Body Art as Visual Language By Savitri Horrigan

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Body Art as Visual
Language
By Savitri Horrigan
beautyisnotonlyskindeep.blogspot.com/
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What is the definition of body art? Are there
marks on or alterations to the body that would
not be classified as body art? Body art is
something that a person opts to wear in order to
differentiate themselves as an individual or
conform to the ideals of a group. However, in
order to be considered art and not just a
marking, body art has to have some measure of
freedom and intentionality in its creation. In
other words, these creations are only markings on
the skin if they are inflicted without consent by
the person wearing it because without consent
there is no true meaning or symbolic significance
to the marking. For example, the brands put on
enslaved people, or the numbers tattooed on
concentration camp victims, or the scars left
from an unwanted injury are body markings, not
body art.
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What is a symbol and why is body art classified
as symbolic? A symbol is something that
represents something else by association,
resemblance, or convention, especially a material
object used to represent something invisible.
Body art is classified as symbolic because it
communicates a persons status in society
displays accomplishments and encodes memories,
desires, and life histories.
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What are some of the general meanings that
examples of body art can have in different
societies? Besides being decorative, tattoos,
paint, and scars can mediate the relationships
between people and the supernatural world.
Transitions in status and identity, for example
the transition between childhood and adulthood,
are often seen as times of danger. Because body
art can be used to protect a vulnerable person,
whether an initiate, a bride, or a deceased
person, in this transition phase, it serves as a
shield to repel evil or as a means of attracting
good fortune. Additionally, people in everyday
life use body art to cross boundaries of gender,
national identity, and cultural stereotypes.
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What forms can body art take?
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• Body painting
• appliance of clays or paint to the outer
  surface of the body
• Some clays and body paints are felt to have
  protective and auspicious properties
• Used in initiation rituals, for weddings, and for
  funerals
• Marks transition from one life stage to another
• Acts as a map to a sacred place including the
  afterlife
• Emphasize visual appeal
• Signifies allegiance to a certain group

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Properties of Skin
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Huli Wigman from Papua New Guinea http//en.wikipe
dia.org/wiki/Body_painting
Villager of the Karo tribe http//tabisite.com/gal
lery_af/ethiopia/eth0415.jpg
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• Makeup
• appliance of powders and dyes usually to the
  face
• Accentuates the contrast between men and women
• Camouflages perceived imperfection
• Used during rituals and ceremonies to indicate
  that a person is taking on a new identity
• Allows people to reinvent themselves in everyday
  life

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www.magiccarpetjournals.com/kabuki.htm
Kabuki makeup designs http//www.comm.unt.edu/hist
ofperf/nonwest/zsohar/copy_of_ japanesetheatr/Kabu
ki20Costumes.htm
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• Hair
• may include combing, braiding, parting,
  wrapping, or cutting hair
• Signifies status and gender, age and ritual
  status, or membership in a certain group
• Has powerful symbolic significance covering the
  head as a sign of piety and respect
• Cutting hair and shaving heads may be part of a
  rite of passage ritual
• Hair may carry symbolic power attaching hair of
  enemy to war shirts or shields
• Reversing normal treatment of hair as a sign of
  rebellion

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Sikh men wearing turbans www.tribuneindia.com/2006
/20061111/
Muslim women wearing burkas http//www.dailymail.c
o.uk/news/article-511125/Muslim-women- wouldnt-cha
nge-clothes-swim-awarded-1-500-kicked-pool.html
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Native American woman www.native-languages.org/hai
r.htm
African hairstyles http//nubianhairsupplies.homes
tead.com/ hair-styles-in-africa.html
A Rastafarian man morefire.wordpress.com/2007/08/
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• Body shaping
• may include fattening, removal of tissue, or
  putting pressure on certain body parts to shape
  the bones
• Used to conform to culturally defined ideals of
  male and female beauty
• Fat can be a sign of health, wealth, and
  fertility
• Binding skulls and feet symbolize wealth and high
  status
• Other examples include stretching necks with
  rings, removing ribs, and plastic surgery

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Chinese foot binding www.ispub.com/.../ijba/vol1n2
/foot.xml
Permanent disfigurement that foot binding
causes http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footbinding
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Kayan woman with neck rings http//en.wikipedia.or
g/wiki/Neck_ring
Human Peruvian female skull www.boneclones.com/hum
an-skulls.htm
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• Scarification
• (cicatrization) alters skin texture by cutting
  the skin and controlling the bodys healing
  process
• Smooth skin can be seen as blank and unattractive
  elaborate designs signify beauty
• Inserting clay or ash in the cuts results in
  raised wheals or bumps called keloids
• Extensive patterns indicate a permanent change in
  a persons status
• Painful process the richly scarred person is
  often honored for endurance and courage
• Branding used as a rite of passage

