Check Out This Instagram Of Cool Old Tattoos

Before there was social media, there were blogs. But before those, there was the very oldest form of self-publishing – older even than blogs – and it was tattoos. If you think about it, tattoos are really just status updates – or blogs – that you write on your skin and then can never really delete.

The Dr Lakra Instagram feed, the work of the Mexican artist and tattooist Jerónimo López Ramírez, is a repository for images of some really, really old ink-jobs, ones that easily predate your dad’s “I <3 Sharon” back piece. Full of arcane symbolism and tribal lore, the art often reminds us of what you might find etched onto Russian nesting dolls.

His own art has been described as “documenting his fascination with the taboos, fetishes, myths and rituals of different cultures” and it feels like there’s a real transgressive, anthropological edge to what’s on show here, as subjects pose proudly for portraits clad in insignia it seems only they, or maybe a tiny cabal of people, can understand and decode.

We picked out some of the choicest cuts:

As a little Monday morning bonus, below is an excerpt from the classic vintage tattoo documentary, Stoney Knows How. Director Bruce Lane describes his film thus:

Stoney Knows How is a visit with a master of the Oldest Art In The World - Tattooing. Disabled by arthritis since the age of four, confined to a wheelchair, his growth stunted, Stoney St. Clair joined the circus at 15 as a sword-swallower. A year later, he took up tattooing, and traveled with circuses and carnivals for 50 years. As we watch him at work, we see the determination which led Stoney to use his crippled hands in an art where mistakes are permanent, and we realize Stoney has overcome his handicap to heal himself and others with the magic of symbols. The film ends with a visit by New Age tattoo master Don Ed Hardy to Stoney, who gives him a souvenir tattoo.”

Enjoy: