Tattoos and Commemorating the 2013 Boston Marathon Tragedy

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A COMMUNITY PROJECT HOSTED AT NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

Tattoo and Commemorating The 2013 Boston Marathon Tragedy

This exhibit showcases tattoos made in the wake of the 2103 Boston Marathon tragedy, highlighting the works' commemorative meaning and connections to trauma for the Greater Boston Community.

Credits

Trevor Estes

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A COMMUNITY PROJECT HOSTED AT NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

Tattoo and Commemorating The 2013 Boston Marathon Tragedy

INTRODUCTION

The city of Boston is symbolic of the nature and character of America as a whole. It has its reputation as gritty and resilient being the same community that waged revolution against the full oppressive weight of the British Empire in the name of American independence. Ironically on Patriot’s Day 2013, the Boston community would again prove itself resilient in the face of a threat when two explosions rattled Boylston Street near the Boston Marathon finish line. The Greater Boston Community was struck with a degree trauma after witnessing the events of the 2013 Marathon, but would live up to its feisty reputation when the manhunt for those responsible was a success just five days after the incident. Even so, the trauma still looms…

Trauma has historically been dealt with in any number of ways, but in the wake of this tragedy, many Bostonians have simultaneously confronted their personal traumas while commemorating their community forfeiting portions of their own skin in permanent ink. People receive tattoos in commemoration of many kinds of experiences, particularly to memorialize an experience monumental in their lives. Tattoo, for instance, has been commonplace for soldiers for ages, marking their experiences somewhere on their bodies in permanent ink, perhaps to permanently embody their experiences onto themselves. Judith Sarnecki notes in her journal article Trauma and Tattoo that “writing in the flesh in some permanent way help[s] us both to let go and to memorialize a particularly painful or traumatic event in life.” Thus, the commemorative Marathon tattoos embody the personal experiences of Bostonians in their closely-knit community and the community’s hardwearing reaction to the tragedy. Channeling the trauma through tattoo may also be “a way to understand and incorporate a physical and psychological loss while regaining some sense of control and a new sense of empowerment,” says Sarnecki. In the aftermath of the Marathon bombing, the Boston community has only grown more unified. Though it may not be the largest city, the diverse community includes people from every corner of the globe who are proud to call Boston home. Bostonians’ pride in their community is characterized by these tattoos:

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A COMMUNITY PROJECT HOSTED AT NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

Tattoo and Commemorating The 2013 Boston Marathon Tragedy

IMAGES

Boston is a tough town. It always has been. This silhouette piece instagrammed by @bangbangbodyparts speaks to the might and gritty reputation of the community as a whole, especially considering its ability to overcome such adversity like the marathon bombing in April. Flexing its muscles, the figure appears hard, healthy and confident as though able to take on a quarrel of any type. This silhouette is the Boston community. If you ask anyone, they’re likely to tell you it’s hard to think of Boston without thinking of the Red Sox. Next to the American Revolution, the Sox may be one of the single most defining representations of the New England community as a whole. The team’s fandom has transcended generations of New England families since the beginning of the twentieth century, in a sense acting as a staple of the community and will likely continue to for some time. This piece, though simple, embodies the stern character of the Boston community through its simplistic yet powerful design.

The Boston skyline popularly appears on hats, t-shirts, news station green-screens, films, artwork and graphic designs of all kind, even the watermark for Our Marathon. City skylines are symbolic of the communities within the cities, displayed with pride and perhaps homages to the people who crafted their city’s distinguishable appearance. In this work, instagrammed by @staytruetattoos, the skyline is rendered in darkened clouds, imaginably to mark the day of the tragedy. @staytruetattoos states in their caption that the recipient of this piece “was at the Boston marathon when the bombing happened... He is a firefighter, and said this one of the worst things he has see in his life...” Also expressive of community pride is the placement the Boston Athletic Association’s unicorn emblem that poses stoically over the woe-struck city. The same unicorn in the emblem sits in the center of the Boston Marathon medal that every runner earns when they cross the historic finish line. In a sense, the entire Boston community earned a medal after that day for its tenacious stance against terror.

The Boston skyline appears again in this tattoo instagrammed by @garth_algarythm, though, the skyline itself is adapted to include other iconic landmarks in Boston, characteristic of the community as a whole. Drawn at the left is the historical landmark Citgo sign that’s perched above Kenmore Square since 1940, known almost universally as a symbol of Boston to anyone whose ever watched a Red Sox game. The Charles River, portrayed in the foreground, is historically vital to the community’s development and operating given its role in local infrastructure. The Charles is also home to one of the world’s most prestigious boat races, The Head of The Charles, which next to the Marathon is a defining event for the whole community. The Bunker Hill Bridge is a newer addition to the city’s scape and somewhat symbolic of the Bruins and Celtics games played next-door at the TD Garden. Most notably, though, the heart above the city speaks to the social solidarity of the community in spite of what occurred at the 2013 Marathon.

“Flash sheets,” like the one in this photo, will appear in any tattoo shop you visit. This sheet from Good Faith Tattoo in Boston is full of flash they drew in the direct aftermath of the Marathon for customers to choose from with the proceeds going directly to Boston’s One Fund foundation. This is just one of the many shops who dedicated their work to the care for the bombing’s victims and their families. Each of these pieces of flash is uniquely symbolic of Boston. Again we see the Citgo Sign, the Marathon colors, the city skyline, Red Sox, Bruins, references to maritime culture and hockey, even a tribute to the Irish heritage of so many Bostonians.

American tattoo has its roots in sailor culture, especially in New England where so much of the community historically evolved around the maritime way of life. The U.S.S. Constitution, the oldest navy vessel afloat and named by President George Washington, rests its thick iron-like hull in the Boston Harbor. “Old Iron Sides,” coined by its sailors for its seemingly indestructible build, has become a lasting representation of Boston because of its distinguished service to the Nation for nearly a whole century. This work instagrammed by @slow0ntheuptake is both a tribute to traditional American tattoo style as well as symbolic of the Boston community through its depiction of The Constitution. The year “2013” and the sketch of “Boston” speak to the commemoration of the Marathon bombing and the pride- filled rebound that the community managed in the face of terror. The piece may also be suggesting that Boston, too, has an iron-like hull. Because @slow0ntheuptake “couldn’t donate blood” for laws associated with tattoo ink and blood donation, this piece was their contribution to the community’s recovery effort. @marqueztattoos from Regeneration Tattoo, who made the piece even donated their earnings to Boston’s One Fund, the charity foundation solely dedicated to helping the victims of the bombs as well as their families. One Fund in itself speaks to the charitable nature of the Boston community and its compassion within.

Tattoo, after the 2013 Boston Marathon has been both a medium for channeling personal trauma but also a means of memorializing the events that occurred on Marathon Monday.

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