tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733046417281735238.post477197805350660507..comments2023-04-01T08:22:21.406-07:00Comments on t r a c e | w o r k: Inked in NYCColumbia Center for Archaeologyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03723214537331609686noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733046417281735238.post-15239532879520150032010-10-21T02:21:17.492-07:002010-10-21T02:21:17.492-07:00I came across this article and thought it might in...I came across this article and thought it might interest you. Late 18th ce tattooing by European sailors: <a href="http://muse.jhu.edu.ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/journals/journal_of_colonialism_and_colonial_history/v004/4.2cummings.html" rel="nofollow">Cummings, William (2003) 'Orientalism's Corporeal Dimension,' <i>Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History</i>, 4:2.</a>Gigs and Digshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08066604014387094862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733046417281735238.post-68601854927975531402010-10-19T12:52:00.823-07:002010-10-19T12:52:00.823-07:00One particular line that really stood out to me, e...One particular line that really stood out to me, especially after reading Gosden and Howes, was early on in this post, "their body art will be the most enduring physical evidence of their individuality". I feel that it is a great example of the importance we place in the visual aspects of our society. To many tattoos are seen as a great way of expressing what makes them unique, yet even beyond tattoos the other more common ways in which we try to distinguish ourselves are also visual, such as the way we dress. It does not occur to many of us (here in the U.S.) to try and differentiate ourselves through the other senses. Sure we may use a certain soap, perfume, or cologne to smell a certain way, or try not to be too loud in certain contexts, but these are not ways in which we try to make ourselves unique. It would be interesting to imagine our society being different in this way and think of what it would be like if we used the other senses to express our individuality.Shanenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733046417281735238.post-11374750018477241112010-10-19T12:35:05.473-07:002010-10-19T12:35:05.473-07:00I believe what Katie is talking about, and subsequ...I believe what Katie is talking about, and subsequently Cheyenne in her original post, is the emphasis on the formation of a community beyond physical settings. Anderson's concept "imagined communities" is the focus of his book, by the same name, which proposes that a nation is a community socially constructed. In other words, it is imagined by the people who perceive themselves as part of that group and furthermore, it differs from an actual community, like Katie said, because it is not based on everyday face-to-face interaction. Thus, their body art, and moreover, what it symbolizes, bonds these individual people together, despite other differences. To further build on Katie and Cheyenne's point, they become part of a whole, as Anderson puts it, a nation "is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion." Therefore, it is understandable why people choose to get a tattoo in response to an event, such as 9/11, because you are no longer experiencing the event as an individual, but as part of a group.Dig ithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04675605904832119403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733046417281735238.post-19116336511508218362010-10-19T12:08:32.458-07:002010-10-19T12:08:32.458-07:00I like the interaction between Katie and Andrea...I like the interaction between Katie and Andrea's text as they come at private versus public spaces inhabited by body modification. Certainly body modification invites participation in conversations, "narratives with social and emotional text.". I have often wondered about the relationship between clearly visible tattoos and privacy as it it relates to control over a body. I would like to add to motivating factors the construction of bodily spaces external to and in opposition to imagined communities. "Imagined Communities" and constructed barriers of "thickened" skin.<br />JennaJennahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05882396156412643749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6733046417281735238.post-16142719448961816262010-10-18T18:31:42.442-07:002010-10-18T18:31:42.442-07:00Transitioning from a stage of “not tattooed” to “t...Transitioning from a stage of “not tattooed” to “tattooed” marks a shift in identity and entrance into a much larger community, but which community exactly? Are group boundaries limited to content choice or artwork created by a particular tattoo artist? Tattoos initiate individuals into, as Benedict Anderson would phrase, an “imagined community,” a community that exists beyond the physical limitations of the built environment. This type of community is different from a group of people bound by geographic proximity. An imagined community is not based on daily face-to-face interactions between members, but rather community members share a mental conception of their relationship. This bond is strengthened when individuals are able to empathize or sympathize with others when shared emotions are depicted (as suggested, the events of 9/11). It is also important to consider that the impetus for marking your body with (dare I say) signs is greater than the individual. As Charles Peirce would argue, signs drawn from the external world are what inspire the marks depicted on the body. These marks have meaning, as they are generally responses to (or interpretants of) objects, events, feelings, memories, or the physical environment.Katie M. Caljeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16037393889992866072noreply@blogger.com