UCSD fellow studies SoCal tattoo culture

COH

For the Modern Primitives group. (Please feel free to clip where you may feel would be appropriate.)

Tattooing has a long history associated with port cities, maritime culture, sailors and the military, and San Diego is part of that history. Location is really important in terms of how certain types of aesthetic forms develop. For example, Southern California is particularly well known for fine-line, black-and-grey style of tattooing, especially with the strong Chicano / Latino influence in this region. Southern California is also considered the birthplace of what is often called “modern tribal” or “neo tribal” tattooing, which was inspired by indigenous forms of tattooing in the Pacific. Japanese aesthetics has also played a huge role in how tattooing has developed in California, in terms of design, use of background, body coverage, etc.