Learning a New Language

Inspirational song: Lydia the Tattooed Lady (Groucho Marx)

I finally picked up a sketch pad and pencils, to begin a basic design from the ill-formed ideas floating around my head. Saying I would get a tattoo of a trident is fine to say in the abstract. Trying to create an actual piece of artwork that I would be willing to wear forever is far more challenging. In a short hour of drawing, I have discovered that I need to do research on so many things, starting with the metalwork and weapon construction of a trident, including the shape of the tines and their purpose, and the methods used to attach the forked head to the spear shaft. Then, to make this obviously Poseidon's trident, it needs to relate to water. I think it should have a wave crashing over it. This opens up another level of decisions. Classic tattoo art has a heavy Japanese influence. I am not fluent in Japanese art, not by a long-shot. The depiction of water is quite distinct, and it is closely related to the classic depiction of fire. I have never felt entirely comfortable drawing flames, either. I can practice, and I intend to. But if the trident is supposed to belong to a Greek god, then I would like to lean more heavily on a Classical Greek style of art. I do have the option of collaborating with the tattoo artist herself, and I would be a fool not to rely on her input. But I want to have a fully formed platform from which she can work.

I entered university as a Russian language major, but I lived in a dorm that funneled each of its residents through a humanities program. (I eventually realized my strengths lay there, and changed majors.) In one of the freshman seminars, we had to write a short essay on which style of ancient art was "better," Classical or Hellenistic. We had been given examples of sculptures, with the Classical figures being symmetrical, balanced, and ideally beautiful. The Hellenistic sculpture I immediately thought of when I read the essay question was "Dying Gaul," and I absolutely loved the pathos of the reclining figure, slouched over and desperately interesting to me as an 18 year old. The perfection of the Classical sculptures was so cold and boring compared to this attainable snapshot of reality. So naturally my essay was all about how superior Hellenistic art was, in my eyes. Several of my classmates joined me in championing this style. The professor was practically angry at all of us for taking this view, and she graded all of us harshly for not recognizing the innate superiority of Classical art. Even at the time, I recognized that her question was incredibly stupid. Why on earth would you ask such a subjective question about art, especially to a room full of teenagers, and expect them to agree with your rigid definition? 

So back to my designing. I look at the sketches and see a lack of precision, but I'm not worried. I have a lot of time to figure out how to draw sea foam and to decide whether I would actually want seaweed tattooed on my body. Probably not.