The Past and Present of Old School Tattoo

Old school tattoo (also written as "Old skool tattoo") is a western or traditional American tattoo style. Its characteristics are very clear: the patterns are bright colors (mostly red, yellow, green, blue) and black outlines. There are few or no shadows. In that time, the tattoo supply used to tattoo was not as good as the one we use today. 

In the early years, American traditional tattoo carriers were mainly sailors. After the end of the American War of Independence, American sailors formed a tattoo culture. There are several reasons: One of the main reasons is to ensure that there are clearly distinguishing marks on their bodies. At that time, maritime conflicts continued, and if they were captured and could not prove their identity, they would be recognized as pirates. In order to avoid this, they can prove that they are the person they claim by a specific tattoo. In addition, as a kind of "Medal of Honor", sailors got tattoos in foreign voyages to the countries with rich tattoo cultures, such as Japan and the Pacific Islands; so they can prove that they had been there.

This is "Sailor Jerry" Collins, the father of the old school who joined the US Navy in his early years and mastered the tattoo art during his trip to Polynesia. Later, after he retired, he moved to the Hawaiian dock, where he opened a tattoo shop and it soon became the favorite destination for sailors passing by the waters.

For a while, tattoos were still not in the mainstream culture of the United States. The main carriers are speeding parties, soldiers, gang members, and circus geeks. Body art has not yet been accepted.

After the 1970s, this situation quickly began to change. With the rise of punk and cultural movements, Americans’ attitudes toward tattoos began to change rapidly. The tattoos were becoming more and more popular, and the serious negative reviews had disappeared. However, the tattoo did not become mainstream until 2000.

In 1991, 21% of Americans had tattoos. After 14 years, this number reached 40%. The tattoos are no longer associated with a particular subculture or social marginality, instead, they became a trend culture. As a result, the demands for tattoos and artists has increased dramatically. In the past 20 years, the number of tattooed Americans has grown faster than any other period in American history. The material was also far beyond the sailor tattoo elements, and many American tattoo artists got inspiration from Japanese and tribal tattoo cultures. New styles and techniques appeared, and styles such as Dot work, watercolor, black and gray, and realism have emerged.

The traditional American tattoo is still very popular and is also a mainstream style. The new school tattoo, which combines the old school's old-fashioned flash art style with new technology and improved quality, is also very popular. American tattoos may be much later than many other tattoo cultures, but the old school pattern will not be outdated at any time.




Reprinted from this blog: https://wormholetattoosupply.com/blogs/news