Welcome back to Think Before You Ink, a series where we show the worst of the worst when it comes to tattoos based off of famous works of art. We’re here to remind you that art is to be created, not replicated–especially if it will forever be on your body.
This week we’re looking at a piece of art that we all know from our freshman year: The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York
My college roommate had a poster of this piece on her wall, and chances are so did yours! The poster has become passé, and the next cool thing is to permanently infuse an imitation of it onto your skin.
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“Mercy” and “grace” are two things that this artist clearly did not have.
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I truly wanted to believe that this was not supposed to be The Great Wave, but rather some other, more obscure wave. Unfortunately the guy who posted it on his review for Trusted Tattoo (:/) confirmed the sad, sad truth. He gave it 5 stars (:/). The Hebrew words say “love” and “peace” (:/).
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This one comes from the best blog post I have ever read.
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The guy knows his tattoo is backwards, but that’s not the problem. The problem is that I feel like I need glasses when they look at it, even when I’m already wearing glasses.
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You might be asking yourself, how do you turn a 10”x1’3” art piece into a sleeve? The answer is: you don’t.
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And finally, The One That Could Have Been. The artwork on this tattoo is actually pretty decent, but thanks to some well thought out placement, he looks like a guy who sweats so severely that his armpit produces giant waves that kill fishermen. Hey bro have you tried Old Spice?
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There are so many more. Seriously, just Google “bad great wave tattoo” and have a great day.
That’s it for this week folks, and remember: leave the masterpieces to the masters.
by Maya
Contributor