Copyright.

The other day the topic of body art came up into a conversation that I was having. While this topic isn't really unusual for me to discuss with people, this time I was thinking about it in a rather different way.

This discussion revolved around a tattoo artist's right to their own work. If an illustrator can draw an image and, if he so chooses, get that image copyrighted, can a tattoo artist do the same? Even though an illustrator works on paper and a tattoo artist works on a body does that matter? Does the canvas make a difference?

Now, I haven't done any research on the topic, so perhaps a tattoo artist can copyright their work. But if they infact can not I think that is ridiculous. Every artist has the right to their own work if that is what they desire. (Yes, I know that last sentence seems to go against my views of 'world property', but not everyone has the weird hippie ideals that I do.)

But even though I do not believe in the idea of personal property I find the whole concept behind the copyright process interesting. So, if the mood strikes I'll do a little research.

Ink.

Perhaps it's a generational thing, but something that I don't understand is certain people's aversion to tattoos. Years ago tattoos were seen as a sign of rebellion or of a person that was in a 'rough crowd', and some people still seem to believe this. Today tattoos are much more commonplace and main stream. Now, I'm not saying that tattoos are things that everybody should get. They're something that some people are just not interested in, but that does not mean that they should show a bias against people with them. There is an especially big bias against the tattooed members of our society when it comes to the work force. I have a very good friend that has found it to be very difficult getting a new job because of his tattoos, and I think that this discrimination is absurd. There are a host of laws that prevent discrimination by employers, including ones regarding physical appearance, yet managers still discriminate against people who happen to have tattoos. I find this completely ridiculous. There are lots of people, including my friend, that would prove to be very good dedicated workers if given the opportunity.
There is a whole art form dedicated to tattoos, and who is any employer to deny a person a job based on their decision to display art on their bodies? I think that it is beautiful if someone is confident enough in themselves to want to display something that is important to them in ink on their bodies forever. I understand that people sometimes end up getting a tattoo and regretting it later in life, but I think that in that circumstance they should have spent more time considering their decision before it was made. I plan on getting sever tattoos in my lifetime, and I have been planning my first one for about two years now. I formed an idea, drew several sketches of it, then took time to think about it more, and repeated that process several times. I want the tattoo because it is something that I drew so it is a personal creation of mine, and it is symbolic to me. I know that I may have to work a little extra hard to get where I want in life because I've chosen to ink my body, but I'm prepared to do that and I dare any unaccepting employer to say that I won't be able to prove them wrong.