Published in October 2011, the Body Art 2 book is, in my opinion, much more interesting than its predecessor! While the first part of the series (?) was all about beginner’s stuff so to speak (the history of body modification, advice to the potential tattooees and piercees etc.), this volume focuses on the real stuff!
In a way, this book looks a little like encyclopedia as its main focus is not only on amazing (shocking?) its readers but also on educating them as very interesting to read ‘Body Mod Masterclasses’(8 in total) show. The ‘classes’ cover such fascinating subjects as ear pointing, scarification (again but this time from a bit different angle), eyelid piercing and (hard to read for me!) nullification. Concise and informative these pieces of knowledge are and quite a good start point for your future plans.
A strong point of the Body Art series is interviews with the industry peopIe and this time it’s a good part of this book again. In Body Art 2 there are interviews with the *in*famous Paully Unstoppable and Zombie Boy but the editors also offer us a chance to meet two fascinating women, Elayne Angel (as shown in the pictures and in-between the words, she’s not only beautifully modified but also very bright and quite humble) and Isobel Varley who seems to be blessed with a sense of humor.
Even more educative flavor is offered in chapters devoted to the profession of tattoo artist and tattoo conventions, so those willing to learn will find here quite a lot (so it’s not only for gawkers!). The permanent features include short sections devoted to readers’ tattoos and there are – of course – a few pages devoted only to ‘Ultra Vixens’, so the (fe)male part of the Bizarre’s readership will find some eyecandy here.
All in all, a very nice although quite shocking at times book that should land on shelves of those of us interested in the body mod subject.
Body Art 2, Titan Books 2011