This October I asked a few tattoo artists about their thoughts on the upcoming election. Half indicated being frustrated with the system. They were not confident that effort on their part would change anything, so they didn't bother. The other half was very motivated to change the direction in which our country is headed, but they didn't necessarily know how they could achieve that change. It was very weird to hear people with so much influence asking how they can bring about change; as many of these same tattoo artists change lives every day through their work! It occurred to me that with 15% + of Americans sporting tattoos, these artists have a direct voice to this constituency. As leaders in this industry and culture, we do have the power to make people think a little more about their lives, how the government affects their lives and the lives of their friends and families, and what each of us as individuals can do to help motivate people to change their lives and society as a whole for the betterment of all Americans.

The United States of America is a great country, but some of the very important checks and balances have been thrown out of whack. This country's governmental structure was implemented to ensure that the power of any one person was not great enough to corrupt the country. Just follow the numbers, and you will see how the elite, at the expense of the population, is once again monopolizing the power, and tightening their grip. More and more hard working people are falling into the poor working class, and the rich and powerful at the top are bloated with their gains as a result. I believe the power in our country is consolidating in ways that are very harmful for the majority of the population. I believe the beneficiaries of this power do not share my sense of morals or my vision of what our country can be. I am very busy trying to support my family, but I realize that I cannot wait until next year to do my part and voice my ideas and beliefs.

The Internet has massive implications about easy mass global communication, and its effects are enormous (and still coming boyo!). The gatekeepers of information are changing, and the ability to hold power through deceptive media is weakening every day and that's my channel. I can't wait to be one of those rich people working towards diverting power to the poor but for now, I'm one of the working poor trying to divert as much power our way as I can.

But how? As artists, each of us communicates through art in the most powerful of ways. Art challenges the viewer to think beyond the image, to make meaningful connections that words alone may not be able to inspire. It occurred to me that by organizing a traveling art show featuring the work of leaders in the industry, we could share their visions in a meaningful and thoughtful way with the tattoo community and beyond.

The revolution is free art show is my efforts to take our hard work and dedication and turn it into a voice, which will cause people to think about how they influence their world. We all have been taught from a young age that we don't have the power to effect change, and after the last election, it's easy to believe. Disillusionment with the political system is understandable, but disengagement is not. No matter what your politics, it is safe to assume that everyone believes our nation should be made up of critically thinking, compassionate individuals who engage in society and politics.

One keystone in reaching this goal is to ensure that our population is as educated as possible. We need to guarantee the next generation will be challenged to think in this way, and not to be compartmentalized into a consumer mindset, in which they only understand twenty-second sound bites. One way children learn these critical thinking skills is through exposure to the arts, but through our current education model, the arts in public schools are becoming a thing of the past. Our government stresses test scores and grades, and little or no emphasis is placed on creativity and self-expression. Thus it falls on us, as a society, to make sure our children and future generations receive arts education by making our case as loudly as possible. We plan to address this by donating the proceeds of the show, after costs, to further this cause by assisting arts educators in receiving the training and mentoring they need to further their missions, and also to supporting further research on the value of arts in education to better support our case.

Through the artistic exploration featured in this show, I hope to promote a dialogue regarding how tattoo artists see the modern world and it's power structure, and how the viewers feel about the same subjects. The project is all about change, so the show will also illustrate how they would like to see society and the world change, and the artist's ultimate visions of the future. The show will travel nationally to six host tattoo shops with gallery space. Each shop will host the show for two months, before it moves to its next location. During that time it is my hope that local tattoo enthusiasts and artists alike will view the show, and engage in further dialogue and thought on these important issues. Because the host shops also feature gallery space, I also anticipate visitors who may not necessarily be a part of the tattoo community, but who may be interested in the featured topics, so thus our voice is heard more extensively. We will also produce a CD-ROM, which will feature music as well as the artist's work, and we are also investigating the possibility of publishing a book regarding the project. In addition to the featured works, we will also promote and distribute flash sets related to the subjects during the tour. In this way, the work of tattoo artists across the nation will continue to have an impact even after the tour ends.

Folks, we are the people who make history. The most genuine and pure goal of our lives is to do a little bit each day to make our world a better place. It is my hope that this project will make a difference. If you would like to take part, please click here to contact us.