Didn’t anyone ever tell the producers at TLC not to piss off a tattoo artist armed with a loaded tattoo gun? You could end up looking like this!
Anyway, tattoo artists across the country are enraged by the premise of a new reality TV show set to premiere this Thursday night. The show is called Tattoo School, and it basically follows tattoo artist Lisa Fasulo as she spends two weeks teaching her students how to tattoo at her tattoo school.
Here’s the tagline for the show:
“Rookie students, models risking their skin to first time body artists, a rebellious instructor and unconventional training… who will bear the drama of competition and survive?”
Tattoo artists are angry and insulted that TLC is saying that a person can learn everything they need to know about tattooing in only two weeks.
Writers of Tattoo Artists magazine voiced their opinions on the show’s concept on a blog on their website. Here’s an excerpt from their post:
“This is the most heinous and potentially harmful “tattoo” television program you could create due to the public health and safety issues. Every professional tattooer knows it is not possible to understand the fundamental aspects of a complicated and specialized craft such as tattooing in just two weeks! It takes years of hard work to become proficient in this trade. It doesn’t take years to put a mark on someone’s body, (as this school’s website can attest) but it does take years to learn how to tattoo with precision.”
There’s even an official petition to remove the show from the air (and a Facebook page, naturally! You MUST check out the Facebook page’s student photo gallery. There’s some seriously awful tattoos pictured in there that were allegedly done by people at the school! I can’t believe these things are on someone’ s body forever!)
Lisa Fasulo, the tattoo artist behind this show, has responded to the negative comments via her school’s official website.
“We don’t proclaim that students will be masters upon completion. In fact, just the opposite, that’s why we call our class ‘Tattoo Fundamentals.’ We are just laying a safe groundwork so those who wish to pursue this career can begin from,” she said.
Will you watch this show? Are you insulted by this concept? Are you too busy watching crappy 19 Kids and Counting reruns to notice any other show on TLC? Tell The Ashley what you think!
(Photo: Stacy Keck/Pacific Magazine; Facebook)
6 Responses
why would any1 put a show like that on TV i mean la ink NY ink and all that was cool but to show beginners on TV isn’t right i mean as an artist myself i can say it takes years to develop as a tattoo artist its not a over night thing like they try to show it as. not to mention that this show could have a negitive impact on the tattoo industry
People need to get a grip half of the pictures I saw on the facebook page were not even from the show and had seen a long time ago before the show was even on. No I don’t agree that you can be taught everything about tattooing in 2 weeks but everyone is so hateful. Get a life and if your a tattoo artist then do your own thing.
Tattoo artists are the most pretentious people you will ever meet. They are so afraid of anyone else knowing how to tattoo, they never share any information at all and hate when anything about tattooing appears on tv. They are greedy reclusive snobs. They are ego driven and all think they are the best and started that way. They think no one else can do what they do but forget where they came from. Annoying people really.
Thanks for writing about it please share these links:
Sign Petition http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/boycotttattooschool
Fan Page http://www.facebook.com/BoycottTattooSchool
Event http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=170440256357168
Thanks to TLC and similar cable networks with shows that dumb down complicated and dangerous procedures to a half an hour of fun and laughs the body art industry is starting to suffer from the same influx of overconfident, under-competent amateurs that the hit the bakery business a while back. Great for business in general… not so good for well trained professionals.
I am a member of this Facebook group, I signed the petition so on and so forth. Lisa is a full out moron in my opinion. They use wooden stools, sometimes uncovered, sometimes covered for arm/leg rests, they may or may not use gloves and if they do, it’s sometimes just one. It’s crazy! These are based on the photos but they look legit, each “cubicle” looks similar. I could bet my life that when the show comes out the place will be loaded with safety just to make it look like they’re following health regulations but the photos tell a different story.