To talk about the film Color Outside the Lines, you must first talk about black people in art. It has always been quite difficult to emerge as just an artist. You were always a Negro artist. You were always an Afro-American artist. You were always an African-American artist. You were always a Black artist. You were always a colored artist. You were never, simply, an artist. We can speak about Jean-Michel Basquiat, but it would be irresponsible to speak about him without mentioning that half of his insanity and demise was built on the fact that he couldn’t escape the bricks walls that is being confined and defined by your color (and all the stigma that is attached to it) versus by your creations.
Even today, who you are be it your gender, sexual orientation, religion, and race will be the forerunner of who you are as an artist, and your art always comes second. Always. There are two ways to look at it; as a hindrance or as a gift. James Baldwin was asked in an interview about being born black, gay, and impoverished. A reasonable answer would be that it was horrible, and no one could rightfully blame him for thinking that, especially in the 1960’s. His answer, instead, was that he ‘hit the jackpot’. The plight you are afforded can magically transform into the solid foundation you’ll need to cut through from being one amongst many to being legendary, well, assuming your work is good enough. Now, we can talk about Color Outside the Lines.
Color Outside The Lines is a documentary filmed by Artemus Jenkins and created by tattooing icon, Miya Bailey. I was invited to a private screening in Mr. Bailey’s art studio this past Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, and didn’t know quite what to expect. Admittedly, I was ignorant of the strides that Black people had to go through in order to be able to tattoo and be respected in a white dominated field, though it makes sense. “Color Outside The Lines” talks to legendary black tattoo artist like Zulu about their journey in the field. The film travels from New Orleans, Amsterdam, London, and Atlanta (home of Miya Bailey’s City of Ink) and illustrates the culture and history of color people in the tattoo industry. Sometimes, the movie is poignant. The interviewees explore the absence of not only black tattoo artists, but the ignorance of how to properly tattoo black skin by white tattoo artists which results in less than satisfactory work. Sometimes, the movie is timely. There’s a whole section dedicated to the backlash of ‘scratchers’ (tattooists that make cheaply made tattoos for even cheaper prices) and the rap culture that dishonors the benefits of getting great artwork done. It’s always, however, captivating. Ten minutes into the movie, you already feel invested in this culture. You see the struggle black tattoo artists went through personally and professionally. You even see the first tattoo pieces by acclaimed tattoo artists such as, Tuki Carter, before they became the skilled artists they are today. “Color Outside the Lines” manages to gracefully talk about a vast culture in an extremely intimate and comprehensible way, even if you are ignorant to it all.
Yes, Color Outside The Lines is about black people tattooing, but it’s about more fundamentally. It’s about the audacity of the artist. It’s about being in the ghetto and dreaming of fortune, and pursuing it. It’s about being in a violent place, but still having the nerve to love. It’s about living in a Godless world, but still creating. It’s about tattooing vivid colors onto skin with generous amounts of melanin when people said it simply can’t be done.
On even further inspection, the idea of colored folks not being accepted in the tattoo culture comes off almost silly. The actual art of ink to skin was birthed in Africa. But, it’s not just because of the history, it’s because of the history of black art and the colored people experience in America, as a whole. Collectively, no matter what the profession or creative level, we’re all a people dedicated to being strong, rebelling (picketing, sitting in, protesting), sacrificing, and still being proud. I can’t think of any more appropriate physical manifestation of those characteristics than a needle stabbing one’s skin, injecting ink, and resulting in a piece of art you can be proud of and present to the public.
Color Outside The Lines is a film birthed by Artemus Jenkins and Miya Bailey, but like all things birthed, they grow on their own into something not-so anticipated by the creators. Color Outside The Lines grew from a documentary about black tattoo culture into a statement about the future of what it means to be an artist of color. Jenkins and Bailey have obviously hit a similar jackpot as James Baldwin alluded to in that interview in the 1960’s. I say, watch the film, get some ink, and hit your own jackpot.
