Inked jewelry set
Whether it’s an initiation rite, a souvenir or a distinctive sign, today’s tattoos are becoming more and more popular. Contrary to popular belief, tattooing is far from being a recent fashion phenomenon. This ancient art form has been around in various forms since prehistoric times. In fact, the first signs of tattooing found on mummies date back to at least 8000 BC. The most famous is none other than Ötzi! He sported small parallel lines on his arm, probably for their therapeutic virtues.
Tattooing has been practised in all regions of the world by very different peoples, far removed from one another, and in all eras. We can assume that just as man began to paint on walls and objects to decorate them and make them his own, he also began to paint and decorate his body permanently, whether by tattooing or scarification.
In addition to the beauty of certain tattoos, and depending on culture and tradition, getting a tattoo could mark the passage to adulthood, membership of a group, social rank or profession, or even be linked to spiritual powers.
The origin of the word comes from Polynesia: “tatau” means to mark, draw or strike. This very important ancestral practice could date back to 1300 B.C. In Europe, tattooing was rediscovered in the 18th century with the arrival of James Cook and his crew in Tahiti. Many of Cook’s sailors adopted the practice and used it to inscribe on their skin the events that had marked them and of which they were proud.
Unfortunately, in some cases, the body could become more than a means of collective or intimate expression, it could even become a criminal record, and tattooing was used to record the offenses of an accused person to see whether or not he or she was a repeat offender, or simply to mark the individual for life for a crime committed or, at least, of which he or she had been found guilty. In Japan, tattooing was even banned in the 19th century until the Second World War.
For many years, tattoos were associated with delinquency and the lower classes. It wasn’t until the second half of the 20th century that it came back into fashion. But it was no longer a social ritual, and was often reduced to an individual act. Many stars and artists endorsed the practice, making it a fashionable phenomenon.
Although there is no Swiss movement as such, many Swiss tattoo artists have influenced this discipline and become emblematic figures, such as Félix Leu and his son Filip. After traveling the world in the 60s and 70s, the family of artists decided to settle in Switzerland, where Félix Leu, who is also Jean Tinguely’s son-in-law, was born.
In the 80s, Filip opened the legendary “The Leu Family’s Family Iron – Street Shop” studio in Lausanne. Beyond tattooing, it’s a free-travelling spirit that the family wants to convey in their work. Whether on paper, painted on canvas or inked into the skin.
To pay tribute to this unique family, the Museum Tinguely has opened two spaces for them until October 31, 2021.
And until November 1, the BCU site Riponne is offering a selection of colorful documents to help you discover or rediscover an art form that is unfairly under-appreciated. After all, since street artists claim the street as their creative medium, tattoo artists can lay claim to the human body. What could be more beautiful?