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Man from the African tribe Burkina
faso http//www.nationalgeographic.com/tattoos/pho
to1.html
http//www.uihealthcare.com/depts/medmuseum/wallex
hibits/ body/bodyalterations/bodyalterations.html
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• Tattooing
• insertion of ink into the dermis layer of the
  skin
• Are often decorative and send important cultural
  messages
• Form of tribal initiation and a sign of bravery
  as the process is long and painful
• Signifies commitment to some group
• Designs act as an emblem of a rite of passage
• Reconnects people to nature and emphasizes
  identity
• Serves as a personal fashion statement

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Yakuza full body design http//1st-japanesetattoos
.blogspot.com/2008/10/prison-japanese-tattoos.html
Men from the Maori tribe of New
Zealand http//glaceyeux.blogspot.com/2007/07/ill-
eat-your-liver-and-still-look.html
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• Piercing
• long-term insertion of an object through the
  skin in a way that permits healing around the
  opening
• Part of a ritual change of status
• Bleeding during piercing may be considered a
  sacrificial offering to gods, spirits, or
  ancestors
• Ornaments can be made of precious and rare
  materials this may signal privilege and wealth
• Size of ornaments may determine a womans dowry

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Mursi woman with lip plate www.photochart.com/phot
o_3316_Mursi20Woman.html
Brazilian man with ear disks www.nmnh.si.edu/naa/c
anela/canela3.htm
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What effect has globalization had on the forms
and meanings of body art? Worldwide travel,
large-scale migrations, and increasing access to
global networks of communication mean that body
art today is a kaleidoscopic mix of traditional
practices and new inventions. Materials, designs,
and practices move from one cultural context to
another. Traditional body art practices are given
new meanings as they move across cultural and
social boundaries. The messages and meanings of
body art only make sense in the context of
culture, but because it is such a personal art
form, it continually challenges cultural
assumptions about the ideal, the desirable, and
the appropriately presented body.
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• Dayak Tattoos
• Dayak refers to the indigenous inland villagers
  of Borneo
• Spirits provide the techniques of rice
  cultivation, the techniques of textile weaving,
  and the techniques of tattooing
• Since the soul is thought to reside in the head
  and since each individual is born with multiple
  souls, headhunting was a common practice because
  it symbolically added status and strength to the
  communitys soul collection

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• Tattoos serve to show a persons worth and
  accomplishments warriors for their headhunting
  accomplishments and women for their weaving,
  singing, or dancing accomplishments
• Tattoos mark participation in headhunting it
  appeased the gods and ensured agricultural
  success because the gods would in turn indicate
  good farming locations, protect rice crops, help
  cure illnesses, and accompany hunts to ensure
  success
• Since textile work was dangerous, black spike
  motifs were tattooed on womens knuckles and
  wrists to seek fertility and protection from
  ancestors
• Because tattoos mark a persons identity, tattoos
  were also applied in order to change identity
  certain illnesses were thought to signify
  personal immorality, so in order to confuse the
  evil spirits that were plaguing that individual,
  the persons name was changed and a tattoo was
  applied to the wrist in order to conceal the
  previous identity

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• Dayak beliefs center on the idea that animals,
  plants, and humans are all equally made up of
  spiritual entities. Because of this, animals and
  plants play large roles in tattoo designs.
• Plants are regarded as a major kind of living
  thing, sharing the same fundamental properties of
  life and death as humans
• Tuba root patterns were used to ward off evil
  spirits since the tuba plant contains a poisonous
  juice that can be extracted by crushing the plant
• Headhunting warriors were given tattoos with tree
  trunk designs that pay respect to the spirits of
  the jungle, hornbill wings which are believed to
  have protective qualities against evil spirits,
  and areca palm leaf designs that also warded off
  evil spirits

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Process of Dayak traditional tattooing http//www.
britishinkdc.com/paul_tattooing_methods.html
Traditional Borneo tattooing tools from Dayak
tribe http//www.geocities.com/huilee191/03207g1.J
PG
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http//www.vanishingtattoo.com/borneo_dayak_tattoo
s.htm
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Conclusion People apply different forms of body
art in order to respect the traditions of their
culture and to show how they want to be seen.
However, the symbolic meaning of this art and its
interpretation are often lost over cultural
lines. In order to fully appreciate and
understand a certain tattoo or hairstyle, people
must separate themselves from the standards of
their own culture and interpret the body art in
perspective to that specific culture. In other
words, in order to better understand the symbolic
meaning behind these forms of body art, one must
use cultural relativism the notion that one
should not judge the behavior of other people
using the standards of ones own culture
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Works Cited http//news.nationalgeographic.com/ne
ws/2004/06/0618_040618_tvtattoo.html http//www.n
ationalgeographic.com/tattoos/ http//www.vanishi
ngtattoo.com/lars_krutak.htm http//uun-halimah.b
logspot.com/2008/11/in-realm-of-spirits-traditiona
l-dayak.html http//www.vanishingtattoo.com/borne
o_dayak_tattoos.htm