Exploring the Black Experience in Tattooing | Intersectional Ink
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- Опубліковано 17 чер 2021
- For part two of Intersectional Ink, we brought together six Black tattoo artists to discuss their experiences and opinions. Within the last year, police brutality and systemic racism against Black people has come to the forefront of discussion in the United States. This has impacted all Black Americans, including many of your favorite tattoo artists. These artists come from different walks of life, tattoo in different styles and many of them traveled around the world in order to pursue their dreams of becoming professional tattooers, but are united in their call for an end to all forms of hate.
Intersectional Ink is our way of uplifting the stories and opinions of artists from marginalized communities, voices that have too often been ignored in our industry. Tattooing is an art form that's origin can't be pinpointed to a specific culture, location or group of people. It's been found in ancient civilizations around the world-adorning Ötzi (Europe's oldest known natural mummy), decorating the Maori tribes of Polynesia and ornamenting First Nations people of North America. Today, tattooing continues to draw in artists from around the world and many of these artists share a unifying experience.
Starring:
Oba Jackson / omoori
Zelik Wooten / zelik.w
Melody Mitchell / melodytattoos
Genesis / brujadelbloquee
Jaz Paulino / gentle_jaz
Angelo Saracina / angelo.digital
WEBSITE: www.inkedmag.com/
FACEBOOK: / inkedmag
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INSTAGRAM: / inkedmag
I LOVE this. I watched older seasons of inkmaster and they kept complaining when they got a darker skin “canvas” and they made it an issue of the person when in reality they just need to improve their craft because I know amazing tattoo artists who do beautiful work on ANY skin tone. That irritated me with that show….
it's much harder to tattoo dark skin and make it look as good though
@@noelleirina5628 But it CAN be done. And if the show is called "Ink Master", I would hope that the people on it have not only mastered different styles but can at least, deal with different skin tones and texture lol.
Just use clear Dye lol
@@inkheart181 Yeah if you knew anything about the show you would know that it’s definitely not the best artists out there. It’s a reality show first. They pretty much do everything they can to make it as difficult to get a good result as possible where in real life you go to the best artist for the tattoo that you’re getting. A good artist will recognize that in order for a client to get the best results for their skin for their entire life they might not be the best artist. It doesn’t say that they wouldn’t be willing to try it shows they want what’s best for the client not their pocketbook. Skins on reality shows are not interested in getting the best tattoo possible.
@@noelleirina5628 it’s actually not. It’s only “harder” because the industry standard is to not know how to do it.
i love and appreciate when this channel allows black voices and female voices to speak uninterrupted about their experiences. gives me hope for the future of the industry
❤️❤️❤️
Watch their other videos, it's the same people over and over with only a few experienced POC sprinkled in
cringe
@@paige66666 they are working towards a change, says a lot by doing this episode. Hold them to this standard and help them continue to keep this going ♥️
Errr they have black artists on the other inked vids no one interrupts them on that. Watch them they good too 👍🏻
I feel like I could talk to Genesis forever, I like her mindset.
Yes. All. Of. This. As a Black woman who has many tattoos, the struggle is real. Thank you for giving us a voice.
All this time I thought I had to limit my tattoos because of the darkness of my skin. This video made me feel so much better about getting more colourful and detailed work. Mad respect to Inked and the featured black artists ✊🏿
I deal with this alot as a hair dresser hearing people say they refuse to do ethnic hair is so sad because at one point I COULDNT do it but made it my dream to persue being a master at doing all hair types and textures! It's okay if you dont know how, but why not learn? Open your mind ❤
I want to learn so bad! I am a master at braiding non ethnic hair I got the chance once to do ethnic hair I did ok but could have done a lot better I should have done more research at the time I follow a ton of stylists now that do ethnic hair I have learned more but never get the chance
I don't work in the business, but doesn't ethnic hair sound kinda bad? A lot of American terminology seems to me to reduce race to "you're either white or ethnic", when ethnicity is deeper than that. What do yall think.
