Street skin

by Mary Beth Polley
photos by Jennifer Taylor

You never know what people are hiding. Time was, you could tell by someone's motorcycle jacket whether he had a tattoo. But today tattoos are as mainstream as earrings, and nearly as common; Joe Kaplan of the Empire State Tattoo Club of America estimates that seven out of 10 people under the age of 35 have at least one. That sounds a little high, especially here in tattoo-unfriendly Massachusetts, but we didn't have much trouble finding ink on a recent Friday afternoon outside Tower Records on Newbury Street. People were surprisingly willing to talk about (and show off) their tattoos -- and, as we discovered, not everyone crossed state lines to get them.

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Valerie Monteiro, 21
Medical assistant

"I got two in New Hampshire and I got one at a tattoo party in Massachusetts. I just did it 'cause I liked it. It gets very addictive. The one on my shoulder is a rose, on my back it's my daughter's and my name, and there's this one of me and my husband's name.

"This one [the rose] means nothing. I wanted my name, but the guy wouldn't do it 'cause he won't do nothing on girls where it shows. So I regret this one because it don't mean anything.

"I don't know why it's illegal. I think it's dumb. It's your body. Why do we have to go to New Hampshire?"

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Jonathan Starp, 38
Photographer

"I just always wanted one, but you won't be able to be buried in a Jewish cemetery. In Judaism you're not allowed to get your body pierced or tattooed. And then one day someone said to me, `Do you care more about how you lived or how you died?'

"So I went and did it. Actually, I saw this woman outside of Tower Records with tattoos that I liked, so I asked her where she got them, and she actually had done them herself in Malden. So once she knew that I was cool -- you know, not a cop or anything -- she did it. It's a tree with branches growing from it, because I wanted it to represent that you can have really strong roots in life, a really strong foundation, and you can grow from those roots.

"I think it should be legal. If it's legal then the shops would be regulated, and if the shops were regulated it would be safe. And it would stop people from going half an hour away at night, speeding to Rhode Island before the tattoo shops close, and then driving back at three in the morning, which I don't think is very safe."

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Also, pushing ink and
two new efforts to legalize tattooing

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Sean Berte, 22
Process server

"I got a few. It's an art form I found interesting. I got 'em done in Boston, New Hampshire, Hawaii, North Carolina. I got a Marine Corps tattoo when I was shitfaced. I got a tattoo in Boston 'cause that's where I was born and raised.

"There's no other reason [I got tattooed] except being stabbed with a gun. That's what it is. It's a good pain -- no, pleasure. Pleasure with pain. It doesn't really matter [if they're illegal]. You can find it anywhere in Boston. If you don't know anyone well, that sucks -- then you gotta go to New Hampshire. I don't see any reason for it."

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Andrew Bock, 22
Supervisor, Tower Records

"I got them 'cause I like them. This one [the Chinese character] I live by. That one means true, real, sincere. The dragon I got, well, 'cause no one fucks with the dragon. I got 'em in Providence. I got 'em done on the spur of the moment. I went down with my friends, sat in the chair. It was pretty painful. It should be legal 'cause it's freedom of expression. There's no reason for it not to be. It's an art form, too."

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Amber Palazola, 18
Student, Boston University

"It's of a panda bear, because I like panda bears. I got it in North Carolina. I was sober. I was on spring break and thought I wanted one, and my friends -- they were in South Carolina -- didn't want to drive, so I went alone. I think it's stupid [for tattoos to be illegal]. You can just drive to New Hampshire, which is like a 30-, 40-minute drive. People are just going to get them anyway."

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Lisa Grandy, 20
Student, Boston College

"It was my 19th-birthday present to myself. I don't know. I love sunflowers, and it's in an awesome spot where no one sees it unless I want them to. I got it for a bunch of different reasons. Because my friends were there. I got it done in New Hampshire, at Hobo's. It's just always been my favorite flower. It's bright, alive, you know. It's happy. I don't know any reason for it being illegal. I think it's stupid, because people just drive to the next state."