Tattoos are a postmodern text, allowing individuals to depict imagery, concepts, and adages through an intimate medium of expression. The intertextuality of many contemporary tattoos is a testament to the global village in which we currently live – from album covers to cartoon characters, any product of popular culture may be inscribed upon someone’s skin. The line between art and body becomes blurred as a tattoo becomes a part of one’s perception of life and self. A tattoo alters the way in which an individual may be treated or received by others. Tattoos are ultimately a rejection of authority. The acquisition of a tattoo may be viewed as a desecration of the body’s temple from the perspective of a number of institutions – from academia to the church. In this way, tattoos counter traditional values and beliefs concerning “the individual” as a concept.
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