Body art is any body modification for artistic or aesthetic reasons. However the term is often extended to all socially significant markings, often displaying the bearer belongs to some hereditary (e.g. tribal), age, religious or other group, and therefore on body parts that remain or can be 'decently' exposed in public, except if the group is private or even secret.
The most common body modifications are...
- tattooing - the mechanical placement of ink in the dermis
- body piercing - permanent placement of jewelry through an artificial fistula; sometimes further modified by stretching (piercing)
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Tattooing:
A tattoo is a design or marking made by the insertion of a pigment into punctures or cuts in the skin. In technical terms, tattooing is micro-pigment implantation. Tattoos are a type of body modification.
The word is traced to the Tahitian tatu or tatau, meaning to mark or strike (the latter referring to traditional methods of applying the designs). In Japanese the word used for traditional designs or those that are applied using traditional methods is irezumi ("insertion of ink"), while "tattoo" is used for non-Japanese designs.
Most tattoo enthusiasts refer to tattoos as tats, ink, art or work, and to tattooists as artists. This usage is gaining support, with mainstream art galleries holding exhibitions of tattoo designs and photographs of tattoos.
Tattoo designs that are mass produced and sold to tattoo artists and studios and displayed in shop are known as flash. Current popular tattoo designs are flower, tribal, butterfly, fairy, cross, star, and chinese.
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Piercing
Body piercing usually refers to the piercing of a part of the human body for the purpose of wearing jewelry in the opening created. Body piercing is a form of body modification. The word "piercing" can refer to the act or practice of body piercing, or to a specific pierced opening in the body.
Some people practice piercing for religious or other cultural reasons, while many individuals, particularly in the modern West, choose to be pierced for spiritual, ornamental, or sexual reasons. Current popular body piercings are ear, tongue, nose, belly button, navel, lip, genital (prince albert and hood), and corset.
Browse the Tattooing and Piercing Body Art Directory