On another note, my barber was telling me how typical east asian hair was the hardest to do for him and then went on to talk about a barber in Japan, whose name I don't recall, who found a way, through layering and texturing, to adapt styles like pompadours to japanese clients, and how he wanted to meet the guy and learn from him. The desire to make your art/trade as inclusive as possible really shows a lot of passion imo.
Not everybody learns the same, nor should they be forced to learn it anyway. I have a cousin who has ultra curly hair. She needs to treat it differently than people with straight hair. Not once have I heard her complain that a hair stylist couldn't work on her hair. She is actually appreciative that they tell her instead of mess her hair up.
It's not always about race.
@@24framedavinci39 she didn't say anything about being forced to or believing that people HAVE to learn something outside of what they know or EVEN race but here you go 🏆
@@24framedavinci39 I somewhat disagree with this simply because I recently attended a wedding where I was not the hair stylist I was a bridesmaid and one of the bridesmaids who had beautiful curly hair was denied getting her hair done because the stylist couldnt do it! Luckily I was able to, and I am also glad the lady didnt lie and say she could do it and messed it up. So I understand where your coming from in the aspect. But being in that situation is why I felt early on in my career its important to be open minded to learning all styles and textures which really doesn't have to do with race, hair texture and skin tones can be all different ❤
Genesis: 'I'm grateful for your time' I LOVE that. If both clients and artists were grateful for each other, I think the whole experience is elevated.
We are the man, in that we let whoever governs us, do so. The flip side is that confronting power has consequences and is most efficacious when done as a group.
Being Black I gotta get my Tats redone when I went to people in the past who didn't understand my skin and I didn't know better but I'm glad I do now
Same. I’m getting my old tats covered & reworked. I wish I knew better back then. Just gotta huge cover up on my back, because I didn’t know any better 17 yrs ago
Glad this is replacing Bang Bang's uncomfortable "i don't see race" rant when confronted about the lack of dark skin clients on his page (i think it was on his page tho i can be wrong) as like one of the few talks about race and skin color on here lol, really rad.
Ah yeah, the being a non-racist isn't good enough argument. You have to be an anti-racist.
I hate the "I don't see race" thing. At its best, it ignores that people are treated by society differently and that plays out to advantage to those with power (white men) and disadvantage to those with less.
But it is more often used to ignore one's own lack of engagement with the problem.
@@ltlbuddha oh trust me…they see race lol
I agree. If you cant “see race”, you can’t see the systematic discrimination that affects people on a race basis.
i thought he said it was becuase of editing stuff they do to remove redness from new tattoos and that makes the skin look lighter in the photos>
Loved how it covered the whole culture not just the application of ink on skin. More content like this please.
Oba’s only been tattooing 5 years?? His work is phenomenal ❣️❣️
genesis was in my art class in art & design high school freshman year glad you’re doing great !
Dark skinned man here covered in tattoos from my hands to my face, I’m so thankful for my artist , granted I’m in the younger generation so like ik we made leaps and bounds but it means so much to me to hear all of this
When I first started getting tattooed I never ever saw a Black artist, heck a woman was rare. When my grand kids consider getting inked I hope to give them the advice that’s been shared. Thanks for the wisdom.
Fr dude tattoos are just tattoos like race and anything else shouldn't be in the conversation period.
Oba is speaking nothing but facts about Ink Master. I'm rewatching it now and it literally disgusts me when people complain about tattooing "dark skin" ESPECIALLY when the skin isn't even dark! Bravo for being so open 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
I'm an African tattoo artist training,, so I like that I was talked about
Thank you👍🏾
Now do a exploring the Pacific Islander/Polynesian experience, I feel like our stories are unique because tattoos is a massive part of our culture hence why there is a majority of our people covered in tattoos. I had my first tattoo when I was 12 and my parents were the one that convinced of getting one lmao so it was a culture shock when western culture is somewhat against tattoos
Thank you 2 these artists for making our voices heard in a space so many others try to speak for us 🙏🏽
Give them a follow on IG, you won't be disappointed!
@@inked already on it! Thanks as well 2 you and the team. So cool to see art of the counter culture have a platform!!
