Dermatography and the Chemical Composition of Tattoo Pigments

Date of Award

2004

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Scudder, Paul

Keywords

Tattoo, Pigment/Chemistry, Art History, Spectroscopy, Health, FDA, Analysis, Japan, Dermatography, Irezumi

Area of Concentration

Chemistry

Abstract

Because the Food and Drug Administration does not actively regulate tattoo pigments, laboratory and literature investigations were completed in order to elucidate the chemical compositions and health implications of tattoo pigments. Various spectroscopic techniques (X-ray, UV-visible, NMR, IR) were used to characterize a set of commercial pigments, but the insoluble nature of these pigments somewhat limited the results of this study. While no pigments were definitively identified, the data does suggest that most of these pigments are mixtures of organic and inorganic materials. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that nearly all the pigments described can be found in painting materials reference literature, which strongly suggests that artists simply reapplied their talents from the canvas to the skin. This study has been supplemented with an overview of the history and aesthetics of dermatography, and an emphasis is placed on irezumi, the Japanese style of tattooing. This particular dermatographic art is rare because it portrays an unparalleled combination of anthropological tradition and aesthetic function.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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