Visual revolt behind bars: The tattoos of old prisoners until 1989 and their symbolic transformation
Abstract
Tattoos in the prison environment have a long and rich history. The aim of this study was to approach the symbolism of the prison tattoo before 1989, as well as the function of this tattoo, which is an inherent part of the prison subculture.
My aim was to bring closer, to clarify and to distinguish the specifics of tattooing from Czechoslovak prisons from contemporary prison practice. For the benefit of this text, I regard tattooing as a product of independent artwork that was severely imprisoned in the prisons environment of Czechoslovak prisons, but it defined its function as a visual revolt against the regime and its representatives, defining it as a tool of promotion and as a self- parties of the criminal subculture.
The range of prison tattoos is, of course, much more varied than it was introduced, but the motifs presented in this study and at the same time in the annexes of this paper are typical representations of body modifications in the sense of tattoos in Czechoslovak prisons.