# Frame the tattoo of a dead loved one!? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 12, 2015, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frame-the-tattoo-of-a-dead-loved-one/734408 "2015-10-12T07:45:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TheSpeculationElucidation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@TheSpeculationElucidation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSpeculationElucidation)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frame-the-tattoo-of-a-dead-loved-one/734408/41 "2015-10-19T06:30:40Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > My organs, including my untattooed skin, I’m happy to donate after my death, because I didn’t make them. My mom did, from recycled materials she got from dead plants and animals. I just kept growing them because there was no option to not do so. I’m happy to pass them along to those who can reuse them after I’m done with them. > > But my tattoos, those are mine. I thought of them, I designed them, and I paid money to have someone put them on me. I made them manifest, from inspiration to execution. They belong to me. People may admire them, but they may not have them. They may be the only things in my life that are only mine, and I’d like them to stay that way after my death. I like how you think. > [@Jophiel](#): > > Seems to me that, once you make the decision to give someone your skin, you’re simultaneously coming to terms with the fact that one day your skin will be sold at a garage sale or dropped off outside a Goodwill. HAH! I didn’t think of that. So true. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frame-the-tattoo-of-a-dead-loved-one/734408/42 "2015-10-19T14:20:38Z")
God, that’s just weird and ghoulish. Plus, I mean, do I really want a frame of some human skin with a Black Flag emblem on it hanging in the living room? (Assuming my husband predeceases me.) ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frame-the-tattoo-of-a-dead-loved-one/734408/43 "2015-10-20T03:24:15Z")
I find the practice of keeping ‘lock’ of head hair of the deceased to be incredibly bizarre/ghoulish. An actual piece of skin is beyond my comprehension. Perhaps as part of the ultimate ‘revenge from the grave’ scenario: Hey creep who earned my eternal enmity: I’m dead. A piece of me will be permanently affixed to your bedroom wall - my ‘Up Yours!’ tattoo will be the last thing you see every night as you fall asleep… ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frame-the-tattoo-of-a-dead-loved-one/734408/44 "2015-10-20T03:59:16Z")
If they really want to preserve the tattoo, why not have an artist do a reproduction print? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frame-the-tattoo-of-a-dead-loved-one/734408/45 "2015-10-20T14:49:27Z")
Voted no. Weirdly, I recently visited an exhibition about tatoos that included a number of preserved tatoos on human skin. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frame-the-tattoo-of-a-dead-loved-one/734408/46 "2015-10-20T20:41:34Z")
Photo or recreation? Sure. Actual skin? Hell no. That’s somehow even creepier than than human taxidermy. ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frame-the-tattoo-of-a-dead-loved-one/734408/47 "2015-10-22T20:59:24Z")
My grandfather had a tattoo on his left arm from his Korean War days that I admired and that also was the basis for a specific memory of how cool he was. When he died, I drew up a tribute tattoo that was essentially the same, just updated and tweaked to fit my aesthetic preferences, and got that tattooed on my left arm. That was how I chose for his tattoo to live on as mine. Most people enjoy the full story of why it was special to me, and it seems a little less creepy than mounting his skin would have been. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frame-the-tattoo-of-a-dead-loved-one/734408/48 "2015-10-22T21:46:05Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Or the skin made into a lampshade. A stained glass tattoo would look pretty with the light shining through it. OK, this one is appropriate! [![](http://www.nohopenofeartattoo.com/wp-content/gallery/james-small-tattoos/stained-skeleton.jpg) ](http://www.nohopenofeartattoo.com/wp-content/gallery/james-small-tattoos/stained-skeleton.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![PeasantSlayer69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58f4c7/32.png) [@PeasantSlayer69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeasantSlayer69)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frame-the-tattoo-of-a-dead-loved-one/734408/49 "2015-10-23T19:43:34Z")
> [@SpeedwayRyan](#): > > My grandfather had a tattoo on his left arm from his Korean War days that I admired and that also was the basis for a specific memory of how cool he was. When he died, I drew up a tribute tattoo that was essentially the same, just updated and tweaked to fit my aesthetic preferences, and got that tattooed on my left arm. > > That was how I chose for his tattoo to live on as mine. Most people enjoy the full story of why it was special to me, and it seems a little less creepy than mounting his skin would have been. If your grandfather had left you his tattoo, knowing fully that you would associate it with his memory, would you throw it in the trash? Or would you give it a chance, and try putting it on the wall? Would you still have altered that original design? Don’t have to answer I know its personal stuff ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frame-the-tattoo-of-a-dead-loved-one/734408/50 "2015-10-23T21:07:25Z")
A quick search indicates that this is very much a thing, especially in Japan. I’m not tattooed, but if I were and were approached by a reputable museum like [this guy](http://www.vice.com/read/the-art-of-preserving-tattooed-skin-after-death-629) I’d agree. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frame-the-tattoo-of-a-dead-loved-one/734408/51 "2015-10-25T00:36:51Z")
> [@PeasantSlayer69](#): > > If your grandfather had left you his tattoo, knowing fully that you would associate it with his memory, would you throw it in the trash? Or would you give it a chance, and try putting it on the wall? Would you still have altered that original design? Don’t have to answer I know its personal stuff I’m not **SpeedwayRyan** , but yes, yes I would trash it. Or find a proper way to dispose of it. Like it or not, this has very negative associations due to history. And no, I don’t want the “real thing”. Ashes are in an urn. They’re not displayed in a picture frame. (However, I would prefer to bury them) ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frame-the-tattoo-of-a-dead-loved-one/734408/52 "2015-10-26T13:14:49Z")
> [@PeasantSlayer69](#): > > If your grandfather had left you his tattoo, knowing fully that you would associate it with his memory, would you throw it in the trash? Or would you give it a chance, and try putting it on the wall? Would you still have altered that original design? Don’t have to answer I know its personal stuff If, after he died, a company contacted me and said “your grandfather wanted you to have this” and gave me the (meaningful to me) tattoo nicely displayed in a frame, I certainly wouldn’t throw it away…but I like tattoos and see them as art, and I am not all that hung up on what happens to our bodies after we die. I do see why some people view it as a bit distasteful, though. That said, I am 100% happy with the way I did things. I carry the tribute as a part of me instead of just displaying it, and while it’s not the original tattoo, there are some deeper connections and importance that come with that, to me at least. Side note: altering the design on my part was basically a result of not having a photo of the original tattoo – I was recreating a simple design from memory, so it was inherent that my personal aesthetic (I am a designer by trade) would become a part of it. It’s largely text, so the “message” is 100% consistent with the original. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/frame-the-tattoo-of-a-dead-loved-one/734408.md?page=2)