Ink-credible: do tattoos count as art?

Writing on the body is as old as time. But perhaps because it was adopted by popular culture first – every sailor had a tattoo – it hasn’t been classed as art

Tattooing is one of the greatest human artistic expressions. It may also be the oldest. An exhibition that has just opened in Hamburg is right to celebrate this rich and sensual body art.

Why was this German city so prominent in the rise of tattooing as a subculture? Because it is a port, and sailors brought the habit home in the 19th century. Since then, Hamburg’s tattoo scene has been spectacular, as shown now at the Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe. Among the show’s stars are famous Hamburg tattooists such as Christian Warlich (“the Tattoo King”) and Herbert Hoffmann.

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