Is Art Just Skin Deep?

Popeye's meant he sailed the Atlantic. Robbie Williams looked to Maori culture for inspiration in choosing his. Winston Churchill's mother discreetly covered hers with a bracelet.

All three bear a personal history etched in skin — a practice as old as man, but until recently in Western culture, one that was relegated to sea salts, criminals and whores. Today, the tattoo is undergoing a renaissance such that only the deeply unfashionable remain unmarked. Or so it would seem to a viewer of mtv, where celebs like Pink, Anastacia and Eminem proudly flaunt their skin...