I have two small tattoos on the inside of my left wrist–both memorial pieces–but I want more. I got the first nearly 15 years ago, and I was struck, bitten by the tattoo bug, and I still want another. I am fascinated by the endless possibilities presented by the concept of skin as canvas, the intricacies tattoo artists can render on a seemingly unforgiving surface, the idea of carrying around my own, singular piece of artwork forever. I also cope with the near-constant onslaught of tattoos and tattoo imagery in my daily life: on the corner, about to cross the street is a woman with an actual garden painted from shoulder to fingertip, a man with an assembly of skulls and words and spiders and stars and pin-up girls across the flat of his bare back, a girl with gems and delicate chains flung over the expanse of her collarbone, and I can barely restrain the impulse to pull them near and trace my fingertips over the avenues of imagery on their skin. I am so curious and so affected by the beauty of their personal paintings.
Linda Smith, Modern Aphrodite, 2014, Ceramic, 22 x 13 x 9.5 inches | Image courtesy of the artist
I am relieved to know that I am not alone in this fascination, that were she here in New York with me, Linda Smith would be standing there gawping at them, too. Perhaps more constructively, Linda uses members of the tattooed population as inspiration for her work, immortalizing them in ceramic and preserving the art on their bodies forever after. I love the aura and the attitude of this piece, Modern Aphrodite, a contemporary reinterpretation of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. That’s why it’s my Pick of the Week.