body modification essays

body modification essays Dictionary definitions are always helpful in making things more clear. The definition of mutilate is: to make imperfect by excising or altering parts. Mutilation is making imperfect. There are a few listed definitions of art. The first is: human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature. The second definition is: the conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium (American Heritage...). Here is the loophole. Altering what is natural is part of a definition for both mutilate and art. Therefore, mutilation is art. However, art is not making imperfect. Why is body mutilation viewed so differently than many other art forms? Body mutilation is a form of art that should be accepted, as so many others are. Before one can make a judgment on this subject, a good bit of knowledge is needed. Fear of the unknown can sometimes lead people to form harsh opinions, or to even hold them back from doing things they really want to do. Here is a clear explanation of how these basic types of body modification are actually done, and how the human body is transformed into a beautiful work of art. Tattoos: A Tattoo is a body modification in which the skin is permanently colored by ink being placed under the skin in a desired pattern. Traditionally, tattoos were merely done with a small sharp object that had been placed in ink and then pierced into the skin. This method is commonly used by amateur tattoo artists and often only used on themselves and their close friends. Professional tattoo guns are built on the same concept except that they are normally powered by a small motor and controlled by a foot pedal (Tattoo Information). Tattooing is an expressive, dramatic, and diverse art, whose only limitation is imagination. Tattoos can take up to any amount of tim...