Ignorance is Bliss

Written By Maddy Chelmis

Chances are you or someone you know has a tattoo of some description. It could be an amazingly intricate Irezumi back piece, or a dodgy stick n’ poke done in someone’s bedroom at 15. There are so many different styles of tattooing, ranging from traditional designs with bold colours and heavy outlines, dainty watercolour pieces, simple line and ignorant tattoos. What was that last one? Ignorant? You heard right. 

Thought to have been coined by French graffiti turned tattoo artist Fuzi UVTPK, ignorant tattoos are simple, focussing mostly on line work and minimal colour. The designs are often satirical, but are definitely not limited to that. Some designs can be extremely meaningful, but the context and intention that went into them makes them ignorant at heart. Ignorant tattoos can be completed in bedrooms, garages, or most likely these days in small independent studios. The key here is the lack of a middle man, AKA big corporations. 

Let’s take a look at Fuzi. Active in the graffiti scene in the 90’s, Fuzi was part of the gangs UV and TPK. Tagging trains and bombing walls, Fuzi and his gang became notorious, alleviating their frustrations through the art of graffiti. As he drifted away from the angst of his younger years, Fuzi took to tattooing to relieve his pent up frustrations, integrating it in his practice as part of his street culture and background. As for the birth of the name ‘Ignorant’, Fuzi quotes:

“It was just to put a name on it, just to rub it in people faces. All those people who didn’t accept the style I developed would call us ignorant because we didn’t know what we were doing. But from the beginning we knew what we were doing. It was just for fun.” 

It’s as simple as that. People who didn’t understand the motivation behind the work, who didn’t appreciate the art for what is was, named the style. Fuzi took these criticisms on board and used it against the perpetrators of said criticism. It’s all quite clever really, he beat them at their own game. Ironically, the people who labelled Fuzi and his gang as ignorant, have now become more ignorant than Fuzi would ever have been. 

The main component I picked up on from that quote was “It was just for fun.” It was refreshing to hear that someone was partaking in art just for the pure enjoyment of it, rather than to make money, or shout their political beliefs from the walls of a gallery. Ignorant tattoos to me are devoid of pretentiousness and rather they speak of genuineness. 

I received my first ignorant tattoo in June of this year. After having gone to two commercial studios for previous tattoos, this experience was new, but by far the best tattoo experience I’ve ever had. I had followed the artist (@_fatmum_) on Instagram for some time and finally decided to bite the bullet and enquire about a flash. Correspondence was human and personable, not an air of superiority in sight. When the day arrived I commuted to Hackney and made my way to the newly acquired studio (@she.fat.studio). It was unassuming at first, but once inside the atmosphere was teeming with creativity. Who knew there could be so much character in such a small room. If you have been to a commercial tattoo parlour, I can almost guarantee you will know what I’m talking about when I say it feels like you have to keep up an appearance. Or for me at least I felt that I had to pretend to be cooler than I actually am, to blend in with the ‘tattoo scene’. Contrary to this, in she.fat.studio I felt extremely comfortable. Conversing throughout the entire process, listening to tunes and soaking in the atmosphere, the whole affair was delightful. I digress… a lot. 

Ultimately, ignorant tattoos are a rebellion against the conventions and norms of traditional tattooing. They subvert standardisation, reinventing the tattoo as not only a piece of artwork on someone’s skin, but as a reminder of a whole experience. People may look at ignorant tattoos and ponder the credibility of the craftsmanship. I can assure you, those shaky lines and stick figure-esque people? They’re fully intentional, and they’re brilliant. Ignorant tattoos are all about the desire to create for the pure enjoyment of it. In an interview with Fuzi, he iterates that ignorant tattoos are “Naïve but pure.” Whether the artist is actually naïve and has no idea what they’re really doing, or they are fully aware of the technicalities of tattooing and purposefully make their designs to appear naïve is beside the point. The point is the intention behind these designs. Are they made with love? Will they be tattooed on someone else’s skin with passion? Has ego taken a back seat? Ignorant tattooing is a welcome relief from the gate keeping nature of traditional tattoos. Like all art, there is an open opportunity to let pretentiousness seep into the craft and poison the initial drive to create. In this case, ignorance is bliss, lets keep it that way.