“It’s actually a job you are married to”. Work Experiences of Tattoo Artists in Croatia

• Published in: Etnološka tribina Vol. 52; no. 45; pp. 157 - 176
• Main Authors: Tonković, Željka, Bašić, Ema
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Zagreb Hrvatsko etnološko društvo 01.01.2022; Croatian Ethnological Society; Hrvatsko Etnolosko Drustvo
• Subjects: Artists; Body modification; Creative industries; Cultural capital; Culture; Friendship; Labor relations; Lifestyles; Marginality; Media studies; Minority groups; Occupations; Social networks; Sociology; Sociology of Culture; Sociology of the arts, business, education; Subcultures; Tattoos; Croatia; cultural capital; creative industries; tattooing; social networks; work experience
• ISSN: 0351-1944; 1848-9540; 1333-0993
• DOI: 10.15378/1848-9540.2022.45.07

The tattoo, once an indicator of belonging to subculture, deviant, and marginalized groups, or specific occupations, has become mainstream. Given that their social world has not yet been studied in much detail, this research aimed to explore the work experiences of tattoo artists. For the purposes of the research, semi-structured interviews with tattoo artists were conducted. The results show that for tattoo artists, tattooing is more than just a job – rather, it is integral to their lifestyle. Tattoo artists give particular importance to family and friends and support and belonging in both tattoo-specific and broader alternative scenes. With regard to cultural capital, a specific type of cultural capital, “alternative cultural capital,” proved to be important.