Want A Secret Tattoo? Then Go For Tongue Tattoo!

There are many reasons of people being affraid of getting a tattoo on their bodies. But what about a secret one? A tattoo that is seen only when you decide to show it? Those who had a tongue tattoo do admit it hurts like hell and speech is initially difficult, but claim that the surprise factor of sticking out their tongues at unwary persons is worth the effort.

Tongue tattoo is something really unusual! For those seeking out cool tattoos getting the tongue tattooed might be too much. Circus carny and graphic designer Curtis McMurty is the person credited with developing a specially patented Tongue-Dyed Tattoo™ technology.

And McMurty’s innovation doesn’t stop with the visual. He claims the new technique has the same durability as any regular tattoo, but has the added aspect of eliciting a specific taste to go with the design. “They come in chocolate, vanilla and garlic. If you really want to shock a person’s sensibilities, go for the garlic — you won’t be disappointed.”

Want A Secret Tattoo? Then Go For Tongue Tattoo!

“I’ve always been unique. My friends say I’m ‘touched.’ Now I’m twice as unique!” — Egrett Emry, tongue tattooer.

The first person to have the procedure done was Egrett Emry, who has a depiction of vomit it was a toss-up between that and an “Eat Me” graphic). Emry’s roommate acknowledged that Emry’s first week after getting it done has been “a real tongue twister. He really sucks at taking phone messages.”

Want A Secret Tattoo? Then Go For Tongue Tattoo!

“If scientists could grow another tongue on me through stem cells, I’d totally tattoo that one, too. Hey, I’m a no-hold-the-bar kinda risk-taking guy.”

Emry added that so far all food tastes like burnt flesh. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never actually tasted burnt flesh, but I think we all agree on what we think it must taste like, you know?”

About two dozen Californians have supposedly received tongue tattoos at McMurty’s parlor in East L.A. In terms of safety, initial research shows that it’s no more harmful than swallowing small droplets of mercury.

Want A Secret Tattoo? Then Go For Tongue Tattoo!

And in terms of imagery, well, the sky’s the limit. McMurty was contacted recently by some Portland, Ore., teenagers who want to tattoo the Nike corporate swoosh on their tongues, “to speak out about the omnipresence of corporate greed.”

“It can certainly be shocking,” admitted Emry, describing how he surprised his dentist when he went in for a routine check-up. “The poor guy said, ‘Open up.’ So I did — and I swear he fell over backwards when I stuck it out at him. I guess the general public will find this sort of thing hard to swallow.”

Want A Secret Tattoo? Then Go For Tongue Tattoo!

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Pig Tattoos: Some Artists Can Tattoo Whatever Moves

Have you ever tried to tattoo your pet? Have you ever wanted to have a machine that produces poos? Have you ever thought of getting x-rayed while having sex? Have you ever heard about Wim Delvoye?

After all that modern artists have done, you might think that nothing would be more shocking. After seeing Jeff Koons make statues of celebrities giving birth and Damien Hirst slicing up sharks. Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Wim Delvoye and his controversial art of tattooing pigs.

Delvoye first began tattooing pigs in Belgium (where he is actually from) around 1992, at that time he inked dead pigs only. By 1997, he decided to explore the concept further. Thinking of the pigs as living “piggy banks”, that is to say as investments, he began to tattoo designs on live pigs. The animals are sedated first, and then shaved and tattooed all like a human being.

In 2004, Delvoye rented a farm in China, where he wouldn’t be hindered by prohibitive animal welfare laws and established his Art Farm project. Pigs are tattooed when they are young and the designs change and grow as the pig grows. Interested art buyers can purchase a pig, although Delvoye has noted that none of them have actually taken their pigs home to live with them. Some buyers have waited until the pigs dies of old age to have the skins turned into art, but others have preferred that the pigs be slaughtered and the skin stretched and framed. Delvoye has also exhibited some of the tattooed pigs as fully stuffed and taxidermied statues, sitting as he puts it “like a stone lion outside a Chinese restaurant.”

In September of 2008, Delvoye was scheduled to have eight of his pigs appear as part of the Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, but shortly before the exhibition was set to open, officials decided the pigs, tattooed with Disney designs and the Louis Vuitton logo, were in poor taste and the Art Farm exhibit was removed from the event. Delvoye was somewhat disappointed as he had interested buyers coming to China from Europe. The tattooed porcines can fetch as much as $160,000.

Apart from tattooing pigs, Wim has several projects which I consider to be worth seeing. You can find them in the artist’s official website. You can also read an interview with Wim Delvoye here.

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Tattoo Care: You Have To Care Before Getting It Too!

We all know how important tattoo aftercare is, but what about BEFOREcare? Choose a wrong artist, have a tattoo done in unproper conditions, with unsterile pins and by a drunk artist and you will be #*cked up for life.

The only way to tell whether an artist is good or not is to see examples of his or her work. Recommendations are helpful, of course, but the recommendations should carry infinitely more weight if the recommender is proffering a tattooed example of the artist’s work. There are plenty of awesome artists out there who, though you wouldn’t deny their skills, just don’t appeal to you with the style of tats they do. So don’t take anyone else’s word for it – get a look at the artist’s work yourself. Furthermore, and don’t start thinking we’re paranoid, but it’s best to see actual examples of the work on a live person who can tell you who did the work. Anyone can put up a bunch of pictures and claim authorship.

I bet you don’t want to get one of these:

Tattoo Care: You Have To Care Before Getting It Too!

You can meet people and talk to them about their tattoos at tattoo conventions, in the tattoo studios you visit and on the street or at a club, so long as you’re not an idiot about it. People are usually proud of their tattoos, and if you seem genuinely interested a lot of people will be happy to tell you about their ink. Tattoo magazines are also a good source for information. The photo-essays they publish about various artists are likely to be well-researched and legitimate examples of the artists’ work. The key is to shop around and find someone really capable, because the quality of your tattoo depends so much on the talent of the tattoo artist.

Also remember that despite the fact that infection from tattooing in clean and modern tattoo studios employing single-use needles is rare, in amateur tattoos, however, there is an elevated risk:

Remember that it is always better to pay extra 20 bucks for quality and safe tatt rather than later on pay for the removal, being depressed about it or even have to visit a doctor and spend a fortune on treatment.

Be proud of your good tattoos, get safe new ones and take care!

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Places To Visit & Things To See (For 11.17.08)

BMEzine.com: The Most Heavily Tattooed Mayor in America - an article about a mayor of a small town Campo, his life and his tattoos.

Tattoo-People.co.uk: London Tattoo Convention 2008 - The latest tattoo news from the 2008 tattoo convention.

Off Beat Ink: What Would YOU Do For a FREE Blackberry? - an article about a Blackberry-adict (probably, iPhone hating) guy and the incredible strength of his will for a new Storm… For free…

VanishingTattoo.com: The World’s 101 Hottest Women with Tattoos for 2007 - Anyone interested in celebrities’ lives will be pleased to check this one out.

Tattooblog.org: Wanna celebrate Obama’s victory with a tatt? - Can this be a beginning of a new tattoo fashion?

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