Vega sends in this crazy big Nike Swoosh Backpiece by Ozzie Perez at Body Graphics in Philadelphia, PA. Since Nike isn’t an online casino, I’m guessing this wasn’t a paid advertisement either — I wonder in these cases (because you see giant “product placements” every once in a while — and I don’t just mean beer stuff) what profound experience cemented the corporation into their lives!
Comments
73 responses to ““Just do it””
Ugly and stupid.
Nothing arty about this one, just plain daft.
yeah, ive gotta say – nike aside, they could have at least hardcore stylized the tat and made it look interesting and original (to some extent)
I don’t really like how the angle’s kind of wonky so it can fit on his entire back. It probably would have looked better if he were less preoccupied with the size (like all men)
i dont like it. its dumb. sorry just my opinion. there has been much better artwork on modblog.
I think it might look much better without the lettering
Ridiculousness aside, that’s a lot of blackwork.
Where is the ”made in China” mention….
Where is the ” made by child made ” mention… ?
that is horrendous. what a corporate whore.
this sucks!
people like this give a bad name to the mod community
I know a few people with corporate slogans inked on them, but none that big and that ugly.
*thumbs up*
Way to waste a load of perfectly good canvas dude!
I dunno, if he’d done it up his back rather than across it, maybe the perspective would be better. But as is, it’s like someone took the swoosh and clicked %50 stretch in MS Paint.
Oh my god. I swear to god I saw something about this as a parody in adbusters magazine around 1997.
They didn’t even do a good job on the swoosh.
I still think the motto, just do it, works well. Espeically as a tattoo theme.
300 billion on advertising makes you a God.
That is alloooottt of black.
I think the swoop could have been shaped better, but meh.
I hope he is very happy with it 🙂
I would be interested in knowing the motivation and the story behind the tattoo. Without knowing WHY he got it, my first opinion would be that it is a bit of a waste of a great canvas. So i’m prolonging judgement until I have an idea of why he got the tattoo in the first place!
Dumb, just dumb.
Who’s to say he’s not an athlete and tends to prefer Nike merch? Maybe Nike’s become a big part of his life and this means a lot to him. Just because it’s not unique or different doesn’t mean it’s not well done. The letters all line up nicely and it’s not missing splotches; I’d say the artist did a fine job of creating what the customer wanted. And congrats to him for getting something he wanted despite the obvious criticism he’ll get for it.
leave him alone. maybe he just like postmodernism.
likes**
How is this post-modern?
why does it matter what he does to his own body? jeez…
CHEERS to doing whatever the fuck you want!
and like creative said, the work itself could be A LOT worse.
I’m not a star trek geek at all but the swoosh looks more like the star trek logo thing to me.
Jennifer Government!
Well it made me smile.
i wouldn’t even do this for a lifetime supply of their sweat-shop, child made gay ass shoes… maybe he works(ed) in one of their sweat-shops as a kid… who knows, who cares… not i
To Ozzie’s defense, he did it exactly they way they cust. wanted it. He knew it was a strange request, and that’s why he gave me permission to post it. I’m pretty sure he told me the guy was a runner.
Is nike paying him? 😛
Just Do It: Star Trek. You’ve got to admit it would be pretty funny seeing him run shirtless by your house as you went to get your morning paper.
Kudos to him for doing something that everyone else may not care for. His body, his choice.
i agree the swoosh could have been done better.. as far as stupid goes.. hey to each there own… im very interested in the story behind this tattoo though.
Yeah, yeah, it’s his body blah, blah…still can’t see why I should validate his dumbness, though
isn`t the Nike-logo copyright-protected?
A sad statement indeed.
Absolutely nothing endearing about this tattoo. Of all the originality and technical ability that goes hand in hand with with the work of some tattoo artists this guy chooses the ultimate sign of conformity, consumerism and global exploitation.
Truly awful.
Hi again, Giles! Ha, it’s a modblog morning for me I suppose. I usually never comment here, but it’s so fun when I’ve got a day off.
Um, I think Shannon’s remark at the top is a good reminder that everything has a frame of reference. “I wonder…what profound experience cemented the corporation into their lives!”
