In Bird's passage about the body being utilized as surface for art, he predominately talks about the practice of tattooing. Tattoos are often used to announce a person's identity or to make some sort of social statement. Body painting was also used mostly for ritual performances and was meant for temporary roles. Since as early as the fifth century, people have been using the body as surface and tattooing has been a respected and artistic skill across cultures. More recently, the body has been used as art in unique and sometimes controversial ways to make a statement.
Using the body as surface is definitely something that requires out of the box thinking. Rather than personally tattooing myself or other people, I could photograph the different tattoos people have and recreate them in my own piece of artwork. What would the different tattoos say about the people who have them? How does tattooing compare to or differ from those who inflict harm on their body as a coping method and leave scars on their body? Is the processes of tattooing equally as important as the final product of the image? I could explore the ideas behind plastic surgery; could this possibly be considered an art form too?
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