, if an article really examined the symbolic language of the tattoo. But what I am really looking for is the fictional/folklore treatment of the tattoo. I have a couple of obvious ones--Bradbury's "Illustrated Man," Tanizaki's "The Tattooer" and Flannery O'Connor's "Parker;s Back." But if anyone has a recommendation of a work/fairytale/trickster tale (which would be fabulous) I would greatly appreciate it. These are junior and senior high school students (all boys)..but I push them so the work can be reasonably sophisticated or adult. Thanks so much!
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gormghlaith
Registered User
(8/1/03 5:10 am)
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Re: Folklore of Tattoo
The first thing that came to mind when I read your post was a short story by Kafka called "In the Penal Colony"; you can actually read it online (see below). However, the whole twist of the story is that people are tattoed to death by words that spell out their transgressions, so it may be too gruesome for your purposes! In a more positive light, since tattooing was often used to mark an important rite of passage, maybe it would be mentioned in a coming-of-age folktale. And didnt the Vikings have blue tatoos, from finger to neck? Maybe that is mentioned in an Edda or Saga or whichever-I have to get to work- Good Luck!
www-ec.njit.edu/~pro3/NJI...ka-00.html
PS what about the Jewsih folktale of the Golem? In some versions, the word for 'truth' is written on the golem's forhead in bringing it to life; when the golem is no longer of use, part of the word is erased to spell 'death', and he returns to the soil. It's a sort of tattoo- sacred words applied to the body in a mystic ceremony. There's a brief mention of this version of the Golem story at:
www.us-israel.org/jsource...Golem.html
Edited by: gormghlaith at: 8/1/03 8:10 am
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Midori
Unregistered User
(8/1/03 11:17 am)
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thanks!
Gorm: thanks for the suggestions--actually I can use them as the unit on Tattooes seques into the "text as art" when we will examine calligraphy--and there I will be moving from the tattoos to writing on the body (such as the Golem story, Maxine Hong Kingston's wonderful version of Mulan in "Women Warriors" and Lafcadio Hern's Kwaiden. Ach, that just reminded me of a gruesome and fabulous Jewish story about a young scribe who is trying to finish transcribing the Torah--but he is growing weary and in the moment of twilight--when demons walk--he makes the mistake of wishing someone would help him finish it--and then promptly falls into an exhausted sleep. A demon hears him--arrives and begins to finish the transcription--but just as t demon is about to finish copying the last page of the Torah, he discovers he is out of parchment. Looking around, he decides to rip a new page off the skin of the young man's back.
I teach boys--they love gruesome. Thanks for reminding me of this story. (which can be found in Schwartz's wonderful collection "Lilith's Cave.)
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Kerrie
Moderator
(8/1/03 11:52 am)
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The Tattooed Map
Not sure if this is appropriate, but your topic brought The Tattooed Map by Barbara Hodgson to mind:
The
Shoppe at Somerset- The Tattooed Map
I'll try to think of more.
Dandelion wishes,
Kerrie
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Midori
Unregistered User
(8/1/03 3:13 pm)
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and thanks again
Kerrie;
ooh pretty book. I'll go grab a copy--thanks! I maybe able to use exerpts from it.
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Jane Yolen
Unregistered User
(8/2/03 4:16 am)
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another story
Elizabeth Hand's "Least Trumps" from last year is a marvelous novella whose main character is a tattoo artist.
Jane
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Valkith
Registered User
(8/2/03 6:20 pm)
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Re: another story
I believe it was in:
The Book of Iod
The Eater of Souls and Other Tales
[#6008, $19.95 ISBN 1-56882-045-3]
"This CALL OF CTHULHU book represents part of an ever-expanding
collection of Mythos horror fiction. CALL OF CTHULHU books focus
on single entities, concepts, or authors significant to readers
and fans of H.P. Lovecraft."
I enjoy Lovecraft and Dunsey's works. In this collection from modern authors is a story of a woman who gets a tattoo...In the vein of the mythos...I cannot begin to describe it, it is too horrible.
If your students like gore...this is the one. I am sorry I do not recall either the name or the author.