When people think of black ink crew there not thinking it’s a show about tattoos tbh
Reality shows are about drama or about creating an interest to which the theme is just an excuse. Pick a reality show and the actual reality is something different.
That said, reality shows do shape perception and that can be unfortunate.
Preach
I agree... I’ve been tattooing for 14 years I never experienced nothing like that TV show in the shop
Which is unfortunate. When I first heard they was going to do a show about Black tattoo artists, I was excited thinking it was going to be something like Miami or LA Ink......then I saw the show and was disappointed. Hardly any tattooing and lots of fighting.
@@catsareawesomemckinnon3393 I'm sure it have nothing to do with skin colour, though. Had to be just random chance, right?
I love that that one artist had brought up ink Master, because I 100% agree with them. Literally none of them could work on a darker skin dead person, and they blamed the person for having darker skin instead of blaming themselves for not learning how to work on darker skin. Also, most of the time when they said somebody was darker skinned they were light, so I just didn’t understand that.
This is so dope. I'm guilty of accepting tattoo artists, white tattooist, telling me and my dark skinned wife that we couldn't get color on our skin. I have color, deep vibrant reds and oranges and blues and a bit of white ink here and there and, years later, it still shows and it's beautiful. I feel we need to remember that tattoos are beautiful because it's an expression of what you want it to be and when someone tells you that you can't do something based on what they think then you limit that expression.
Genesis hit it right on the head. I can honestly say I never wanted or want to get tattooed by anyone on black ink producers protrayed it in a way that wasnt attractive to me and what I look for in an artist. I wont lie i never wanted to get tattoo by NYC ink or LA ink either lol
The artist at black ink maybe amazing but the shop where I go isn't like that! Lol
I want to go to an artist that understands my skin and how to tattoo color but i cant find one so now I get black ink plus i thick bold black lines lol
I’ve read and heard horror stories about the black ink shop. Both the original spot and the one on 125th. You’d think they’d want to change the tone of their show or just end it completely because it’s really not a good look for anyone involved. And the producers definitely don’t help.
I especially liked what Genesis had to say. She had some great points and I love the way she put them and the passion with which she said it. I'd love to hear more of what she has to say!
I listened to Genesis then went straight to Instagram to follow her🙌🏾👏🏾👏🏾I'm floored. I wish the South African tattoo scene had representation for black Artists and clients.
There are some really talented black artists out here, but because everyone assumes that they're just 'kasi artists' they don't get the recognition they deserve.
@@g.mo8 plus the lack of kasi exposure to quality art plays a role..... I always refuse to get my tatts from anyone but a black person but finding one is always more a mission
@@lesamotaung2355 Try Soweto Ink. They are🔥🔥
@@g.mo8 I'm actually even following them on Instagram.... Started researching black south african artists outside the Free-state
More of this please. Learning about other perspectives inside the industry is great. Ty.
Thank you for this. Seriously, thank you. ✊🏾 The first two minutes were everything.
The first thing I ask an artist is to see their work on dark skin.
This is very similar to white hair stylist saying they can’t do black peoples hair, how can you even consider your self a professional if you can’t do all types of hair ?
Depends on how many black clients they get or requests from them.
This was so educational. Thanks, Inked, and to the artists for sharing their perspectives.
17+ whole minutes 🎉
We got you 👌
Until I see all of these artists in the other videos I'll start giving them credit. Some of inked's own videos reiterate racist and sexist ideals on tattooing
@@paige66666 facts
I’m so happy y’all finally made a video addressing this in the tattoo community
This is an amazing video!!! Please make more videos similar to this, this was a great video
I didn't know what to expect with this video but it was really open and honest. It feels good to see.
I love that Genesis brought up how the word Tattoo comes from the Samoan word Tatau 🙌
But she lumped ALL Polynesian tattooing into one culture. Each Polynesian culture has its own unique tattooing style. Samoan is only one of many Pacific Island cultures.
Great video, thank you everyone involved for their time and voices, really happy to be listening
Thank you for making this video I'm black and I want tattoos and this gave me a lot of places to look and things to consider to not only keep my skin healthy but also make the pieces look amazing.
