Body modification: are scars art?

Attractive : Pleasing to the eye or mind. What is pleasing to the eye or mind varies from culture to culture, person to person. Burmese Kayan women strive to achieve their beauty ideal, an elongated neck, by wearing multiple neck rings. Ear stretching has gained popularity in western culture in the last ten years or so and has been common in tribes around the world for many years. In fact, mummified bodies have shown the Egyptians were partial to a bit of ear stretching when having a rest from pyramid construction.

There are other less mainstream procedures that some people deem acceptable body modification or body 'art.' Body modification, according to our old fave wiki, is 'the deliberate altering of the human body for any non-medical reason, such as aesthetics, sexual enhancement, a rite of passage, religious reasons, to display group membership or affiliation, to create body art, shock value, or self expression.' These can vary from the mundane ear piercing to the quite barbaric process known as 'scarification,' purposely causing scars on one's body, usually in the form of designs, pictures, or words. This can be achieved through similar procedures to livestock branding or cutting, intentionally causing scars. This brings me to wonder, if people are causing their body trauma in the name of beauty, does this mean scars can be counted as art? The main difference between my scars and body modification scars is that the latter are completed with a finished product in mind. Despite this, there are patterns in my scars that will emerge as my body continues to heal. The artist Ted Meyer has taken beautiful impressions of scars and photographed the person who owns them, resulting in some emotive work. I had a particular affinity with 'burn on arm...'

Recently a friend of mine decided to have the scar on her head tattooed with a hair pattern resulting in an artistic piece of work. It makes me wonder how many people have chosen to have their scars re-interpreted in body modification? Apparently it's not an easy process as scar tissue is much thicker and more sensitive but it can be done. When I searched, I found lots of images showing people covering their scars with tattoos, mostly with beautiful results.

So here's the final question, are scars art? We didn't want them, we didn't ask for them but they're here to stay. People use their bodies as a canvas of their experience, tattooing them with images to remind them of poignant memories or perhaps the experiences that gave them strength...isn't that what scars are too?

Tattoo photos from the artist Ted Meyer: http://www.tedmeyer.com/home.html