Trash Polka?

[Valerie Vargas]

ahhh! @Stewart Robson, i get it now, sweet! about the tattoos in the thread, i'm not a fan either, as soon as i see them in a mag i'm most likely to barely glance at them, dont like them on stickers/tshirts certainly dont like them on skin, forEVER!

[russ f]

It's not my thing personally but I'm all for pushing the envelope with techniques, I guess it has it's place in tattooing. Understanding what Stewart says, I also think some of the 'new skool' stuff is really stunning and tattoos are obviously personal so if someone wants a star wars or streetfighter sleeve for example then that has a meaning to the person so why not have it look as shit hot as possible? I don't think then it is being done to be original/different. No they don't look like tattoos in the traditional sense but are valid all the same imo.

I am a massive fan of both traditional and newer styles, which can lead to another question: do you think you can mix new skool & traditional styles on one person? Like could you have a anime type sleeve and then an 'old school' arm for example?

[David Flores]

I don't really think the stuff is even original, it looks like the type of stuff you would have on your walls if you bought your art at Target. Custom in the way that everyone else had the good sense not to put tattoos on that look like this. To me it is the equivalent of people pawning off out of focus pictures as some sort of new art form.

[briankelly]

i was riding the tram the other day with a guy who had two full sleeves of this sort of thing. i think it looks good if the style is adhered to for the whole body, while it is not my thing and i did sit there being very critical of it in my own head. i was thinking things like, that red will never hold up, but he did have a portrait of a womans face in the work that did look quite nice in a technically well done way, and i am of the belief that all tattoos are going to look like complete shit in the future anyway. i try not to bash the work of other's who styles i dislike, because opinions are like assholes. i really don't like noon's work, but i shared an apartment with him and his son in new york for a few days, years ago, and he is a nice guy.

[gougetheeyes]

Professor @Stewart Robson, always a well-crafted and very succinct and thoughtful response. Dead on. I would buy your book of essays and hope they give you tenure.

Only thing I will say, is that I know Noon and he's totally nuts and in his own little 9-fingered Frenchman world. A good guy, and his style makes total sense when you meet him and his fanny pack. So goddamn French. It's also hilarious to watch him tattoo -- er, to watch the people he's tattooing because I've never seen people in so much pain. Definitely not my thing, and I find myself questioning the motivations for getting/receiving tattoos like this.. I can't claim to even begin to "get it" and can't identify at all with the folks who want this stuff or like this style. Much more of an "art" thing which I don't think has any permanent place in tattooing.

Blip on the timeline.

[Dan Martin]

Yeah... There's a tattoo and a tattooer for everyone. I'm just glad I don't have to tattoo that crap.

[Dan Martin]

The graphic design stuff looks like jersey shore t shirt designs, but the kid drawings and that heart thing! Wow!

[Mr. Frog]

I can't say I'm into this stuff. However, I think the people doing these tattoos are putting on clean lines and very solid color. It's no worse than some of the other " no outline crap" out there. I didn't even know there was a name for this style.

[JAllen]

the thing i like the most about this type of stuff is how much people hate it...it's very dadaist in that sense and is an interesting juxtapostion. it carries the same sense of using tattoos as a rejection of mainstream culture as tattoos in general have become more "poplular". i can for sure appreciate the appeal to those getting them as i also tend to like alot of crude designs in traditional tattooing, the ones that most people think are ugly and not appealing and sometimes people will say that it looks like a little kid drew it. it leaves no grey areas, it reminds me of this friend i had that he was somewhat abrasive and people either loved him or hated him. there really wasnt a casual opinion about him, he evoked a response one way or the other.

[Shannon Shirley]

such conservatism out of young people, always impressive. yes looks like t shirts, pollack no. although it ,especially the Noon stuff, technically looks good. my treasures are your trash. sorry where did "trash polka" come from? Im just not hep enough, i guess.

[Iwar]

Trash polka is the term that the folks at Tattoo, Tattoos und Piercings vom BuenaVistaTattooClub in Würzburg -Germany are using for this kind of stuff.

Oh, and if you thought the trash polka stuff was bad I advice you not to scroll down.........

"Art brut" is apparently what they call it......... (pictures stolen from tattoosnob.com)

[David Flores]

I don't think most tattooers I know would get involved in a lot of this stuff, especially a whole back or chest piece of something like this. However, people come in with graphic design stuff all the time and my instructions are if you can't use the Jedi force and talk them into a panther fighting an eagle, make sure it can be turned into a good tattoo with a bold black outline and if they are down and understand that then book it and if not send them on their way, but we don't take a picture of it and we throw away the line drawing five minutes after they walk out the door and pretend like it didn't happen even though for what it is it probably looks great. A tattoo is not always about the person who put it on people want tattoos for different reasons and I have to figure out how to get them a good tattoo without making them feel like their idea is dumb even if it is. But at the end of the day what is put out in your public portfolio is a reflection of you, the shop, and a good way to suggest what people should get tattooed, so use discretion, but I guess none of this applies if you feel like this stuff is good.