This is an amazing video. Thanks to all the artists for sharing their perspective.
I’m glad you guys bring up traditional and African tattooing it looks amazing!
This video should have way more views! I love that it was made. It’s so important to talk about this and educate people. I’m definitely going to share it.💖🌘
How am I only just now seeing this?! AMAZING content! Please make this a series. We need to hear more about melanated tattooing.
I loved hearing from all these artists. keep making content like this!
Finally! Something like this is long overdue. Please continue featuring more black artists.
This also doesn’t just go for black people but majority of Latinos are tan or darker skinned and also Asians . It’s amazing to see more artist speaking up for this issue .
@@TheSean1876 there’s literally videos on this same channel dedicated to both asian and latino artists but for w/w reason instead of watching those the two of you decided to comment on this video of black artist voices and undermined them; you’re apart of the problem… bozo
@@TheSean1876 ua-cam.com/video/OLOfbPbIFjc/v-deo.html
Pretty sure the guy also used the term “brown skin” and referenced Indian people as well. But okay
What?? He wasnt talking shit why are you starting something.
@@ml5923 maybe he didn't see them? You act like they said well what about any other minority they have problems too
Thank you ink for bringing this very important topic to the fore front. Thank you
Inked, thank you for using your platform to highlight important issues like this.
This is important to cover. Thanks for doing this.
I found this video to be very informative, and I'm glad that I'm learning more about these issues.
This video was much needed!
So happy y'all made this
Love this and I’ve recently been looking for black female artist in LA and it’s been ridiculously hard
I know I'm a year late seeing this, but this is very therapeutic to see. Much needed conversation and experiences being told. The truth the truth the truth. Great job on this episode. Thank you for giving black artist a platform.
Great video!! Really really important video to have omg.
I'M HERE FOR THIS SERIES
I subscribed cuz you guy produce some content relevant to all people thank you. We need more please
As a 15 year tattoo artist I feel compelled to express my point about this subject...I work in a street shop in the bx and so I deal with alot of melanated skin on a daily and I would never turn down a client because of the color of their skin but I do warn them because alot of clients want what they see in pictures of tattoos on white skin and expect the same vibrant colors on theirs...can black or brown people get color? Sure they can but 1 thing we all can't deny is that those colors will never be as bright or vibrant as they would on pale skin
Great points. I am a black person that gets colored tattoos and for me specifically white and yellow do not show up on my skin tone at all, after healing. When I was a young kid I did not think about these things and ended up with some janky-looking pieces because they healed poorly on my skin. Now I know what colors work best for my skin and my artist is able to make beautiful pieces that look great on my skin tone specifically. 👍🏽
Absolutely agree. As a frequent client in a mostly white neighborhood, I still witness many differences even in "white" skin tones and I am personally very envious of super light skin on some people since it makes that black look even blacker, that color pop even more.
Wouldn't it be amazing if all we saw was the art of color on canvas? ^^
Imagine just being real with your clients so they can leave with a tattoo they like, and you get called racist for it.... 🤦🏻♂️
These crybabies are ridiculous lmao 😂
@@AleksanderLydkunst you're missing the point and being annoying about it on top of that.
I don't think the point is to act like skin color doesn't matter in an art form where skin is the canvas. But wouldn't you agree that saying stuff like realism doesn't work on black skin is lazy? Wouldn't there be ways to adapt the art? Offering alternatives and modifications would be a good way to still be inclusive, while still letting the clients know of the impact skin tone can have on the result imo.
This is wonderful. I believe that there needs to be more of this. I know I don't truly understand what black people go through, but I stand with them.
Oba Jackson is such a cool name.
The name matches the person lol he’s so fun irl
I got my first tattoo from him in 2016, super cool guy
Yes i been waiting on a video like this !!
