Gallery: Frances Bean Cobain’s Tattoos, Decoded

Quentin Crisp was an English writer, humorist, and gay icon. His wry wit and fearless prose made him a pioneer of gay culture that a lot of people still look up to. He was especially known for his work in theater and film.

Frances grew up loving musical theater, and Courtney once referred to her as "a gay man trapped in a woman's body, like me." So it makes sense that she would look up to Crisp.

This French phrase translates literally to "art is the solution to chaos." My one semester of college French tells me it's spelled right, but is it idiomatically correct? One of my Francophone friends says she will accept it, while another says it's definitely wrong, at least technically speaking. Hmm.

In any case, it's a noble sentiment, and one that tells me she finds strength in creativity. (Did you know she makes art? Now you do.)

This little cartoon guy has been identified as Seymour Sunshine, a character from Al Columbia's comic "The Biologic Show." Columbia's strange, unsettling comics have been cited as inspirations by My Chemical Romance's Gerard Way and TV On The Radio's Tunde Adebimpe, and his influence is also evident in Bean's raw drawings.

These sad lyrics are taken from Jeff Buckley's "Grace":

"There's the moon asking to stay
Long enough for the clouds to fly me away
Well it's my time coming, I'm not afraid to die."

Frances Bean Cobain has better taste in music than your average Gothically inclined teen. Also, sources say it's a bro tat with her best friend.

It's also worth noting that her mom has a text tattoo in the exact same spot. (She got matching tattoos with her old day-to-day manager, Taylor Mason.) Tribute to Mama Love, or mere coincidence?

Her flower tattoo also looks a lot like one (or rather, several) her mother has. (The image at right is taken from tattoo artist Scott Campbell's blog; there's one with Courtney's face in it, but it's kind of NSFW.) Are these mother daughter tattoos?

No idea what the rest of this tattoo says. Maybe it's a Bowie reference?

These look like they're really pretty, although it's hard to tell without a better photo. Also, getting your ribs done hurts like hell, so kudos to her for being brave.