Decoding Tattoo Trends: Art Beyond the Spotlight
Beyond the Magazine Page: What "Tattoos of the Week" Really Tells Us About Art, Influence, and the Ink on Your Skin
Hi there. Mickey Schlick here. I’ve been tattooing in Missoula for a long time, and I’ve watched the conversation around our craft evolve from hushed whispers in back rooms to front-page features. Like many of you, I scroll through tattoo feeds and magazines. I see those glossy, curated "Tattoos of the Week" features from major publications. They’re impressive, no doubt. A parade of technical fireworks and bold concepts. But sitting here in our studio on Higgins, with the Clark Fork River rolling by outside, I can’t help but think about the story those features don’t tell. It’s a story about gatekeepers, invisible filters, and what gets left out when we only celebrate the loudest voice in the room.
This isn’t about sour grapes. It’s about curiosity. When a publication with massive reach decides what constitutes a "masterpiece" every seven days, what rules are they really playing by? And more importantly, how does that shape what the rest of the world thinks tattoo art is, or should be? Let’s pull back that curtain, not with cynicism, but with the eye of a craftsman who loves this medium too much to see its boundaries drawn by an algorithm or an ad sales meeting.
The Stated Rules: What They Say They're Looking For
First, let’s give credit where it’s due. The explicit criteria from these editorial features are things every serious artist respects. They talk about seeking "jaw-dropping ink" from "artists who aren’t afraid to push the needle a little further." They describe tattoos that "carry their own kind of power," that can strike "with raw intensity" or draw you in with "quiet precision." The language is all about impact and evolution, about "rewriting what ink can be."
On the surface, this is a great checklist:
- Technical Mastery: Flawless execution. Clean lines, smooth blends, perfect saturation. The kind of work that makes another tattoo artist nod slowly and say, "Okay, I see you."
- Innovation: A new twist on a old style, a fusion of techniques, a subject matter rendered in a way you’ve genuinely never seen before.
- Emotional Resonance: The "stop you in your tracks" factor. It has to grab attention in a crowded digital feed.
- Narrative: The hint of a story. The suggestion that this tattoo means more than just a pretty picture.
These are noble goals. At Montana Tattoo Company, we chase these same ideals in every consultation, every sketch, every session. When James Strickland maps out a geometric sleeve with precision that would make an architect weep, or when Nicole Miller weaves personal symbolism into a delicate illustrative piece, we’re aiming for that same intersection of skill, heart, and originality. The stated rules make sense. It’s the unstated ones that complicate the picture.
The Unspoken Filters: The Business Behind the Beauty
Here’s where the river gets murky. A magazine isn’t a museum; it’s a business. And the need for clicks, engagement, and revenue creates a set of implicit criteria that never makes it into the inspirational Instagram caption.
First, there’s marketability over pure merit. Look at the mechanics of their big contests. Voting systems where you can pay for extra votes create a scenario where visibility can be literally purchased. This commercial framework doesn’t stay neatly contained in the contest bracket. It subtly influences editorial choices, favoring artists with massive, engaged followings who can guarantee those precious clicks and shares. An incredible tattoo from a relatively unknown artist in a small market (say, the Rocky Mountains) has to work ten times harder to be seen than a very good tattoo from an influencer-artist in Los Angeles.
Then there’s the celebrity glow. A tattoo on a famous musician or actor is almost guaranteed coverage, often with less scrutiny of the actual artwork. The fame of the canvas becomes an unspoken quality marker, overshadowing the tattoo’s intrinsic value. It reinforces the idea that art is validated by who owns it, not by what it is.
Perhaps the most impactful filter is the style hierarchy. While these publications proudly offer style guides showing "all of the major styles," their weekly highlights tell a different story. There’s a heavy, heavy rotation of hyper-realism, neo-traditional, and bold illustrative work. These are styles built for the "stop you in your tracks" moment. They photograph incredibly well on a screen. But what about the subtle, textural beauty of hand-poked work? The spiritual lineage of traditional Tebori? The slow-burn complexity of a blackwork piece that reveals itself over time, not in a single glance? These often get relegated to niche articles, not the coveted weekly spotlight. An implicit canon forms: some styles are headline acts, others are background players.
Finally, watch for the commercial partnershipsprioritizes work connected to a corporate budget.
How This Curation Shapes Our World: The Ripple Effect in Missoula and Beyond
This editorial gatekeeping doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It creates ripples that reach all the way to our studio doors here in Montana.
First, it establishes a de facto canon. For a client walking in for their first consultation, their visual vocabulary of what a "great tattoo" looks like has been largely defined by these features. They come in with screenshots, often of the most viral, technically intense styles. They’ve been taught that this is the pinnacle. This shapes their desires, sometimes away from what might actually suit their personal story or body best.
Second, it drives market value. An artist featured in "Tattoos of the Week" sees their booking requests and rates jump overnight. Editorial validation becomes commercial currency. This can be great for that individual artist, but it creates a system where recognition begets more recognition, making it harder for equally talented artists outside the spotlight to compete.
