Critink

There are hundreds of thousands of tattoo pictures online. Maybe millions. But with this rise in popularity, it's getting even harder than ever to tell the difference between a quality piece of art and a piece that will fade into a black smudge. Learn to tell the difference now so you don't have to learn the lesson the hard way.

antumbral Asks

Re: Keep Calm and Carry On Tattoo - I feel like there is more critique that needs to be said about that tattoo other than "this is going to be silly in a few years" (eg. it's upside down). While that saying is super popular these days for whatever reason, it is based on WWII-era propaganda posters and does have some historical significance. ...Whether or not that person knows it - who knows? Just wanted to comment - no offense intended - keep being fabulous and making tattoos better for all.

Sure - the historical significance of being a pro-war poster telling people to carry on working and consuming while bombs are falling on their houses. But no, is cool—let’s idolize an inter-imperialist struggle in the name of “good design” or “it means a lot to me”.

World War I was about the recolonialization of Europe and the world. People like us were dying by the millions in disease-ridden trenches while the rich argued over who got Poland and India. The one state that didn’t “keep calm and carry on” was Russia who pulled out of the war and was attacked bruttally by *both sides* for doing do. I’m on my phone so I can’t directly link for you all, but if you look up the intervention of both the German and British factions into the newly formed USSR its a great example of what the war was really about—not good vs evil, but the expansion of territory to gain new markets, labor pools, and natural resources.

This isn’t some personal, up-beat slogan. Its pro-war propaganda set in Gill Sans that is being refitted for our generations taste buds.

Its gross now, and going to look stupid in a decade.