foci
At last the perfect vehicle to explore the moral hierarchy of the MoQ
from an emotionally scientific point of view.
Diana
> Also, we seem better at judging historical issues such as the holocaust, rather than
> the sort of things that we ourselves have to face - like my mother's horror at my
> piercings and tattoos."
Exploring this horror involves at least three interelated questions:
What are the moral characteristics of these practices?
Why do people value tattooing and piercing ?
Why are people both attracted and horrified by this behavior ?
Permanent body marking; "scarring","painting" "staining","tattawing"
piercing, or tattooing has ancient roots (est. 4000BC) and has evolved
displaying itself, in some form or another, in almost every culture from
then until now. This exclusively human activity manifests values on all
four of the MoQ's static levels. The bottom two levels are straight
forward enough. The inorganic and biological values are empircally
apparent in any number of ways (ie visual, scar tissue, etc). When we
move the the social and intellectual level is where the trouble seems
to begin. Body marking also includes emotional values as indicated in
this quote from tattoos.com.
"There seems to be another motive beneath the surface: a primitive,
profound and inexplicable fascination with the process of puncturing the
skin, letting blood, and consenting to change the body for life. This
mystery has been touched on by many of the authors whose work is
included here, but it remains a mystery: something which is sensed
intuitively, but defies rational explanation."
Human emotional values have traditionally been labeled "subjective"
which means according to Pirsig's SODV paper they should be on either
the Social or Intellectual level. But evidence also suggest that
emotions are high level biological values. I suggest emotions are the
essential values that makes socialization possible. If we look at the
development of babies clearly at conception we can agree just the first
two levels exist. At birth still no social, and only after the arrrival
of perception and emotions does the socialization process begin and the
social level develop. And this process seem consistent for all animals.
Early is LS days I seem to recall a discussion about this horizon split
of the levels as a condescension to a SOMish audience. I'm now starting
to think it is more than that. It's fundamentally wrong. The split
should be vertical allowing each level the potential for a S and O
component. (I can
again hear Bo crying like a wounded Bansee, Dave, Why must you persist
in using this foul SOM language?) To enfold, subsume, and transcend .
Bobby Dillion touched on the problem with this:
> and Pirsigs warning will ALWAYS be valid until we can find a way to communicate
> our experiences DIRECTLY -
COMMUNICATE-EXPERIENCES-DIRECTLY
Under the MoQ, all things must experience DQ events to have value or
"all things experience". Human experience indicates that a portion of
their experience is exposed, external, objective, empirically easier to
verify and DIRECTLY communicated. (A Hindu caste tattoo) There also is
the hidden, internal, subjective, experience which is empirically
difficult to verify which can be only INDIRECTLY communicated and
interpreted by the individual experiencer. (Why do you have a Hindu
caste tattoo?) The answer might follow one or none, of these:
"It has always played an important role in the social life of those who
practiced it, and throughout history it has appeared in many guises: as
a distinguishing mark of royalty, a symbol of religious devotion, a
decoration for bravery in battle, a sexual lure, a pledge of love, a
symbol of group identification, a sign of individuality, a punishment,
and a means of marking and identifying slaves, outcasts and convicts."
But Pirsig says that this internal/external, subjective/objective split disappears
between the Social and Biological or Organic level. Does it? I don't
think so and body marking exemplifies the ancient and ongoing struggle
for balance between emotion and reason. Between biological and social
and intellectual values. On one hand a control of biological fear, on
the other a complexed expression of freedom and submission.
3WD
Some reference quotes from tattoos.com:
http://www.tattoos.com/jane/steve/toc.htm
"Dr. Hambly says there is positive archeological proof that body
markings by puncture tattoo were applied to human beings as well as
female clay figurines in Egypt between 4000 and 2000 B.C."
Cook refers to the operation called "tattaw", using for the first time
the word "tattawing", while body marking hitherto has been described as
"scarring","painting" or "staining". Captain Cook wrote about the
practice of the Otahitans as follows: They stain their bodies by
indentings, or pricking the skin with small instruments made of bone,
cut into short teeth; which indentings they fill up with dark-blue or
black mixture prepared from the smoke of an oily nut... This operation,
which is called by the natives "tattaw", leaves an indelible mark on the
skin. It is usually performed when they are about ten or twelve years of
age, and on different parts of the body."
