Tattoo Arts Convention Returns To Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - The second annual Tattoo Arts Convention started Friday at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Minneapolis this weekend. While the art form has been around for centuries, the dozens of vendors at the event said that what's old is new again.

From a historical standpoint, tattoos are the one of original ways to show what's important to you.

As men returned home from war, the Sailor Jerry style of military imagery was popular. Women and other civilians rarely got tattooed before the 1950s.

As the disco era came around, so did its tattoos.

"The hippies and women's movement made tattooing a lot more main stream," Shanghai Kate, a pioneer in the tattoo industry, said. "The imagery was very marijuana and free-love themed--you know, like rainbows, unicorns, pot leaves."

In the 80s, tattoos went mainstream, mostly with pop-culture references. The '90s ushered in barbed wire and Kanji, Japanese lettering and symbols.

"Traditional Japanese tattoos have been around since the start of time," Kate said. "But the Japanese symbols are gone. If you go to get a language that is not yours, it can wind up meaning all sorts of crazy things that you have no idea."

These days, women's faces decorated as skulls (known as sugar skulls), birds/feathers and vintage-inspired images are all the rage.

"Swallows, ships, pin-up girls, American flags, eagles, panthers--those are the essence of American old school tattooing," Kate said. "Those are the ones that are coming back in vogue now."

Like any art form or style, tattoo trends will always evolve. Artists say as long as it's important to you, it'll never go out of style.

"I get it because I'm in love with it, and I want that piece of artwork with me at all times," said Nicholas Bisbee as he got his band's logo tattooed on his calf. "I love how it looks. I love to show it off, of course. But tattoos are for the person getting them, not anyone else."

Tattoos used to be a permanent decision, but now you can get them covered or even removed.

The 6th Annual Minneapolis Tattoo Arts Convention continues through Sunday, Jan. 11, at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis.