Body Art as Graphic Design

Let’s set the record straight. I have never been a big fan of tattoos. But I must say, my position on the subject has been wavering some since we’ve reached the South Pacific. This is, after all, the cradle of tattoodom, and well, the tats are pretty good here.

I am a visual person at heart, and as a designer I love logos that render well in black and white, making creative use of positive and negative space to create a unique, simple image. Unlike Western-style tattoos, which feature semi-realistic or graphically stylized illustrations, many times in multiple colors, Polynesian tattoo uses sharp lines and edges, rendered in one color, with little to no shading or blending at all. It is the purist’s tattoo, eliminating all the bells and whistles and depending solely on form of the design and the traditional significance of the pieces it comprises to make it beautiful. It’s not just there to be pretty either. Traditional Polynesian tattoos send historical messages and hold meanings that tell a person’s story, serving a cultural purpose in the same way graphic design can tell a story about a company or organization.

Traditionally, Polynesian tattoo was a sacred practice, done with a comb-shaped tool carved from bone, then dipped in a pigment made of soot mixed with oil and hammered into the skin with a second wooden stick. The sound it made led to the name “tau-tau,” which is the origin of today’s word “tattoo.” When Captain Cook’s men arrived in the Marquesas in the 1700s, they noted the practice in their records, and some, finding that the Polynesian women were not interested in men without painted skin, even took up the practice themselves, thus beginning the history of the tattooed sailor. At that time, among Native Polynesians, tattoos were indicative of hierarchy in society. Nearly everyone was tattooed, women included, and the tattoos were indicative of sexual maturity, personal achievements, family history, and one’s rank in society. They could come near covering the whole body. The symbols had meaning and essentially told a story. Styles varied among island groups as well, so the tattoos a person had also indicated whether they were Tahitian, Marquesan, Tuamotan or otherwise.

Tattoo artist on Nuku Hiva, linked from S/V Blue Dawn of Sark's blog.

When missionaries arrived in the late 1700s, they quickly banned the practice, saying it was a sinful glorification of the skin. By the 1800s the practice had all but disappeared, but it was well documented, and in the 1980s Polynesians seeking a reconnection with traditional practices and culture helped spur a renaissance. Many of today’s artists use Western-style tattooing implements, but there are also a few artists in the out islands who have fashioned custom-made implements, like Felix in Tahuata, Marquesas used to do, until some artists from New York visited and later sent him some modern tools. Before that he used a modified electric razor with a needle attached.

There are also a few artists in the islands, like James Samuela, who still practice the traditional form of tattooing, which is reportedly very painful, but the most historically accurate. These artists carve the comb of needles from pigs’ teeth, then give the tool to person receiving the tattoo as a memento when it is done. Traditional tattoos require a tattooist and a stretcher, to hold the skin taught while it is being inked. Traditional tattoos made using candlenut soot and oil are very dark and have a bluish sheen in the light. Most of these guys do not have sketch books you can choose from. Every tattoo is custom, sometimes even inked directly on the skin, never previewed. Many of the artists draw their inspiration from conversation with the subject, stories of experience or from a person’s life history or values.

John on Kijro shows off his new tattoo, which tells the story of his journey from Trinidad to Micronesia, done by Felix in Tahuata

It seems like 6 out out of 10 cruisers pick up a Polynesian tattoo of some sort during their stay, because we see the slightly puffy, sharp lines of fresh tattoos everywhere. Many of the tattoos tell the story of their adventure, like John on Kijro’s does. Others contain the traditional symbols for personal mantras like, “courage.” I haven’t given in yet, but it’s not to say I haven’t become an admirer.