![]() The inmates’ hispanic roots were displayed by incorporating cultural symbols like Catholic icons and Mexican flags. The initial tattoos were mostly script that delivered a direct message of identity - gang names, neighborhoods, Bible verses, and so on.Īs time passed, the artists became bolder and branched out into illustration. Tough Themes of Pride, Violence, and Hope The ink was also minimalist - the only ink available to those inmates behind bars came from black ballpoint pens or from burning certain materials to capture soot for homemade ink.ĭarker shades were produced by evaporating the ink to increase its concentration, and gray was created by watering the ink down - no other usable colors were available to them behind bars. The makeshift tattoo guns were secretly created from whatever parts happened to be available.Īn artist using one of these guerilla machines could turn out designs of unparalleled detail precisely because of the minimalist, single-needle design. Necessity is the mother of invention - the prison circumstances required both ingenuity and discretion. It makes sense, then, that this style is often called “jailhouse” or “joint style,” and is historically common among the Chicano culture.īehind prison walls, inmates became artists working with homemade, clandestine machines that used a single needle - they often tattooed in secret. ![]() ![]() The black and gray tattoo has its origins in California prisons - a disproportionately high number of hispanic men are incarcerated there. ![]() Like the Japanese tattoo’s connection to the Yakuza (Japanese organized crime), the black and gray tattoo also has ties to a darker, emotionally complex, hardened world - secretive, tough, and beyond the law. The Secretive Origins of the Black and Gray TattooĮach tattoo genre has a fascinating background story - the history of the black and gray tattoo is no exception. While early designs were born from the tough, complicated lives of the people who brought this style to fame, the black and gray technique has broadened to include endless design possibilities. With fine lines and amazing grades of subtle shading instead of heavy outlines and colored ink, the modern black and gray tattoo is characterized by its detail - complex enough to be mistaken for a black-and-white photograph. ![]()
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