I also recall a story or perhaps a comicbook, maybe even an RPG, where Wizards had their spells tattooed on their flesh to aid them in battles... but that is a very hazy recollection.
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Nalo
Registered User
(8/2/03 8:47 pm)
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Re: another story
Nothing helpful to add. Just wanted to say: what a cool topic!
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Aliera
Registered User
(8/10/03 4:20 pm)
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Re: Folklore of Tattoo
How about Dorothy Parker's Elbow?
From a Pop Matters review:
Much like sex, drugs or rock 'n' roll, tattoos are a topic practically guaranteed to raise interest. A custom involving needles, pain, permanence and danger can never be boring. This is the idea behind Kim Addonizio and Cheryl Dumesnil's project Dorothy Parker's Elbow, a collection of stories and poems about tattoos and tattooing.
Even though it could, the anthology doesn't rely solely upon a fascinating hook. Drawing upon the talents of classic and contemporary authors like Rick Moody, Flannery O'Connor, Sylvia Plath, Herman Melville and more, the book is a collection of solid writing. That it just happens to deal with the subject of body mutilation (or art, depending on how you look at it), simply solidifies Dorothy Parker's Elbow as a rich collection of stories.
www.popmatters.com/books/...lbow.shtml
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Midori
Unregistered User
(8/10/03 7:34 pm)
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Thanks
Wow! What a great book! And a wonderful resource! Thank you so much all Aliera!
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janeyolen
Registered User
(8/15/03 5:55 am)
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Re: Folklore of Tattoo
Midori--need to talk to you. Can you contact me. Computer ate your address.
Jane
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inkgypsy
Unregistered User
(8/15/03 12:54 pm)
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Tattoos and body art
Two Suggestions:
Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey- all the trainees, including the protagonist, have a unique and personal design tattooed on them in stages, according to their training and the rewards of their owners - when it's complete they earn their freedom.. Despite the oddness of the premise (a skilled/trained courtesan doubling as a spy who has a unique gift/curse in finding pleasure in pain) there are also some interesting explorations of various myths - a little plodding at times but some nice scenes (eg the Winter King party) and the tattoo artist is a minor but interesting character (he designs the personal tattoo for each adept and personally tattoos the next portion of the design when they're ready).
Movie - The Pillow Book - gets a little gruesome but basically the main character works with books and printing. Ends up using himself as the "paper". There's some nice moments in there too though - the idea of the Japanese creation myth being written in calligraphy on a little girl every birthday she has, lovers writing their names and poetry on each other, exploring the Japanese pillow book concept - definitely has some mythic themes worth looking at if (he's looking for the story, the story is him, all that's left after he's gone is the story..) and the calligraphic and tattoo arts overlap. It's a very arty film - shot to look like a book - actually the Amazon review isa good summary - see below:
Peter Greenaway (The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, Drowning by Numbers) continues to delight and disturb us with his talent for combining storytelling with optic artistry. The Pillow Book is divided into 10 chapters (consistent with Greenaway's love of numbers and lists) and is shot to be viewed like a book, complete with tantalizing illustrations and footnotes (subtitles) and using television's "screen-in-screen" technology. As a child in Japan, Nagiko's father celebrates her birthday retelling the Japanese creation myth and writing on her flesh in beautiful calligraphy, while her aunt reads a list of "beautiful things" from a 10th-century pillow book. As she gets older, Nagiko (Vivian Wu) looks for a lover with calligraphy skills to continue the annual ritual. She is initially thrilled when she encounters Jerome (Ewan McGregor), a bisexual translator who can speak and write several languages, but soon realizes that although he is a magnificent lover, his penmanship is less than acceptable. When Nagiko dismisses the enamored Jerome, he suggests she use his flesh as the pages which to present her own pillow book. The film, complete with a musical score as international as the languages used in the narration, is visually hypnotic and truly an immense "work of art." --Michele Goodson
And there's also "carnevale" types - like the jigsaw man - that would be worth a little research.
