Alyssa Hargrave

Tattooed paper maché sculpture of human form.

Tattoo is an art form that I find fascinating. Chapter 13 talked about ritual tattooing in the “Limits of the Self” section and I want to work with the whole concept behind full body tattooing—to empower a being and prepare it for adulthood by putting it through severe pain for an extended period of time. I want to develop the idea that ritualistic/tribal tattoo seems like an archaic, distant practice, but the west does the same thing in the 21^st century: at the age of 18, we are allowed to get tattoos, and hence it becomes a “coming of age” rite. We cover ourselves in images and symbols that represent our strengths, beliefs, aspirations, etc, and collectively they give us a “discrete identity” (as mentioned in the chapter).

The “Limits of the Self” section also revolved around the question of where lie the boundaries of the human form. The more we alter our body, the fuzzier the line blurs “between the self and the environment, between the self and the spiritual realm…between the self and technology” and in my opinion, between the self and art. I believe full body tattoo is a remarkable art form that turns a person’s identity into a work of art, and I want to create a paper mache pseudo-self that embodies my ideal tattooed form.

I envision the statuette to stand around 4 feet tall and I’m going to model it after Renaissance sculpture, particularly Michelangelo’s David and the idea behind it that “the body is ennobled and emphasized, but only as a vehicle for expressing the soul.”

So Ritual Tattoo and Renaissance sculpture (particularly Michelangelo) are my two influences from the text, and my other influences are going to be contemporary tattoo artists that I admire. I haven’t yet decided which ones, perhaps Yann Black and Amanda Wachob.

Materials will just be whatever I need to make the skeleton (cardboard, balloons, etc) and paper mache products (newspaper, glue, water).