The Evolution of an Industry & its Ethics (Part 3)
The Impact of WWII on the Tattoo Industry
With the popularity of tattooing exploding into uncharted territories at the onset of World War II it was obvious that it was time for some changes, or better yet, some standards to be put into place for the tattooing industry. This included everything from streamlining the art form into more of a production-oriented business to establishing early protocols and guidelines, albeit on a "need-to-know" basis, for the entire industry to start adhering to, to setting up some of the first actual tattoo parlours, instead of being relegated to the backroom of a barbershop. In a way, these were the "wonder years" of modern tattooing.
However, as with any type of evolutionary process, there were plenty growing pains to deal with (a subject matter that will be covered in depth in Part 4 of this series), but there were highlights as well. Developments such as adding color pigments to the palate would be one of the most significant, as prior to the 20th Century to quote Henry Ford, "You could have any color you wanted, as long as it was black", so with the addition of primary colors to the art, the sky became the limit. It was also during this time period that the practice of stenciling on the tattoo design truly took hold as well. Primarily due to fact that an acetate stencil could be repeatedly, almost permanently reused, so once a design had been cut into the plastic it could be transferred onto the skin via a charcoal method over and over. Because of this, a certain level of "quality control" could be guaranteed at a tattoo studio that employed artist's of different skill levels, a consequence of the overwhelming demand for tattoos during that time was the fact that it led to more people learning the trade "on the job". Although, then as now, many of the more experienced artists preferred to draw the design onto the skin themselves and not rely on a stencil. Ironically, what we now call a custom artist back then would have simply been referred to as a skilled tattooist.
It was also during this time that many other "behind the scenes" developments were beginning to take root. Improvements to the types of metals and coils used in tattoo machines were starting to be experimented with by the likes of people such as Huck Spaulding and Paul Rodgers. The idea of selling your designs, or flash sheets, to tattoo supply companies or just to other tattooists began to become not only more accepted, but almost a side business for some of the more talented individuals as well. With so many good things happening during this time, that is, as far as the tattoo world goes, it's unfortunate that there also has to be a bad side, yet as with all things in life, the yang must follow the ying, and what happened during this time in the tattoo industry is no exception, but that's another story…
Part 4: The Impact of WWII on the Tattoo Industry
