Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When it comes to tattoos, everyone has their personal sense of style—they know what they like and they enjoy sharing it with the world. However, some ink designs can elicit a huge reaction on the internet, and it seems like pretty much everyone has an opinion.
Berlin-based tattoo artist Mykhailo, @mishaaaattt, recently went massively viral on TikTok after unveiling a new expensive design. However, it completely divided the internet and started a discussion about what art is and isn’t. Read on to see why. Bored Panda has reached out to Misha via Instagram, and we’ll update the article as soon as we hear back from him.
Tattoo artist Mykhailo went viral on TikTok after showing one of his designs. His video got 2.5 million views
The 21-year-old artist is based in Berlin and focuses on abstract ideas
Image credits: mishaaattt
Here's what the controversial tattoo looks like
Image credits: mishaaaattt
Image credits: mishaaaattt
Image credits: mishaaaattt
Image credits: mishaaaattt
Image credits: mishaaaattt
Image credits: mishaaaattt
The design, as well as the price, started a fiery discussion on the internet
21-year-old tattoo artist Mykhailo, from the German capital, Berlin, split the internet after filming a design that he inked on one client’s back. The tattoo was an abstract drawing of a flower. However, not everyone was a fan: some internet users thought that the flower looked more like scribbles, while others were astonished that the design cost that much money.
Others pointed out that what matters, in the end, is whether the client is happy and noted that paying that much money for a tattoo isn’t much different than buying an art piece that you might hang up in your house. Meanwhile, some folks said that this is “real art” and others quipped that it’s just another regular tattoo in Berlin.
From our perspective, at the end of the day, what’s important is that the person with the tattoo enjoys it and that the artist is happy with their work. If someone’s art starts a discussion, then that’s art done well.
At the time of writing, Misha’s TikTok has already gotten 2.5 million views and over 103k likes. The tattoo artist has 39k followers on the video-sharing platform and invites people to send him a message on his Instagram if they’re considering getting inked.
Image credits: Dan Prado (not the actual photo)
The artist had a hunch that his video would go viral
The tattoo artist told Insider that he knew his video would be a “viral hit” and defended his design. He told the outlet that the concepts of freedom and beauty inspired his tattoo and that the design was a collaboration with his client.
“I'm trying to complement not only their body shapes but personality as well," Mykhailo said.
In the video, the artist notes that the design cost 900 euros (around 985 dollars), however, he later told Insider that the actual cost was between 700 and 800 euros. He exaggerated the cost on purpose, believing that a higher-than-usual price and the “quite controversial and provocative” design would create “a viral mix.”
The artist had expected a certain amount of negativity after posting his design, but he wondered why some people had the time to comment on “random people on the internet.”
Image credits: mishaaattt
Many internet users tend to have very strong opinions about other people's tattoos
A while ago, one redditor explained to Bored Panda very clearly why so many people are so vocal about commenting on other folks' tattoos. "Tattoos are so popular these days and everyone has their own idea of what makes a good tattoo," they told us during an interview.
"So when somebody gets a tattoo which goes against your own taste, beliefs or opinions it can be amusing at best or downright cringeworthy or offensive at worst, so a lot of people have strong opinions on the subject matter," redditor u/Flowerlock said.
In the redditor's opinion, most people would be polite if they realized that the design didn't come out quite as they had hoped it would. "I think in all honesty most people would politely say to the tattoo artist that everything is fine and that they’re happy with it, almost try to fool themselves that this design that they have for life is okay and that they’re happy with it, but deep down you’re embarrassed to show it off to your friends and you become self-conscious of it," they shared their thoughts.
"After they’ve gotten over the initial stage of denying it and time has moved on I think most people would either laugh it off as a bad idea or try to cover it up with a better design as laser removal, I have heard, is excruciatingly painful."
Here's what the people who were against Mykhailo's design had to say
Meanwhile, the artist had plenty of supporters as well. Here are some of their thoughts
Here are some more of the Berlin-based artist's ink designs
Image credits: mishaaattt
Image credits: mishaaattt
Image credits: mishaaattt
Image credits: mishaaattt
Image credits: mishaaattt