Scott Cooper is the head of Saint Tattoo and has been an artist for 21 years. Alex Phillips • The Daily Beacon
Ink provides individuality in a digital age Presley Smith Opinions Editor In 2015, The Harris Poll surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. adults and found 3 in 10 Americans are inked. Although tattoos have been a form of body art for centuries, their popularity and tattoo culture has steadily grown over the past 50 years. Today, it’s highly unlikely for one to walk through
Volume 132 Issue 62
campus, or anywhere, without seeing at least one person with a visible tattoo, and local artists have some theories on why. “With the increase of good artists and good shops, popularity is going to rise because more people can actually walk in and have a good experience,” Moe “Baker” Black, a tattoo artist at Purple Heart Tattoo, said. Some artists credit developments in technology for the growth of the tattoo industry, citing the increased availabil-
ity of tattoo parlors and heightened transparency of tattooing technique and hygiene. “I think there’s probably a billion things,” Jimmy Sumunni, a tattoo artist of 16 years at Purple Heart Tattoo, said. “There’s more people getting tattoos. Social media makes it easier for people to find places to get tattoos and see other tattooed people. I think it’s just more common in general now.” Scott Cooper, artist of 21 years and head of Saint Tattoo, also said he
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believes the heightened exposure from social media and television has the tattoo industry at an all-time high. “A lot of it has to do with TV. The whole TV thing has made it blow up a lot starting with Miami Ink around 2002,” Cooper said. “And,(a tattoo) really is the last true way to actually express yourself as an individual in a society that really strives hard for individuality.” See TATTOOS on Page 7
Friday, November 18, 2016