The time, dedication and mere thought of a lifelong commitment is enough to detour any man or woman from ever thinking about getting a tattoo.
Many people never get past these constraints and restrictions, and thus never get inked up. Commonly, even when a person has put the lifelong commitment fear out of their head, an apprehension-filled individual will ask such a person, “What about when you’re sixty and it looks all shabby?’’
So, with all the considerable foreboding around tattooing in general, why would a person ever consider “transforming” their body into more? Into an individual transcendent of time, space, ideals and species? A peek into the life of one of the most famous “extreme body art” connoisseurs may provide perspective.
The most common consensus is that Horace Ridler, or as he was known for his stage name, “The Great Omi,” is one of the most famous tattooed men of all time. What would now be considered primitive tattooing adorns Horace’s entire body, including, but not limited to, his head and face, which were done in bold, black zebra-like stripes. Even with his body completely covered with tattoos, he filed his teeth, pierced his ears and shoved elaborate jewelry in them. As if that wasn’t enough, he asked a veterinarian to pierce his septum to conversely shove a bone though it.
Horace was born in Surrey, England around 1892 into a wealthy family. He was private schooled and traveled extensively as a young boy. As he matured into a man, he served in the British Army as a commissioned officer but left the military after the First World War with the rank of major.
So what convinced him to tattoo his entire body? At the time, tattooing one’s entire body would only deem a person a freak. As far as can be construed, he simply wanted to be the most extreme opposite to anything that would be deemed normal. He was a sideshow circus performer who needed that edge to separate himself from other performers.
Today, humans tattoo themselves for myriad reasons, still including creating a persona that is the extreme opposite of society’s standards. The human art canvas has evolved to include brightly-colored inks and lifelike images that could quite possibly be called fine art if hung in museums. Tattooing has also evolved to be used for religious purposes and also for identification of factions, cults, gangs and friendship.
Still, however, a tattoo remains irreversible… It is this finality that garners the allure for all the ways and reasons that anyone in most any society gets inked.
Why will you get yours?
Check out more crazy tattoo photos and insane piercing photos.
Fast-forward to modern day and check out what happens when extreme celebrity tattoos outshine the celebrities themselves: Extreme Celebrity Tattoos.