[Shannon Shirley]

thanks Iwar. I guess this is the next step? Damn, I guess I like being a dinosaur. some of this stuff i can understand as art , but it is so odd to me that we are pulling so far away from the "primal", if you will, meanings and reasons of tattooing. from the iceman's possible ,medicinal? or ritualistic properties, such as the pea', or the ''shellback'', you got tattooed because something happened. I admit Ive gotten plenty because I thought it was cool,( although I don't feel I ever got a tattoo to make me cool , because let's remember, tattoos don't make you cool) or made me beautiful, but Ive got others to mark a change in me or my life. These ''Art'' tattoos seem to be making a pretentious statement. it seems wrong I think because a lot feel that tattoos should mean something. this didnt happen overnight or by just one person. We as a post modern culture have created the enviroment for this to happen.So I'm not gonna blame the pretentious tattooist ( it seems, although I dont know these people) or the narcisisstic client that allowed this to be done to them, so they can be the coolist one at the gallery. I guess I'm just not that cool. I have always enjoyed viewing and making art, but I see art in alot of unpretentious places. I don't think I'm gonna hang my pinky out when I sip my tea anymore. I love the heritage of tattooing, I have been involved in my own little corner of it's heritage. I'm gonna leave my wannabe jackson Pollack paintings on canvas. I think I'll stick to the standards, I got called an old school tattooer yesterday, It felt good. My mentors and father would be proud.It's not good or smart to show off, alot of times, just like your mom said, yer gonna get hurt.

[s33ktruth]

These look more for web and print ready designs than tattoos. Ewwwwwwww

[gorenoir]

I think what a person puts on their body is their business. I personally like this style and depending on the tattoo it goes from douchebag shirt to really awesome. The images you've uploaded here I've got to say are some of the more crappy of the lot. I'm a huge fan of bold and simple. It's funny that people who are tattoo artists or collectors would even have such a closed mind. It's that same mentality that people use as a weapon against people with ANY tattoos. "Oh god that person has tattoos that's so ugly" The whole purpose of the art of tattooing is to be able to carry our personality around with us on the outside.. If we all had the same personality this world would be utter shit. I'm not saying love the artwork just appreciate it for what it is and respect the people that compose these tattoos as artists.

[posterboy7596]

I'm glad to see someone other than myself decided to try to wake up this sleeping thread, and also interesting that someone used references from tattoosnob. I’ve been part of some debate regarding this issue on that site. I will preface my opinion of this stuff with saying that people should feel free to do with their bodies as they please. That said, I think this stuff is garbage. I've seen the term "frustrated painter" tossed around a bit, and think it may apply to some of it. There is also the old saying of "if it ain't bold, it won't won't hold". For me this stuff seems very abstract artsy, and when I think of abstract art I think of goofy rich people spending stupid money on what someone else told them is popular. It also has this look of someone taking a lot of care to purposely make something look random and not on purpose. It reminds me of the giant pants kids in the late 90’s would wear. You would have these kids who wanted to prove they were so against the mainstream and anti-establishment that they would go to Hot Topic and spend $100 on some giant JNCO jeans and $200 on some Doc Marten boots.

The reasoning that this type of tattooing is anti-establishment, and should therefore be accepted, doesn’t hold much water either. I don’t believe that you can class all tattoo people as completely anti-establishment. It is my belief that what many tattoo people are against is the wrong kind of establishment. A look at the continued popularity of by-the-book traditional western and Japanese tattooing should clearly show that. You can also see this is in the ongoing belief in “old-school” apprenticeships and the value of earning your stripes. I do agree that PART of the purpose of tattooing is to be able to wear your personality on your skin permanently. In that case this kind of tattooing is beneficial to me as it helps me learn who likes stuff I consider questionable without having to actually talk to them.

One more point and I’ll end my rant. Looking through even just this thread, and there is much more out there, there is a lot of variation. There is some stuff that actually looks decent all the way to stuff that doesn’t really look like anything. The problem with things that are supposed to look somewhat haphazard is the difficulty in discerning the difference between something that is supposed to look the way it is, and something that was just a hack job. Ok, that’s enough from me for now. I’m no expert, I just know was I do and don’t like for myself.

[Patriot Ink Tattoo]

I am kind of drawn to it even though I hate it. Like looking at a car wreck..lol

[LeoKraft]

Shit's whack and i aint feelin' it

[Ben87]

Actually I've been wandering for a while what all these no outline tattoos will look like years later, I'm not a tattoo artist (with no intention to be one, don't worry) so i don't really understand the reasons behind them ageing badly ect, does anyone have any pictures of some examples? They're not my thing and all my tattoos have good strong lines so I'm not worried personally, just interested.

[remindsmeofyou]

I think what a person puts on their body is their business. I personally like this style and depending on the tattoo it goes from douchebag shirt to really awesome. The images you've uploaded here I've got to say are some of the more crappy of the lot. I'm a huge fan of bold and simple. It's funny that people who are tattoo artists or collectors would even have such a closed mind. It's that same mentality that people use as a weapon against people with ANY tattoos. "Oh god that person has tattoos that's so ugly" The whole purpose of the art of tattooing is to be able to carry our personality around with us on the outside.. If we all had the same personality this world would be utter shit. I'm not saying love the artwork just appreciate it for what it is and respect the people that compose these tattoos as artists.

Well put. Each to their own.

[Dennis]

Just found this thread!

I like the stuff that the Buena Vista Tattoo Club puts out. I wouldn't get it, but a well executed tattoo in that style would most definitely catch my eye/interest over a traditional style tattoo if I saw it on someone in person.

[Johannes]

would never, ever put anything like that on my body..not even if it was the only type of tattoos allowed to get. boring designs. some even ugly as hell. no, strong outlines and heavy shading thank you.

[Brock Varty]

oh jeezus this thread sucks...

[Dude]

I kind of like the last two. Not that I would put one on me though.

Dude

edit: I should have posted with quotes. I was looking at the one with the bus.

[Hogrider]

It's entirely possible that I'm missing the point of this style, but this looks to me like a lame attempt to look bad-ass. I've always thought that when you really are a bad-ass, you don't need to tell anyone, they just know.