Tattoo Artist Loses Arm, Builds Tattoo-Drawing Prosthetic
JC Sheitan Tenet lost his arm 22 years ago, which stinks no matter what, but is especially rough if you're a tattoo artist like him. But fellow French artist and engineer Gonzal partnered with Tenet to create not just a prosthetic replacement, but an arm that could tattoo. They recently gave a demonstration at Tattoo Motor Show 8, a convention in Devézieux, France.
The idea started off as pure art, a kind of why-not kinetic sculpture. Lightness and simplicity were key in construction, as there's nothing worse than getting tangled up or weighed down while drawing on somebody else's skin.
What the device has in futurism it lacks in precision. Tenet must guide it with his shoulder, although the creators hope to add finger and wrist-like movements to the arm as soon as possible.
"What started out as a sculpture is now something that I can use," Tenet tells Motherboard. "[Gonzal and I] understood that we didn't have to recreate a hand as a prosthetic; we just had to create a tool that is better than a hand."
Source: Motherboard
