Would you pay $15,000 for a tattoo designed by a famous artist or fashion designer? That's the question posed by a new auction from Joopiter, the digital auction platform founded by Pharrell Williams. The sale, dubbed "Inked: Tattoos by Contemporary Artists," offers 16 one-of-a-kind tattoo designs from high-profile names in art, fashion, and architecture, including Thom Browne, Derrick Adams, Jeffrey Gibson, Peter Marino, and Dr. Wood. Rather than the tattoo itself, winning bidders get a certificate of authenticity for a unique design, along with detailed instructions for application, the Wall Street Journal reports. Estimates for the designs are from $10,000 to $15,000, a range curator Sharon Coplan says is meant to be "accessible."
Coplan views tattooing as an untapped platform for fine artists, comparing it to printmaking in its potential for official, limited-edition releases. As HypeBeast explains, both tattoos and printmaking "involve transferring a design and navigating the tension between permanence and reproduction." Browne's contribution is as meticulous as his tailoring: the winner will receive his signature red, white, and blue logo, complete with specific dimensions, Pantone color codes, and a recommended placement below the base of the neck. Most of the artists will donate some of the proceeds to a charity of their choice.
While the idea of fine-art tattoos isn't entirely new—artists like Ellsworth Kelly and Félix González-Torres have dabbled in tattoo-based works—"Inked" brings the concept to a wider, more commercial audience. (But the auction does include the reissue of a tattoo design by the late Lawrence Weiner from 2010, ArtNet reports.) And though nothing stops fans from copying the designs at their local tattoo parlor, Coplan says she'd welcome that outcome. As artist Marilyn Minter puts it, the resale market is limited: "Once you die, you die. That's it."
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
