Jessica Brennan
[BA] Drawing with Minors in Psychology and Product Design
Tattoos and Sculpture
Tattoos and Sculpture uses tattoo art and drawings of well-known Western sculpture. On display are seven sculpturally inspired pieces with Neo Traditional American style tattoos; two portraits of tattooed-sculptures adorned with images that would have been significant to them personally, a flash sheet, a thigh piece, and a sternum tattoo. This is a style rooted in American-traditional that has evolved recently to include more technically sophisticated visual elements. There is a rich history behind tattooing and the evolution of styles and techniques. I hope to communicate through this work that tattooing is often excluded from the fine art world because of its restrictions with display, and not for a lack of history, skill, or grandeur.
I have decided to use iconic statues to highlight the underlying similarities that both sculpting and tattoo-design drawings have. These sculptures include individuals from religious, mythological and historic pillars of society. The permanence of stone transforms the individual into an icon. A transformation similarly takes place when a design is permanently inked into a person’s skin. The drawing becomes a statement with the artwork ingrained in a person’s physical appearance. I am interested in the conversation that results from the combination of two very different but significant forms idealized beauty and design.