Of all the forms of expression that tattooing can take, perhaps the most personal, moving, and in religious eyes, most forbidden has to be the memorial tattoo. Hands down. No other tattoo that you can get will have more meaning for you than the “In memory of” tattoo. Still, this kind of tattoo goes far beyond just the loving memory of the loss of a loved one. There always have been, and always will be occasions in our lives when we want to remember a special person, place, or moment in time.
Whether you want to pay tribute to a lost loved one, mark a individual journey, or ensure that we never forget a day like 9/11, few forms of expression can compare to the tattoo for such milestones in one’s life. In fact, I once modified a clichéd saying to empathize events that I thought were more important than others:
“Been there. Done that. Fuck the T-Shirt. Got the Tattoo!”
It has been estimated that by turn of the 20th century, over 85% of American soldiers were tattooed in memory of fallen comrades, or in honor of their ships or regiments. And I can’t begin to count the number of “Mom”, “Dad”, or “In Memory of” tattoos that I have both seen, and done over the years.
There have also been what I like to call the achievement tattoos. These are memorial tattoos that mark the special moments in the collectors life. Such as one I did for a cowboy who made his mark in a local rodeo, and a woman who when back to college and graduated with honors. Not to mention, of course, the number of bikers who were patched in to their clubs and got their first club tattoo. Memorial tattoos all, and no matter how you look at any of them there is no denying that the memorial tattoo is a product of a highly emotional state.
Perhaps that is why they are so personal to the collector. No matter what form the tattoo takes, be it birth and death dates, portraits, roses, red or white, or favored objects of the deceased, if that happens to be the case. It all amounts to the one tattoo that can honestly be said is more than just skin deep.
There are far more examples of memorial tattoos than I can possibly get into here, but if you would like to see the range of these meaningful marks of passage, Evil Tattoo has one of the largest collections of memorial tattoos online.
Not just pictures of some good work, but tattoos that have more meaning to their owners than words can express.
Peace out, Gang.
All images ©EvilTattoo.com.