Most Americans Think of Tattoos as a Form of Art According to New Zogby Poll

Most Americans Think of Tattoos as a Form of Art According to New Zogby Poll

- Dennis Rodman Most Famous Celebrity Cited for His Body Art -

- Attitudes Toward Tattoos Shifting to Mainstream -

SILVER SPRING, Md., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Tattoos and body art are gaining acceptance in mainstream culture according to a July 2005 Zogby International poll. The findings of the poll, commissioned by TLC on the heels of the successful premiere of its new series MIAMI INK on July 19, 2005, gauge Americans' attitude toward the art of tattoo. In a nationwide telephone poll of 1,042 interviewees conducted between July 26 and 30, 2005, seven questions about tattooing were asked. The margin of error is +/- 3.2 percentage points. Among the findings:

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030530/TLCLOGO )

* 54% agreed that tattoos are a form of art, while 40% disagreed and 6% were not sure. Respondents living on the West Coast are the most likely to believe that tattoos are a form of art (60%). Those living in the central/Great Lakes region are the most likely to be divided, with 50% saying it is a form of art, and 44% saying they do not think it is.

* 31% named Dennis Rodman as the most famous celebrity or athlete with tattoos, followed by Angelina Jolie, Mike Tyson, Pamela Anderson and Shaquille O'Neal.

* 27% believed that people with tattoos were expressing their personality or themselves artistically, 9% believed people with tattoos were seeking attention, and a great many (55%) thought there were a myriad of other reasons or weren't sure.

* 21% responded that, if they had to get a tattoo, the upper arm would be the location their body to receive ink; 16% said back, 16% said ankle or foot, and 5% said buttocks.

* 91% said that a celebrity or famous athlete with a tattoo had no influence on their choice to get a tattoo.

* Only 2% of those with tattoos feel that they have experienced discrimination because of a tattoo. But among those who have faced social discrimination, most (33%) were made fun of, followed by those (16%) who experienced work-related discrimination (lack of promotion, turned down for a job or lost a job).

TLC set up shop in South Beach to take viewers inside the colorful, painful, intriguing world of tattoo artistry in MIAMI INK. In the series, four friends -- a motley crew of cutting-edge, humorous and well-regarded young guys and best friends -- open and run a custom tattoo parlor. The resident artists -- Ami James, Chris Nunez, Chris Garver and Darren Brass -- all with world-class talent and dynamic personalities -- live and work together to promote the art of tattoo while running a new business. MIAMI INK shows them in and out of their workspace from noon 'til night -- and follows their late-night shenanigans, brotherly hazing and camaraderie. Apprentice Yoji Harada is there to soak up all of the artists' knowledge and experience - - and to meet their every need, desire and whim so he can one day begin his own tattooing in earnest.

Viewers can go online to http://www.tlc.com/, where they will find further video biographies on our resident artists, online galleries of the guys' artwork, listings of some of the famous celebrities and athletes they have worked on, background on tattoos and much more.

MIAMI INK is produced by Original Media for TLC. Charlie Corwin is the executive producer for Original Media, and Matt Gould is the executive producer for TLC.

TLC is dedicated to high-quality, intelligent and relatable nonfiction entertainment: authentic personal stories that inspire, engage, inform and unite our audience in the spirit of life's possibilities. TLC intimately connects more than 94 million homes in North America to the human experience through its "Life Unscripted" approach to storytelling. Discovery Networks, U.S., a unit of Discovery Communications, Inc., operates and manages Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery HD Theater, Discovery Kids Channel, Discovery Times Channel, The Science Channel, Discovery Home Channel, Military Channel, Discovery en Espanol and FitTV. The unit also distributes BBC AMERICA in the Unites States. Visit TLC on the Web by going to http://www.tlc.com/.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030530/TLCLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk +1-888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840

Source: TLC

CONTACT: Brian Eley of TLC, +1-240-662-2957, Brian_Eley@discovery.com;
or Rebecca Wittman of Zogby, +1-315-624-0200 x230, rebecca@zogby.com

Web site: http://www.tlc.com/

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