These Badass Tattooed Seniors We Captured Prove That You Shouldn’t Worry About Your Tattoos When You’re Old
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Ingrid Meijering Community member
‘TattooAge. Never too old,’ is a photography project where we photographed 25 elderly people with tattoos in their living rooms. In these photographs, they show their tattoos and share the stories behind them: from a gift from a grandchild to the memory of a lost loved one. Some of the subjects got their first tattoo as late as 80.
In addition to the project, we also published a book with the same name. Besides photographs, it includes teaching material on tattoo culture which could be used in the academic community. It discusses the meaning behind tattoos, people’s experiences and life lessons, such as dealing with loss, aging etc. The exhibition ‘TattooAge. Never too old.’ began its tour across the Netherlands on September 20.
People often assume that tattoos are only done at a young age, so they ask older people whether their tattoos have faded or sagged. With this project, we not only want to tell the stories behind the tattoos but prove that age does not matter. It’s a fact – you are never too old for a tattoo!
More info: getoud.nl
Jan
Chris
Cor
Albertina
Jack
Riek
Jan
Thomas
Rebha
Toos
Hans
Hans shares what his tattoos mean to him
Albertina explains why she chose a swan tattoo
Thomas talks about how people react to his tattoos
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What do you think ?
Well, that's for every remark tattooed people get about "come on, did you even think how it will look like when you will be an old man/woman with tattoos?"
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So if you liked tattoos before, you probably still do. And if you didn't like them before, this proves nothing.
exactly.
It's true though. This article is bullcrap like most stuff on here, as you can see that most of these tattoos look recent. I've seen plenty of tattoos gained when fairly young that look awful after 20+ years. They fade along with skin elasticity, and you're left with a shrivelled blob.
I've seen plenty of tattoos that are 30+ years old and while the ink may be a little faded they are still as beautiful and sharp as the day they were done. So much is dependent not only in the skill of the artist and the quality of the ink, but also on the chemical composition of the persons sweat and skin, how much sun they were in, illnesses, medications, what jobs they worked and the attendant environment, did they live in the city or the country, so on and so forth. It is as ludicrous to say Everyone who gets a tattoo is going to have a faded shriveled blob in exactly 20 years as it is to say all blondes are dumb or that touchy jerks online will always be touchy jerks online.
My Mother got her first tattoo when she was 88. She told them she was 90 and they did it for free! It's on her lower arm and very visible and she loves it, makes her feel like a bit of a rebel amongst the other old ladies!
Hans had to go with the bright purple skivvies....
He seems an awesome dude to hang with!
He doesn't strike me as a self-conscious sort of guy.
Well, that's for every remark tattooed people get about "come on, did you even think how it will look like when you will be an old man/woman with tattoos?"
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So if you liked tattoos before, you probably still do. And if you didn't like them before, this proves nothing.
exactly.
It's true though. This article is bullcrap like most stuff on here, as you can see that most of these tattoos look recent. I've seen plenty of tattoos gained when fairly young that look awful after 20+ years. They fade along with skin elasticity, and you're left with a shrivelled blob.
I've seen plenty of tattoos that are 30+ years old and while the ink may be a little faded they are still as beautiful and sharp as the day they were done. So much is dependent not only in the skill of the artist and the quality of the ink, but also on the chemical composition of the persons sweat and skin, how much sun they were in, illnesses, medications, what jobs they worked and the attendant environment, did they live in the city or the country, so on and so forth. It is as ludicrous to say Everyone who gets a tattoo is going to have a faded shriveled blob in exactly 20 years as it is to say all blondes are dumb or that touchy jerks online will always be touchy jerks online.
My Mother got her first tattoo when she was 88. She told them she was 90 and they did it for free! It's on her lower arm and very visible and she loves it, makes her feel like a bit of a rebel amongst the other old ladies!
Hans had to go with the bright purple skivvies....
He seems an awesome dude to hang with!
He doesn't strike me as a self-conscious sort of guy.