Amber Rose added her sons' nicknames -- Bash and Slash -- to her forehead.

One tattoo artist compared

Post Malone's face tattoos to what a teenager would scribble "on a composition notebook." Last year
Aaron Carter unveiled a giant Medusa rendering on his face.

Tattoo artists feel a ‘moral obligation’ to stop face ink

By Kirsten Fleming. February 15, 2020 | 1:58pm | Updated

The world of celebrity face tattoos reached a real

high — or, depending on your point of view, low —
this week.

Presley Gerber (right), the 20-year-old son of

supermodel Cindy Crawford, revealed the
word “Misunderstood” inked across his chiseled right
cheekbone. Model Amber Rose unveiled her
children’s nicknames — Bash and Slash — in script
across her forehead. And Chris Brown showed off a
rendering of a Jordan 3 Nike sneaker on his cheek.

But even as face tattoos become more common — moving from convicts
and/or gang members to stars such as Post Malone and even regular
people — there is a debate among tattoo artists over the ethics of creating
them.

“I don’t do face tattoos,” Carlos Delgado, an artist at Andromeda 33 on St.

Marks Place, told The Post. “Especially if [the client is] not visibly tattooed
already. I have a moral obligation to educate people before they get one.”

Delgado regularly turns away people in their late teens and early 20s.
Many, he said, are inspired by Malone or the late rapper Lil Peep.
“It’s not my job to ruin somebody’s life,” he said.

Recently, a young woman asked him for a rose on her face. “I said, ‘There
is no way I am doing that.’ But she went to another shop . . . and it came
out horrible. She asked me to fix it, but she didn’t want to pay my price,”
said Delgado.

Diablo, a tattoo artist who works at Clash City Tattoo in the East Village,
said he will do face tattoos — but at a higher premium than he charges for
other parts of the body.

“I want them to really think about it, and if they want to drop $400 on a face
tattoo,” said Diablo, who charges half as much for a similarly sized tattoo
on, say, a bicep or chest.

While he inked the word “Revenge” on the cheek of Florida rapper Ski
Mask, Diablo noted: “He doesn’t have to worry about a job.”

Both Diablo and Delgado ask anyone seeking a face tattoo about career
aspirations, cautioning that it could negatively affect them professionally. “I
say, ‘Amber Rose, she has the means to support herself. You don’t,’ ”
Delgado said.

That advice might have helped Union City, NJ, resident Alex Sosa
Devilliers. In January 2019, the 34-year-old “impulsively” had his children’s
initials (“MAP,” for Mason, Adrian and Priscilla) inked above his eyebrow.
He quickly regretted it.

“My mom was upset. She loves being a grandma, but she was like,
‘C’mon, that’s your face,’ ” said Devilliers, who works in graphic design for
a clothing company. He added that the tattoo has been a challenge at his
job.

“People look at you like you’re a little crazy,” he said. “I have to prove to
them that I’m not crazy.”

He is having it erased at Clean Slate Laser, a painful process that will take
a year to complete. Getting the tattoo took less than an hour.
Brooklynite Crystal Valentine, a makeup artist who manages the Winky Lux
store on the Lower East Side, has a tiny red heart on her right cheek and a
rose inked near her left ear.

“They are easy to conceal [with makeup], but I like to show them off,” said
the 21-year-old. She isn’t opposed to putting art above her brow one day,
but draws the line at using her entire cheeks.

“I have a pretty face. I am not trying to ruin it,” she said. “And it’s too much
of a trend.” She can always go to Carmen Figueroa of Nice Tattoo Parlor in
Carroll Gardens, who warns clients about the potential pitfalls but won’t say
no.

“If they’re really sure, I don’t feel like it’s my place to deny them,” she said.
“It’s not my job to mother them.”

*************************************************************************************
Directions: Type your answers in complete sentences below each
question. Please make your answers stand out by using a different color or
highlighting them. The document will grow as you type. Each question is
worth 3 points.

1. What’s the argument here? What are the different sides or perspectives
one might have in this debate? (Try to articulate three different
opinions/perspectives surrounding this topic - they don’t all have to be
represented in the article.)

The argument is that the tattoo artists are seeing some misunderstandings
of face tattoos being more common as if these face tattoos used by gang
members or convicts. Since the misunderstanding just got out of hand, the
tattoo artists are having second thoughts about quitting their career. Even if
some citizens are wearing tattoos claiming that they are easily concealed,
they do not see what is wrong with face tattoos.
2. Which side do you agree most with? Provide at least three reasons why
you have that opinion. Find a quote in the article that you could use to
support your argument. MAKE THE QUOTE BLUE IN THE ARTICLE.

“People look at you like you’re a little crazy.” “I have to prove them I am not
crazy.” -Devilliers

I agree on there is nothing wrong with face tattoos side because we want to
at least show just one proof that we are not juvenile delinquents by that
face tattoos just to understand our intentions. Like when our intentions
were like a friendly neighbor citizen, caring for one thing or another.
Although It is classy to have a face tattoo for taste of how fresh we want to
be, we never have to be mistaken like this.

3. Now, put yourself in the ‘shoes’ of a person who disagrees with you.
How might this person counter or dispute your above reasons? If there is a
quote that represents that side, make it GREEN.

This person might counter my reasons for being careful on our intentions
because that citizens might get intimidated by a tattoo user by looking at
them. Tattoo artists might even ask their manager to retire their career after
these misunderstandings get common day by day. As Carlos Delgado
warns: “I have a moral obligation to educate people before they get one.”
Citizens must think twice about face tattoos before even succumbing into
their mysterious fate.
4. Are the opinions (on both sides) of this debate/argument based more on
logic (facts), ethics (morality), or emotion (feelings)? Explain your answer.

I think the opinions on this debate are based more on emotion, because
face tattoos are sometimes feared by some citizens thinking that face tattoo
users are being mistaken as convicts. They would be much confused and
disappointed at the same time if they were being misunderstood like this
depending on any countries they live in such as Chicago, Detroit, or
Missouri.

5. Does the writer of the article seem to take a side? Support your answer
with a quote if you can. Make this quote PURPLE. If you can’t find a
specific quote to support your answer, tell me how you came to that
conclusion.

The writer of the article seems to take a side about face tattoos being a
problem, because the writer’s perspective was those tattoo artists could
give themselves a negative consequence to their career and to citizens.
Even though Delgado reminded: “It’s not my job to ruin somebody’s life,”
The writer discovered that some face tattoo users were being targeted a bit
randomly, be it the teenagers, rappers, etc. Plus, it was not enough that
face tattoos are becoming a bit suspicious to their family members, police,
or even a small child.
6. How does this topic fit into the larger theme of the class, TABOOS?

Back in the 1980s, Face tattoos are infamous for the local neighborhood gang members in USA.
For example, Gangsters were using face tattoos to show their loyalty, and
usually confronting rivals. Eventually, Police had to be involved in this controversy even if those
discriminations occur commonly. And since the trouble has been spreading in the media for
several years, Face tattoos laws had to be enforced in USA. Therefore, Face tattoos are now
illegal in South Carolina, and a form of parent or guardian consent must be signed with a tattoo
artist, and a person must follow the age limit with the consent in some US Countries like
Alabama, Oregon, and Rhode Island.