Inked Lives: Tattoos, Identity, and Power

Abstract

I would like to thank my committee co-chairs, Jane Dusselier, and Yalem Teshome, as well as Christina Gish Hill, for their guidance and support throughout this research. In addition, I would like to thank my friends, colleagues, and the Anthropology Department faculty and staff for making my time at Iowa State University an experience I will never forget. In particular, I would like to thank Maximilian Viatori and Nell Gabiam for their key role in my formation as an graduate student. I also offer my appreciation to those who participated in my surveys and observations, without whom this thesis would not have been possible. Finally, thanks to my family, in particular my father, for their encouragement and for his help throughout the process. They have been patient, loving, and helpful in a way that is beyond the expression of words. They challenged and supported me, and I am certain that this project would never have gotten to where it is without their encouragement.

Cultural Code Analysis of the Integration of Pintados Design in Furniture Product Development using Semiotics and Quality Function Deployment

“…In the modern era, however, the visual/cultural codes embedded in Pintados tattoos underwent oversimplification according to Garcia-Merritt [21]. In developing countries, the notion of tattooing was associated with deviant lifestyles, criminality, and mental illness [21][22][23].…”

“…In the modern era, however, the visual/cultural codes embedded in Pintados tattoos underwent oversimplification according to Garcia-Merritt [21]. In developing countries, the notion of tattooing was associated with deviant lifestyles, criminality, and mental illness [21][22][23]. We can now say that the cultural connotations of the Pintados tattoos became socio-economic, that is, externally detached from the physical body and soul.…”