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Tattooing and reality T.V. do not mix. In fact, many people regard Miami Ink and its spin off series LA Ink as damaging to tattoo culture. Tattooing is out of the dark and more accepted more than it was even 5 years ago. Similar to graffiti, Its hard to cover a subculture that does not want to be documented. Though there is the demand for it and the people involved want exposure, it’s a double edged sword and the attempt to accurately portray the art can drastically back fire.
Vice and New Era teamed up with some of the most renowned tattooers in a short series called Tattoo Age, and they did it right. Here are some of my favorite episodes.
Dan Santoro. His description of the frog tattoo in the opening clip pretty much sums up my attitude towards tattoo collecting. And its hillarious.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmurqPrp4m0 [/youtube]
Mike Rubendall: Is absolutely amazing. I couldnt pick a favorite episode of him so here is the trailer:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTLfVBFynX0[/youtube]
Troy Denning: Not one of my favorites but he has done his work and done it well. For whatever reason I like his tattoo’s from 15 years ago more than his current work. His character is strong and the beginning of this episode is pretty funny:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu0z_CDsPdQ[/youtube]
Disclaimer: I am not a tattooer. I am merely a collector with an opinion and an enormous amount of respect for most people that are making it in the industry. That does not make me an expert, but I think most people in the tattoo world would agree with the statements above. Unless they work for TLC.