I do understand your perspective, and I believe there have been times of my life where I would have agreed more with it. I just can’t forget that I don’t know why this guy chose this tattoo. I know why I wouldn’t choose it (for exactly the reasons you describe), but I don’t know why he chose it.
Horatio (glad you are here) – It’s difficult to understand why someone would even contemplate Nike as a symbol that you would permanently etched on you.
I checked Vega’s IAM but no clues there.
For me Nike symbolises everything wrong with modern commercial society so I can only make the assumption that the recipient is either unaware of Nike’s human rights record with regard to workers or simply loves their products so much.
It is worth noting that the word NIKE is missing which just shows how strong Nike’s marketing is. The owner could actually claim it does not represent Nike at all and have a convincing argument, not with me though 🙂
don’t personally like not understand why? but perhaps my not understanding why is why I don’t like it.
tis amazing how the old ”don’t judge a book by its cover” thing goes right out the window at tymes like this.
as pointed out it doesn’t specifically say Nike, could it not be that although Nike inspired, it holds a deeper meaning for the owner?
of course this could just be a huge Nike fan in which case bleh, but I’m personally choosing not to judge one way or the oter without knowing a little more.
We are all here to make judgements of sorts and to provide opinions, hence the little box allowing us to make comments.
Granted some comments go beyond “wow, how cool” and try to express an opinion backed up with why that opinion was given. Ergo I explained that I found the tattoo repulsive and explained why.
Compare this with the Geisha tattoo and it is clear which is a thing of beauty and skill and which is a symbol of global greed, worker exploitation and crass consumerism.
I would really like to know WHY individuals get tattoos such as this. Not to make fun of them or judge their tattoo design choice, but what exactly in their mind makes them chose a Nike ad? I mean seriously, do they just think it’s a cool shoe? Work for Nike? Or what?! Someone who has one write an experience, or if there is one, post a link!
Possibility 1: Ironic. Profound.
Possibility 2: Inspirational. Profound.
Definite: People on modblog, and generally people in the community think they are the smartest shit around. They’re not.
I think it’s cool. And certainly more original than lots of other tattoo themes – I can only recall seeing one other nike tattoo, and it wasn’t this big and bold. On the other hand I’ve seen loads of stars, geishas, skulls, dragons, etc. As a theme, just because it’s a symbol of all that’s wrong in the world to some people, doesn’t mean it is to everyone.
#30 – what is a “gay ass shoe”
1.just wondering…is the shoe “gay” meaning that they dont like to be paired with a left if it’s a right, or a right if it’s a left? does it only like shoes that are simmilar to it in genitalia?
2.or is it a shoe intended for a gay persons ass? is this a new clothing form that no one (except you) has heard of yet? like we are now wearing shoes on our ass, if we happen to be gay? can i wear one if i am straight? talk about discrimination…….why dont i ever hear of these trends? is it because i live in a city outside of Tokyo, NYC or London?
3.or, are you just using “gay” in a negative, immature and hateful way to describe a pair of shoes that a corporation made with the exploitation of young children.
you know what, im just going to go with #2, because i am ALWAYS the last to know about fashion. fuck. and i dont want to believe that someone would be that ignorant, when trying to describe the injustices done to children overseas….who makes the gay ass-shoes that NO ONE fuckin told ME about ? is it nike?
ps. thanks for keeping me in the dark about fashoin trends. jerks.
Maybe he really, really loved his experience working for them for 23 cents an hour as a 7-year-old?
Thank you Toser, for saying what I wanted to but didn’t find the words.
OMG, how did I miss Toser’s comment? best ever.
Maybe Nike’s products played a role in changing his life (rehab after a car crash, etc.) and he came to associate “JUST DO IT” slogan or the swoosh symbol with his recovery and rebirth. There are many, many, many “legitimate” reasons (if you really even need that) to get this tattoo.
If we expect to be treated with respect by people who don’t understand why we do the things we do, don’t we really have the obligation to do the same in return (especially in a case like this where it’s clearly not hurting anyone else — all arguments about Nike’s business practices aside)?