Musical bands and themes endure as popular body art subjects, and Pink Floyd tattoos usually top the list of favorites. The band's incredibly visual style of writing combined with a sometimes controversial history help make Pink Floyd body art relevant in today's culture.
Get to Know Pink Floyd
Since 1965, Pink Floyd has enjoyed innumerable accolades for music composition, inspiring lyrics and album cover art. The band rose to quick fame in London's underground music scene under the leadership of Syd Barrett who, along with Roger Waters, Richard Wright and Nick Mason changed the face of music forever. Almost as quickly as the band began, Syd Barrett's deteriorating mental condition made it necessary to bring David Gilmour into the fold as a singer and guitarist to cover Barrett's frequent lapses. After Barrett's final departure, Waters took over as lyricist and led the band to commercial success with a fusion of progressive rock music and socio-political lyrics teeming with personal history. Intellectual artistry, musical courage and honestly tragic personal stories ensure a lasting place for Pink Floyd in the world of tattoos and body art.
Designing Pink Floyd Tattoos
A band as diverse and influential as Pink Floyd means that tattoo possibilities are endless. From graphic interpretations of discography art or lyrics, to photo-realistic homages to band members, tattoo lovers and Pink Floyd fans suffer no shortage of artistic design ideas.
The Efficacy of Words
Ground-breaking musical accomplishments aside, much of the power of Pink Floyd lies in the stunning word pictures they paint, seemingly without the contrived insincerity of guile or pretense. The song titles alone might change your life - at least according to die-hard fanaticals - but the magical and innately human dialogs that punctuate each song's lyrics always make a lasting impression. Most Pink Floyd body art ideas arrive by way of lyrical transportation rather than ordinary epiphany.
The Wall: Floyd's 1979 album featured disturbing yet identifiable themes of isolation, dysfunction, drug abuse and familial violence that reached audiences in intimate ways. The Wall's lyrics and song titles as well as animations from the accompanying film (1982) have spawned visceral tattoos like marching hammers, Pink (film character) himself, fornicating flowers and the famous screaming head.
The Dark Side of the Moon: Released in 1973 to critical acclaim, this album mocks greed and consumerism while mourning the passage of time. It also reveals Roger Waters' sorrow over the tragedy of Syd Barrett by providing a generous portion of sheer strangeness overlaid with insanity. Most tattoos inspired by The Dark Side of the Moon feature the prism and refracted light, the green pulse of the album's inner artwork and the songs' mystical lyricism.
Wish You Were Here: Floyd's 1975 conceptual album focuses primarily on Waters' fresh cynicism about the music industry and his growing conviction that the band had lost its sense of camaraderie. Like Floyd's previous efforts, the album presents several heartfelt references to Syd Barrett, in particular Shine on You Crazy Diamond and the title track, Wish You Were Here. This album's powerful lyrics and haunting imagery along with album cover art have inspired Pink Floyd tattoos like the burning man, the mechanical handshake and a slew of crazy diamond depictions.
Respectful Homage
For some, tattoos that pay deference to a single theme, image or particular bit of wordage doesn't quite convey the testimonial they desire. Or, maybe personal creativity intervenes and the tattoo becomes more of an homage, a collage or any other form of respectful tribute like the tattoos and design ideas in this section.
Final Inspirations
Like the band itself, let nonconformity lead the way when you're choosing Pink Floyd tattoos. Whether you relate to the flying pig from the cover of Animals, or to the Easter Island-like heads of "The Division Bell", remember that expression of individuality and passion always makes the greatest form of body art.
