To me, art is something that is probably on my list of words that are most broadly defined. I started thinking about it more to see if I could narrow down my idea of what it was to help better define it, and that was just so difficult! Helping to prove my point, the Webster dictionary definition of "art" is "the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects". That's pretty broad if you ask me. I consider so many parts of every day life art it's ridiculous. From the way people decide to decorate their cars with bumper stickers or decals or what not to the shoes they wear to the way they wear their hair-- all of those things go towards making a statement about someone and their character.
Since art is mainly used to express oneself, and celebrities are often exactly what people want to be, it is no surprise that celebrities are inevitably closely linked with art. In my opinion, a tattoo is one of the most common ways I will see "art" being portrayed. It is a permanent design, symbol or saying, usually with a deeper meaning, permanently inked onto skin. When I searched "celebrity art" on Google (just because I couldn't think of any pieces of art I had seen recently having to do with celebrities) I realized that the main things that popped up were simple paintings of celebrities or pictures of tattoos of them on people. Obviously, it is no question that we worship them or something!
I chose the tattoo I saw on someone's back of Bob Marley as my piece of art. This one stood out first off because it takes up the person's entire back with just one image, and second because Bob Marley is such an icon because of all that he stands for. Clearly this person is more than proud of Bob Marley and all that he stands for because he or she decided to magnify the image to take up their entire back side! This just means that the celebrity status can have such an impact- people hear of your name and what you stand for and before you know it you can have your face tattooed on their back!
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/bob-marley-tattoo
This was a super interesting blog post. Describing art as broad is so accurate, yet I had never thought of it in that way. Art can be everywhere and can be in many different forms. From the way one does their hair to the clothing that they wear. Tattoos are such a permant form of body art.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea of tattoos as art. I've seen some TV shows featuring tattoo artists and most of them consider themselves artists - and so do I! I think its fascinating that someone would make a decision to get a tattoo of a celebrity on their back. You would have to really believe in that person and what they stand for.
ReplyDeleteInteresting blog! I like your statement on how "obviously... we worship them" to be really eye opening. I personally would never get a tattoo of a celebrity anywhere on my body, and I find it interesting that someone else would do it! I'm about to Google the guy with the Bob Marley tattoo, that's so extreme... And yes, I totally agree that art is one of the most vaguely defined things ever! Art can mean almost anything and is subject to personal interpretation.
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