Road Tattoos

Road Tattoos
Article by: SlingerVille Staff
August 01, 2012

Road Tattoos

Have you ever heard of tattooing a road? Not a person, but a community road?

Road tattoos are commemorative, site-specific, community based, tattoo-inspired, public artworks on road, according to Towleroad.com.

“Unusual, evocative and beautiful, they explore the idea of a road being considered the skin of a community, thereby having a similar relationship to the public body as skin does to the private body,” says Steed Taylor, tattoo artist.

Much like a body, a road can be marked for means of remembrance, communication or for a ritual.

“Placed at locations of individual or community significance, road tattoos are composed of cultural designs previously appropriated to mark skin. Names, or other information, are painted within the design, a nondenominational prayer commissioned for the piece is said and the design is painted in, covering over this information. Eventually traffic and weather conditions dissolve them into the road,” explains Taylor.

Over Memorial Day, the project Taylor had been working on was on display. The 25’ x 652’ road tattoo is a piece dedicated to the gay and lesbian troops. It is there to honor our nation’s first openly gay and lesbian armed forces members by including their names inside the artwork.

Although gay and lesbian individuals have served in our armed forces since the beginning of time, they were unknown until now. In 2011, the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was repealed, "As the first generation to serve openly in our armed services, you will stand for all those who came before you, and you will serve as role models for all those who will come after you," President Obama eloquently stated.

“The design is based on galloons, the decorative gold braiding found on dress uniforms. Not only do galloons add pomp and ceremony, they are a public indication of the wearer's rank and years of specific service. In the road tattoo, the galloon braiding coalesce then unravel when viewed from a vehicle driving over it alluding to the ever present interaction of the personal and the public self. Yellow in color as a nod to the gold of galloons, it is also a reminder of the caution these earlier service members faced when presenting their personal information.”

Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/2012/07/road-tattoo-in-chicago-honors-gay-and-lesbian-troops.html#ixzz22K0cryKq

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