6/16 = 3/8 = 0,375En el caso 7, Apasa otra vez Bve que Ctiene sombrero blanco y

Miami Ink is recognized as the first television series about tattooing. The television series

aired on the TLC network and started in 2005. After the success of the show, a series of spin-off shows followed, including LA Ink, NY Ink, and London Ink. Of course, these shows fall into the category of “reality-TV.” Following these, are the reality-TV competition shows. Typically, the best of which is considered to be Ink Master. During the interview process, participants were

the most positive or negative impact. All of the artists resoundingly stated that television has had a major impact on the industry. Most of the artists felt that the impact was a “double-edged sword.” Damon Conklin comments that

Notoriously, tattoo artists bitch and cry and moan and wheeze about these damn TV shows. And how in the hell does someone color themselves up like this, get some weird hairdo and strange clothing and walk around and get mad ‘cause someone’s looking at “that guy.” You know what I mean? They’re mad ‘cause this person’s on TV, clearly, we all just are jealous. Like, we all wanna be noticed. We all wanna be weird, but we wanna be noticed and appreciated. We want people to say, “That weird is good.”1

“The Rose Guy” described tattooing on television as “a gift and a curse.”2 _{He further elucidates,} “It’s a gift when you have certain jobs that’s hiring, or you know, certain jobs that’s accepting people with tattoos. They wouldn’t accept them if it wasn’t so mainstream and on TV and in certain magazines. It’s a curse because, I can’t fucking do a portrait in fifteen minutes…that’s what TV shows you.”3 _{To further explain, one of the biggest complaints about tattoos on} television is the unrealistic portrayal of the tattoo process. The process of creating a tattoo requires a great amount of preparation and time, something they seldom, if ever show on TV.

Ink Master

When asked which show he/she liked best or felt had the most positive impact, most of the participants answered Miami Ink or Ink Master.4 As previously stated, Miami Ink was the first

series to show tattooing in a reality-TV format. The impact of Miami Ink, was proving that it

was possible to successfully show tattooing on television. With regards to Ink Master, most of

the artists felt that it displays high-quality artists, high-quality work, and teaches viewers about the craft at the same time. Ink Master provides viewers with the opportunity to learn about

varying popular style of tattooing, such as American Traditional, Traditional Japanese, fine-line black and gray, portraits, etc.

The common complaint from interviewees about Ink Master and similar shows, while they

do educate people about tattoos, was that these shows make the “average joe” feel as if they are experts on tattooing. Furthermore, the not-so-realistic aspect of reality-TV makes some people believe that large scale tattoos, packed with color can be done in only a few hours. The other result of this is the tremendous amount of people want to become tattoo artists for frivolous reasons (e.g. money, fame, trend, etc.).

While a few Black tattoo artists have participated in every season of the seven seasons of the show, it was not until the most recent, seventh season that a Black artist finally won. Anthony Michaels of Metro Tattoo in Tucson, Arizona took home the title in May of 2016. However, other notable Black artists have participated and done well on the show. Craig Foster, owner of Skinwerks Tattoo & Design in Carrolton, Georgia was on the show in Seasons 3 and 6. “The Rose Guy” commented that, “It makes me feel good to see a guy like Craig Foster, you know, as a Black tattoo artist do dope ass work and it’s being showcased.”5 _{City of Ink’s Corey} Davis also participated in the most recent, seventh season of the show. The show has yet to see a female artist win.

Black Ink Crew

When asked which show he/she liked the least or felt had had the most negative impact, many of the artists mentioned Black Ink Crew, a show that airs on the VH1 network and is

currently in its fourth season.6 Black Ink Crew features the shop Black Ink, owned by Ceaser, in

Harlem, New York. The show presents much more drama than art, which was the biggest complaint from the interviewed tattoo artists. Cake stated, “With all this Black Ink, and stuff on

the TV, I feel like it portrays us in such a bad light. ‘Cause I feel like there’s a lot of good Black artists that are just now looked at for stuff on those shows, like, “Oh, we can’t pay our bills.”7 In an interview, Bailey told staff at Creative Loafing, that when asked what he thought about the show, “I gave my opinion…that they could fit that much negative imagery in 60 minutes, it blew my mind.”8 _{He clarifies that he does not have “negative feelings for the members of Black Ink} Gallery themselves, but for a system he feels is dead set on pimping and pandering to the lowest common denominator.”9 _{“The Rose Guy” feels that the show is “making Black artists look bad.} And tattoo artists in general, ‘cause this is our platform. This is the tattoo industry platform, period.”10 _{Collectively, the opinion of Black Ink Crew amongst the participants was that it}

reflects negatively on the Black Tattoo Community, and inaccurately portrays professional Black-owned tattoo shops.

A spin-off series, Black Ink Crew: Chicago, aired two years after the original, in 2015.

The show features the shop, 9Mag Tattoo Study, in Chicago, Illinois, owned and operated by Ryan Henry. The artists that felt that Black InkCrew, presented the Black Tattoo Community in

a negative light, typically felt that the Chicago spin-off had a slightly better portrayal and featured more artwork, and a bit less drama.

As a whole, most of the tattoo artists had mixed feelings about tattooing on television. Memphis commented that TV shows have “opened peoples’ eyes.”11 _{Perhaps the exposure from} television, whether it be related to reality-TV, competition shows, athletes who have games aired on television, and even music videos, has in fact opened the eyes of the public to stop viewing tattoos as a marker of deviance. Nevertheless, as with most things, television does not always present the reality of tattooing.