Advancing Adhesives

Tapes Deliver a Sticky Situation to Reality Television Show Contestants

Packaging tape was the medium of choice for a recent challenge on Spike TV’s “Ink Master” reality TV show.

tape textured art — Contestants worked against the clock to complete their textured art masterpieces.

tape dispenser — A hand dispenser helped this artist create her desired look.

applying tape — One contestant started by applying thin pieces of tape to create a defined side profile.

art with tape — Contestants were tasked with achieving a rich level of contrast with varied shades and tones.

Supplied with countless rolls of packaging tape, the artists carried out their creative visions.

unique art — Contestants applied various techniques to make their pieces unique.

While tattoo artists might prefer to create their art with ink, contestants on Spike TV’s “Ink Master” reality television show recently found themselves in a sticky situation. Their challenge? To create textured art on a piece of Plexiglass—with nothing but tan packaging tape.

In the Season 8 episode, contestants were given a Flash Challenge to test their artistic skills for developing contrast, with the winner of the challenge earning the right to assign human canvases in the episode’s Elimination Challenge. To achieve the contrast needed to create their intricate face designs, contestants added different numbers of layers of tape, creating various shades and tones—all with a time limit of just 5 hrs!

Shurtape, a leading producer of pressure-sensitive tapes, provided the show with over 700 rolls of its HP 200 Production Grade Hot Melt Packaging Tape for the challenge.

“We honestly didn’t know what to expect when we provided our packaging tape to ‘Ink Master.’ In our world, packaging tape is a means to securely seal cases, so we were intrigued to see what these artists could create,” said Bradley Dunlap, product manager, packaging, at Shurtape. “To watch these artists bring those rolls of tape to life was amazing. Their creative abilities and attention to detail—from manipulating and wrinkling the tape to creating various patterns through layering—really allowed them to create a balance between light and dark, which resulted in some out-of-this-world pieces of art.”

The contestants drew, ripped and cut their way to clean, precise tape art that ranged from feminine profiles to street art-like designs. The contestants are vying for the top prize: the title of Ink Master and a $100,000 cash prize. ASI