Teardrop Tattoo (Various designers)

From the curators: In his 1908 essay “Ornament and Crime,” early-20th-century Viennese architect Adolf Loos infamously–and incorrectly–labeled tattoo design the preserve of criminals and so-called degenerates, an opinion that willfully ignores the rich social and aesthetic history of the tattoo for many individuals and cultures across the globe. However, like most fields of design, certain aspects of the practice of tattooing intersect with violence, perhaps most incontrovertibly in the case of the teardrop tattoo. Although they help shape self- and group identities, tattoos can often remain hidden from sight under clothing. However, there is almost no way to conceal a design inked near the eye, highlighting the deliberately public declaration a teardrop tattoo constitutes. Teardrop designs are as varied as the artists who render the pigment under the skin, and their meaning is contested—depending on factors like the geographic location or personal experiences of the wearer. Interpretations range from the oft-repeated inference that, for those tattooed in prison, one tear equals one life taken, to the opposite end of the spectrum, where the teardrop may demarcate a victim of violence—sometimes within the confines of prison walls, and sometimes on the outside—or someone who stands in solidarity with a loved one who has experienced violence.