For emerging artists, these features set aspirational benchmarks. A young tattooer looks at that feed and thinks, "That’s what I need to do to be successful." This can inadvertently steer a generation of talent toward a narrower range of styles, focusing on what’s editorially rewarded rather than exploring their unique voice. It’s like a musician only practicing songs that get played on one specific radio station.
Worst of all, it creates a self-reinforcing feedback loop. The magazine features Style X. Artists create more of Style X to get featured. Clients ask for Style X because they’ve seen it featured. The magazine features more Style X because it’s popular and plentiful. Diversity of expression slowly gets squeezed out.
The Limits of the Spotlight: What Gets Lost in the Glare
In chasing the "jaw-dropping," something essential about tattooing can be forgotten. The art form’s deepest power often lies in qualities that don’t scream for attention on a homepage.
There’s a real risk of homogenization. When the goal is to "stop you in your tracks," quieter, more conceptual, or personally nuanced work gets overlooked. A tattoo that explores grief, heritage, or recovery might not have the immediate visual pop of a photorealistic panther, but its artistic and human value is profound. By prioritizing the spectacular, we risk implying the subtle is lesser.
This focus can also lead to a kind of historical amnesia. Tattooing is an ancient craft with deep roots in cultures worldwide. The "innovations" celebrated today almost always stand on the shoulders of marginalized traditions. By framing everything through the lens of contemporary, forward-pushing novelty, we can accidentally erase those lineages and the respect owed to them.
It also promotes technical skill over conceptual depth. A perfectly rendered rose is impressive. A simpler, thoughtfully composed image that encapsulates a client’s twenty-year journey is a different kind of masterpiece, one that prioritizes meaning over mechanics. The first is easier to judge in a split-second scroll; the second requires a conversation.
Ultimately, the biggest limitation is this: it applies a fine art gallery mindset to a living, breathing medium. A painting in a museum is static. It’s meant for contemplation from a distance. A tattoo is in constant conversation. It moves with the body. It ages and settles into the skin. Its meaning evolves with the person who wears it. Its value isn’t just in that first, pristine photograph. Its value is in how it lives over decades. The "stop you in your tracks" metric completely misses this, the most beautiful and unique aspect of what we do.
A Montana Perspective: Finding the Signal in the Noise
Maybe living and working in a place like Missoula gives you a different lens. We’re not the media epicenter. The trends arrive here like a slow wave, giving us time to watch, think, and decide what really matters. Our community values authenticity over hype. The stories in our tattoos are about family ranches, river days, personal losses, and quiet triumphs. They’re not designed for virality; they’re designed for a life.
At Montana Tattoo Company, our curation process is different. It’s one-on-one. It starts not with what’s trending, but with a simple question: "Tell me about your idea." The "feature" isn’t a magazine spread; it’s the moment years later when a client looks in the mirror and still feels connected to the work. The artistic boundaries we push aren’t for an editor’s approval; they’re to solve the unique puzzle of bringing your story to life on your skin, in a way that will last and remain meaningful.
This isn’t to say we ignore skill or innovation. Look at Noelin Wheeler’s fluid, painterly color work, or the precise, architectural dotwork from our guest artists. We live for technical excellence. But we see it as the foundation, not the entire house. The real art is in the collaboration, the translation of a feeling into a permanent form.
So, what’s the takeaway from all this? Should you ignore those "Tattoos of the Week" features? Not at all. Enjoy them. Be inspired by the incredible skill on display. But see them for what they are: a highly filtered, commercially-influenced snapshot of one slice of the tattoo universe.
Let them be a starting point for your curiosity, not the final word on taste. If you see a style you love, dig deeper. Who pioneered it? What are its cultural roots? Are there artists exploring its quieter, more personal applications? Your tattoo journey shouldn’t be about replicating a magazine’s idea of perfection. It should be about starting a conversation that leads to a piece of art that is, in the truest sense, beyond compare. Because it’s yours.
The most important curation doesn’t happen in a New York editorial office. It happens in the space between you and your artist, in the trust built during a consultation, in the shared commitment to creating something that doesn’t just look good on a screen today, but feels right on your skin for all your tomorrows. That’s the masterpiece we’re all really chasing.
This post topic was inspired by the Inked Magazine Blog. At Montana Tattoo Company we host independent tattoo artists who run their own businesses and create work with intention. Call 406-626-8688 or visit any of our artist pages to start the consultation process. Every project starts with a conversation and a vision. Choose the artist whose style fits your idea and reach out directly. Connect with Mickey Schlick, James Strickland, Noelin Wheeler, Nicole Miller, and boldbooking.io" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BoldBooking. Book a consultation, explore portfolios, and bring your idea to life. I have completely automated the studio side. Aftercare, directions, booking links 24 hours a day with completely consistent customer service. At any interaction you are welcome to ask to talk to Mickey directly and you will either be connected to me or I will get back to you asap.