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Midori
Unregistered User
(8/15/03 3:58 pm)
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great suggestions
Inkgypsy,
thanks for the great suggestions--I really love Greenaway's work--it's so over the top. This is a class on "Literature and Visual Arts" and I am sort of making it up as I go along. I am beginning with the tattoo--but the second unit is on calligraphy--and I was hoping to use clips from Greenaway's Pillow Book (these are Juniors and Seniors in highschool--so I have to be a bit careful--Greenaway may be too sensual and rich for the administration's blood.) But I also have the lovely Kobayashi film of Kwaidan...gorgeous stuff.
I am taking a look this week at the Australian film "Once Were Warriors"--which has a lot about the tattoo and especially the clash between the traditional and the urban use of the designs.
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mrspb
Unregistered User
(8/15/03 5:27 pm)
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Golem
David Wisniewski's picture book Golem is a Caldecott winner, copyrighted in 1996. It is extraordinarily illustrated in cut paper and beautifully done. You can currently see some of the illustrations from inside the book at amazon.com. Denise
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chirons
daughter
Registered User
(8/17/03 1:32 pm)
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lydia
I hope this is not too frivolous, Midori, but it comes from the wonderful gentlemen that gave us the score to "The Wizard of Oz":
www.bellaonline.com/artic...t10607.asp
This is the text for the Groucho Marx performance in At the Circus, "Lydia the Tattoed Lady", and it's just as funny as it was in 1939.
There's another song text here too called "The Tattoo," from The Who Sell Out (1967).
On second thought -- this is a rather ephemeral-looking site, so I'll paste it here:
Oh Lydia, oh Lydia, say, have you met Lydia?
Lydia The Tattooed Lady.
She has eyes that folks adore so,
and a torso even more so.
Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclo-pidia.
Oh Lydia The Queen of Tattoo.
On her back is The Battle of Waterloo.
Beside it, The Wreck of the Hesperus too.
And proudly above waves the red, white, and blue.
You can learn a lot from Lydia!
La-la-la...la-la-la. La-la-la...la-la-la.
When her robe is unfurled she will show you the world,
if you step up and tell her where.
For a dime you can see Kankakee or Paree,
or Washington crossing The Delaware.
La-la-la...la-la-la. La-la-la...la-la-la.
Oh Lydia, oh Lydia, say, have you met Lydia?
Lydia The Tattooed Lady.
When her muscles start relaxin',
up the hill comes Andrew Jackson.
Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclo-pidia.
Oh Lydia The Queen of them all.
For two bits she will do a mazurka in jazz,
with a view of Niagara that nobody has.
And on a clear day you can see Alcatraz.
You can learn a lot from Lydia!
La-la-la...la-la-la. La-la-la...la-la-la.
Come along and see Buffalo Bill with his lasso.
Just a little classic by Mendel Picasso.
Here is Captain Spaulding exploring the Amazon.
Here's Godiva, but with her pajamas on.
La-la-la...la-la-la. La-la-la...la-la-la.
Here is Grover Whelan unveilin' The Trilon.
Over on the west coast we have Treasure Isle-on.
Here's Nijinsky a-doin' the rhumba.
Here's her social security numba.
La-la-la...la-la-la. La-la-la...la-la-la.
Lydia, oh Lydia, that encyclo-pidia.
Oh Lydia The Champ of them all.
She once swept an Admiral clear off his feet.
The ships on her hips made his heart skip a beat.
And now the old boy's in command of the fleet,
for he went and married Lydia!
I said Lydia...
(He said Lydia...)
They said Lydia...
We said Lydia, la, la!
Edited by: chirons daughter at: 8/17/03 1:37 pm
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GailS
Unregistered User
(8/19/03 8:25 am)
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Art of Tattoo
While this story doesn’t specifically deal with tattoo folklore, I thought you might be interested in reading that the art of tattooing is taught at one art school.
www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2003/08/19collegetakesart.html
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Midori
Unregistered User
(8/19/03 6:25 pm)
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thanks!
GailS--thanks so much for the web address. It's a fascinating article!
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GailS
Unregistered User
(8/19/03 7:12 pm)
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The Art of the Tattoo
You're welcome-glad I could help.
I freelance for them. For a regional paper, they cover interesting things every now and again.
GailS
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