"Moko tattoos, which still survive among the Maoris and the inhabitants
of some of the Pacific Islands, were administered in accordance with
strict regulations and ceremonies. There were different patterns
denoting tribal communities, families and ranks, and there were special
patterns for girls and married women."
Rutherford alleged that after his capture he was informed by a chief
that he would be "honoured by a tattooing ceremony" which would be
carried out by two priests... But when the story was investigated more
thoroughly it was established that Rutherford had, in fact, jumped ship,
joined the Maoris of his own free will, fallen in love with
the cheiftain's daughter and submitted himself to the initiation
ceremony so that he could become a full member of the community. If
anything, the truth was more extraordinary than the fairy-story but, in
those days, less attractive as a commercial proposition."
When I told my father about my discovery, he patiently explained that
only criminals, savages, and feeble minded people had tattoos, and that
they did it because they didn't have anything better to do.
"It has always played an important role in the social life of those who
practiced it, and throughout history it has appeared in many guises: as
a distinguishing mark of royalty, a symbol of religious devotion, a
decoration for bravery in battle, a sexual lure, a pledge of love, a
symbol of group identification, a sign of individuality, a punishment,
and a means of marking and identifying slaves, outcasts and convicts."
There seems to be another motive beneath the surface: a primitive,
profound and inexplicable fascination with the process of puncturing the
skin, letting blood, and consenting to change the body for life. This
mystery has been touched on by many of the authors whose work is
included here, but it remains a mystery: something which is sensed
intuitively, but defies rational explanation.
This much, however, must be said, that the choice made is not a matter
of equal indifference with them as it is with us; for if the punctured
garment be spoiled in the making, the mischief is irreparable, and it
must be worn with all its faults the whole life through.
And we know little of the significance of tattooing as it was perceived
by the Polynesians themselves; we know it only as it was seen through
European eyes.
About the same time we launched the first issue of "Tattootime", called
"New Tribalism", which Leo Zulueta and I pasted up together....In the
spring of 1983 I went to a National Convention in Arizona and tattoo
artists started coming up to me and saying "check out this tribalism
I've been doing on my girl friend,"
a lot of the people getting tattoos are just yokels who have extremely
dumb taste. And so what they pick as their faves cater to that kind of
dumb thing.
But when you're talking art - and I don't know even how I make that
distinction - but the kind of thing that really will hold up and last
and be of some real interest as the unique expression of individual
that's unlike anyone has ever seen - there's very few of them.
The days of only sailors and bikers being tattooed was over. Now the age
of doctors, lawyers, basketball players, teachers, actors and rock stars
from ages 18-80 had come. The technological and artistic breakthroughs
gave way to people sporting brightly colored sleeves of motifs inspired
from ancient oriental woodblock prints and the biomechanical concepts
of Hollywood special effects artists.
International attention has skyrocketed tattooing even further.
Corporations, Fashion Designers, and savvy ad agencies have been paying
close attention to the direction this artform has been taking. With the
taboo of tattooing lifted, and the loyal embrace of the youth market,
it's influence can be seen everywhere. Tattooing has blurred the
boundaries of art, music and fashion. No longer are tattoo studios
located on the wrong side of the tracks, but sandwiched in between Gap
and gourmet stores with artists formally trained at accredited colleges
.
As the new millennium is upon us, we see the global village we live in
shrinking at an alarming rate. Society is is becoming stripped of its
expression and individuality. It is no small wonder that such an ancient
artform should receive such awe today. For the individual, tattoos show
irrevocable choice and strength of character that is reminiscent of the
adventurous heroes from the novels of Herman Melville or the Diaries of
Capt. Cook. For those who realize the importance of defining ourselves
and our image, the reasons bodyart is increasing in popularity are
abundantly clear.
------- End of forwarded message -------
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