WALK ON\thewalk
BY Olivia Stearn
ART MEETS SOUL Three tatted Penn students share their amazing stories and incredible ink. Tattoos are more than skin-deep. Just like statement rings or oversized handbags, tattoos can showcase our sense of style, self-image and personal ideology. Yet there is a fundamental difference: permanence. Throughout time, this unusual permanence has incited controversy, contributing to a persistent perception of tattoos as counter-cultural. Sam Stavis C’16 notes that many people are surprised
avery Krieger C’16, Cognitive Science Houston, Texas
zeynep uguR
she has a tattoo simply because she does not fit the “goth” or “hipster” stereotypes. Irene Katopodis C’15 looks forward to a time when tattoos are considered commonplace and no longer carry any social stigma. Here are three inspiring Penn students who have opted to adorn their bodies permanently, for reasons ranging from the purely decorative to the deeply sentimental.
Avery Krieger got his intricate back tattoo from a protégé tattoo artist in Houston, Texas after spending over a year drawing out his design. He admits, “Part of the tattoo was relatively painless, but other parts were extremely excruciating.” His family supported his decision to acquire the large piece. Krieger eloquently describes the meaning behind his tattoo: “The cogs to neurons to circuitry represent the chronological progression of science and societal understandings of technology. It embodies the idea of cross-subject and interdisciplinary ideals that I believe are necessary for human progress.” Krieger will continue adding a new chapter to his tattoo story every year.
C’16, Architecture Istanbul, Turkey
Zeynep Ugur, with her connection to her creative spirit, mesmerizes us. In Ugur’s words, “Having a tattoo is the residue of life experience. It is in your heart as well as on your body.” Her tattoo portrays her connection to nature and a celebration of time passing, with each small tree representing three years of her life. Ugur remembers the tattooing sensation as “a specific type of pain that [she] was familiar with and wanted to feel.” Her parents respect her as a “performance artist” for enduring pain for the sake of self-expression. She explains, “I got my tattoo because I was drawn to the moment-to-moment experience of getting a tattoo.” She remembers the experience as “a live drawing session [with] ink, a stranger, and the frontier of your inner self, the skin.”
Molly Stein C’16, Biological Basis of Behavior Wyncote, Pennsylvania
Molly Stein views her tattoos as a family affair. With college looming, she and her twin sister, Alex, worried about staying close. Stein relates, “We had never been apart before we left [home] for freshman year, so it was a huge change for us.” The sisters decided to commemorate their shared birthday in Roman numeral tattoos as a reminder that they are always together. Their father chose to adorn himself with a large DNA double helix strand with A and M base pairs, which stand for his daughters’ names. Stein is considering additional tattoos that will strengthen her family ties: a compass, inspired by a gift from her mother, and Hebrew script similar to that which her late grandfather wore around his neck. All images photographed by Dyana So C’16.
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