On point with this one. I loved the messages at the end of the video too
Yessss baby everyone sounds so educated and everything they said was alined with my value and beliefs. Also they just tolda facts like straight facts about the black experience so thank you 💗
It’s an honor for me to be able to learn and listen 🤍
I know I wasn’t the only one... 14 years renegade art studio LLC Jacksonville Florida 💯 there are not a lot of us you all keep going 💪🏽
Thank you for this. I've been meaning to get a tattoo for so long and it's been a pain because every artist's who work i've liked only has lighter skin on their portfolio and that's been the biggest roadblock.
the video I've been waiting for personally
This was so so good!!!!
thank you for this!!!!!!!!
It's frustrating how often people say "dark people can't do x". Maybe they should be saying "I haven't bothered to learn how to do x on dark skin". Because that's really what it is. Sure, it may take a different technique or way of thinking since we typically learn to draw on white paper and contrast may need to be done differently to make things legible, but I can't imagine being an artist and not WANTING to learn how to do the absolute best for your clients, whomever they may be. Is that not one of the most satisfying parts of art as a career?
Thanks inked. As a 30 year old black male who's heavy into tattoo culture, I needed this. A lot of respected artist refuse to work on my skin, sadly.
I love this. I shied away from getting a tattoo simply because I believed it wouldn’t look good on me. I still want one but a lot of the artists that Ive encountered don’t have very much dark skin work on their pages. I will keep searching until I find the right artist
more content like this please!
Watching this after getting my first ever tattoo today!
Thank you for this 🔥🔥🙏🙏
As a heavily tattooed Black woman, I've heard SO much of this and I'm not even an artist. It's INSANE.
“I’m grateful for the process.” 😌
I liked this before I even watched it, so good
Love this inked segment alot
Genesis speaking straight FACTS the whole video.
The fact people would try to gatekeep black tattoo artists or say it doesn’t work on dark skin 🤦🏾♂️. ever heard of the pacific islands??
I’m a black/female tattoo artist, and I can say, it was NOT an easy, nor pretty journey, getting into this industry. It is foul how we are left out of such a sacred craft, that came from people of color. It also blows how hard we have to fight for a space in this industry. Thank you so much for this video, and showing artist who look like me. Representation/diversification is so important.
I've gotten exclusively color tattoos, especially brown ink. People who can't do it need to admit that they are not talented enough to tattoo a wide range of skin which represents so many tattooed people
Communication is key. Real communication without bias or prejudice.
Adriana Hallow does AMAZING color work on dark skin!
As far as black inked! It started off about the artists then became the real house wives of whatever..This really made me think on my future tatts. I already have a few that I want redone and one covered up
This is an amazing out We as artists need to unite
Great vid ✊⚘
THANK YOU!!!!!
I LOVE YOU GUYS KEEP THE GREAT VIDEOS UP
Thank you!
@@inked been a fan for so long even before I started getting tattooed and hearing so many beautiful artists perspective has been amazing! Really great channel.
I love this.
Can we get more of these? 👀
I saw that video Oba is talking about and it was WILDDDD
LOVE OBA! ❤️
That’s the beautiful thing about being a tattoo artist you get to transcend race💯
Great video.
Omg, I just love Genesis. What a sista, everything she said, is well said.
YES OBA AND ZELIK!!!! Love PUSH tattoo, Zelik is my homeboy!!!
Oba all day!!!!!
This is really cool
I’m mixed and I’m getting into tattooing. I’m already an artist and I used to free hand with marker on my arm when i was younger. I was able to find dark brown practice skin on Amazon and I’m excited to practice color and shading to see the difference on darker and lighter skin tones. I want to be able to work on anyone that comes to me, but I know I have a lot of work to do before I can get there.
14:35... Thats so true tho! thanks for sharing this
My first few tattoos were from a black tattooer in South Carolina. My last (and upcoming next two) are from a white guy in Charlotte. I sat in an Uptown Charlotte shop full of white tattooers that didn't find a single issue with tattooing black skin- black and grey or color. It was nothing but love and good vibes in both shops (in the Bible belt south). That lets me know that self professed "ink-masters" who complain about tattooing dark skin are really just inexperienced, even in their own circles.
These artists are correct. Most tattooers that actually know what they're doing really don't have an issue with melanated skin types.
yes!! who wants to create a positive show for black tattooers?!?!