The Instagramization of Artistic Tattooing: The Impact of Social Platforms on Artistic Work

Tomáš Psutka, a PhD student in the Cultural Industries Studies program at Palacký University Olomouc, prepared an article on the experiences of tattoo artists engaged in artistic tattooing who actively use social platforms. In the article, the author reflects on tattoo artists’ experiences with the new digital market that has emerged with the rise of social platforms, the platforms’ impact on creators’ creative autonomy, and the blurring of boundaries between personal and professional life associated with using social media as a work tool.

The article was published in open access in the journal Mediální studia and is available at the following link: The Instagramization of Artistic Tattooing: The Impact of Social Platforms on Artistic Tattoo Creation.

 

The research is based on data obtained through semi-structured interviews with artistic tattooists and subsequent thematic analysis. The analysis shows that social platforms have a key influence on the business strategies of artistic tattooists and the new digital market; Instagram has become their primary source of commissions. The text also demonstrates that platform use leads to negative consequences that can affect both tattooists and their work. These negatives are described as the exploitation of attention, impacts on mental health, precarity, threats to creative identity, and the blurring of boundaries between work and personal life. The article outlines factors faced by tattooists as well as most other creative workers operating on platforms and presents how artistic tattooists themselves perceive these influences.