Amanda Wachob graduated from art school with a degree in
photography so she naturally began tattooing right after college. She is now a tattoo artist famous for her watercolor
designs that look like paintings hanging in art museums.
When she gives interviews, like the one for Inked Magazine,
she explains her “intention to push the boundaries” is what drives her as an
artist. In fact, she does not only tattoo skin, but she tattoos canvas, fruit
and leather. Ultimately, she believes tattooing is an art form and it
transcends any limitations. She even has her art hanging in galleries and for sale on her website.
Brian Uzzi and Jarrett Spiro writes that medium Q small
worlds are the most conducive to high creativity and success in the project
being worked on. Wachob, with her multifaceted artistic background, including
the ten years that she studied the violin, has the proper foundations for her
success. She expressed that her inspiration comes from “museums, art exhibits,
books, [her] creative friends, living in New York City, and new or radical ways
of thinking” (Inked Magazine). Her inspirational community includes people she
feels close, complete strangers and all those in between.
She has had some less-conventional collaborators with whom
she continuously eradicates the limitations that surround tattooing. One of her
latest projects is with neuroscientist Maxwell Bertolero, translating data
“related to voltage and time, using Wachob’s own tattoo equipment” (Huffington
Post) into visual representation. Basically, as she creates her tattoo, a
machine reads the voltage being used and the time and translates them into a
colorful and artistic way. Linking tattooing with modern art and science and
technology is just one example of how she views tattoo art as being so much
more than ink on skin, and how it all comes together in her multiple
collaborations. Below is a sample of the data collected above each of the tattoos that Amanda Wachob made.
Other collaborations include those with art galleries around
the world, where she has hung her paintings on canvas multiple times. Her small
world network of galleries includes a few she continuously returns to with her
new work, as well as some one-time only opportunities in places such as
Germany, Japan, and Denmark. Although she keeps close ties with old work
partners, she stated that ultimately she loves doing “anything
strange and unusual, something I haven’t done a million times” (Inked
Magazine). It is this strive to discover uncharted territories that makes her
an amazing an artist, and her capacity to rely on old and new collaborators
that makes her successful.
I think we often neglect to acknowledge that tattoo artists are in fact real artists. For some reason tattoos aren't viewed as obvious works of art, even though the artists are working on a difficult medium and it's an incredibly stressful process that they go through when doing the tattoo. This is an awesome article because she is highlighting just how beautiful and artistic tattoos can be! I agree with you, a lot of her stuff looks like it belongs in an art museum - definitely not your conventional understanding of what a tattoo is. Also, I think it's really interesting that she is collaborating with that neuroscientist. The marriage of creativity and technology that's happening there is fascinating. Now I kind of want a tattoo...
ReplyDeleteI really like this post. The creative manages to be traditionally artistic as well as innovative in her choice of medium and style. It reminds me of visual art's love-hate relationship with the beauty of the human form. By fusing her subject's bodies with abstract forms she effectively makes them her canvas. Furthermore, her modifications are not seen as blemishes or imperfections, but as artistic expressions that are appreciated and applauded. I feel like the stigma against tattoos and the people they adorn is confronted by artists like Wachob, which I believe is important. And I'll definitely keep her designs in mind if I ever build up enough courage to get a tattoo!
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