For or against refugees? Above all, we should see people like us in them, so I think it’s a really good idea to show some of the refugees’ tattoos and tell, very briefly, about stories behind these tattoos. Suddenly, refugees aren’t just nameless intruders but people with stories, background, families, past and present traumas, overall worth to be welcomed and helped. A bit in the same vein are these traditional tattoos on Kurdish women.
Jochen Auer, the founder of the Wildstyle and Tattoo Messe – an interesting interview.
Finally, for all of us who kind of think that looks really matter – how to dress to complement our tattoos. Not surprisingly, black is always a good color! 😉
Not judging a book by its cover is such an old adage that one may think everyone knows better by now. Sadly, that’s not the case! If even a fraction of the claims of the guy in question here is true, then it’s quite outrageous!
On the other end of the spectrum (and there’s always the opposite end of it!) we have tattoos as a means to honor, remember, cherish: inked Mommas honor and cherish memories of their lost kids, police officers and their families commemorate the fallen or traumatic events quite common in this line of job.
And there are those inked “good-for-nothing monsters” who put lots of thoughts and efforts to help their local communities like this recent example nicely shows!
How is it possible that there are people who see only unconventionally colored skin and are totally blind to the souls living inside?
sure the pendulum swings both ways and sooner or later the media will tell us how passe the tattoos are but for now, it’s good to know that there are more and more and more of freaks/ posers/ mentally disturbed/ social renegades/ whatever out there. We are everywhere, so beware! 😉
Zlatan Ibrahimovicand hisnew tattoosmake headlineson the Internet but this time it’s more than just gossip! Ibrahimovic’s temporary tattos are a statement trying to turn our attention to millions of those who suffer from hunger all over the world. In the countries where people suffer more from obesity than starvation and where food gets so often just thrown away, it’s definitely much needed!
There was a lot of articles and images from the tattoo convention in Venezuela. Most of them were ‘awe-and-cringe’ sort, so they weren’t worth being mentioned. This one is a bit different as it not only lets you see but also makes you listen to the people from the pictures and try to udnerstand the reasoning behind their decision!
And just when you started thinking that it actually possible and doable to present body modification in a reasonable way, you come across a gem like this one; my nightmares may be haunted by ppl responsible for writing such pieces 😉
But also from Switzerland comes a cool photo project focused on before/ after motif with a twist. This time it’s ‘before’ that makes people who they really are.
Eyeball tattooing in the Washington Post. How popular has this mod become, huh?
But even when it seems that the whole world is against you, there are still some rays of sunshine (even if they make your tattoos fade 😉
Chris Baker and his Ink 180 where he helps ex-gang members, ex-cons, victims of domestic violence, victims of sex trafficking and others overcome their past and traumas and start anew! Chris Baker is a good man in the first place but he also happens to be a tattoo artist.
That’s actually a joke as I don’t really like the celeb stuff but seeing how I sometimes get to watch the Voice of Germany … Samu Haber and his tattoos.
A trailer and an article promoting ‘Tattoo Nation” doc.
And straight from the Modblog (it’s nice when they update) about a documentary about Mark ‘Little Swastika’ whose work has been admired by many for years.
If you’re into body modification, you know who Fakir Musafar is! You should know his early experiments with corsetry, his modern primitive incarnation, his involvement into the modern body modification scene. It’s always interesting to see him featured in the news, so I loved reading this article on a Suscon that just took place in Dallas and what Musafar had to tell participants about body suspension:
“I want the kids at Suscon to really understand what they’re doing. This is not part of scientific culture. It came from somewhere, you’ve borrowed it, you’ve acclimated it, you’ve adapted it, without understanding where it came from, you miss out on parts of the experience,” Musafar says. “It’s an old and honorable tradition and this is what they did and why they did it. And now here’s what we’re doing today.”
here’s a video of Musafar and Jim Ward doing their (own version of ) Sundance. It’s very interesting to watch, especially if you are coming from the modern way of looking at body suspension. Reading the comments is also interesting as it shows from how many POV it can be perceived.
I’ve never heard about James Hall a.k.a. Blue Man and stumbled upon this tidbit of info only thans to an article about a tattoo convention in Baltimore. Another article is quite old (2009) but the link still works, so enjoy reading it and meeting Mr. Hall! He seems a very fascinating person. Not only he went for a total body suit but also is an Ivy League graduate, a retired city planner and sems a nice man! He’s one of these people who show you, no matter how critical towards body modification you may be, that being modified (and really heavily at that) doesn’t mean you are an idiot and that you never know how modified may be all these people you come across in your life! Life is full of surprises and that’s the best about it! 🙂
‘Tattoos are for idiots’ text (as it’s hard to call it a decent article) is worth reading for comments’ worth mainly as it shows how something so seemingly common and so really ingrained in human culture as tattoos is still able to excite people. Seeing how the text was signed by one Joe Soap, maybe it’s more about provocation and some s%&t stirring than anything else but, sadly, opinions like the ones expressed here are not uncommon.
An interesting voice in this discussion could be added by an American senior from OH who claims that ‘tattoos are opposed by Scripture’ and tries to convince us that there’s a way to deal with this evil: ‘Otherwise-beautiful people are ruining their appearances with tattoos and piercings. It is nauseating to look at a food server with a pierced tongue and/or multiple tattoos. We can fix that ourselves, by not going to those restaurants.’ Religious tattoos are also a big no-no which must be a big news for these guys here.
Hopefully the OH senior didn’t read this article about a tattoo artist Scott Campbell who took part in a very interesting art project involving tattoos, teenagers and volunteers ready to believe in the kids’ abilities and potential. As Scott Campbell put it, “The volunteer promises, from that day onward, even if they never see or speak to each other again, to always look at that tattoo [designed by the teens and tattooed on the volunteers] and believe in that kid.” Here’s Scott Campbell talking about the project! Unusual? Certainly! Creative? Sure enough. Evil? Hell no!
Two other, less known but still interesting tattoo artists: Big Sleeps, an expert on Cholo lettering, and a CO-based Brian Thurow.
For everyone judging you by the way you look only, there’s an article about Muslim immigrants in Greece to read – their pain and hard life lessons are obvious in the article.
11 things to know about piercings is something entirely different, of course, but such is a format of this blog and that’s also the way I’m wired 😉
Ear-lobe reconstruction – an article and a video from Canada; in case you’d ever be interested in it.
Rob Zombie, who’s both tattooed and in love with horror aesthetics, was a guest judge on Master Ink and – if you are lucky (due to my location, I wasn’t!) – you may be able to watch this episode on here. For everyone else, here’s another video by Zombie:
We have our bodies but it’s the media and consumerism that dictate us how our bodies should look and we all know that. Is this new imperfect mannequin trend going to change anything and allow us to accept our imperfections? I doubt it and see it more as yet another way to get into our pockets and wallets but still, it’s interesting to see.
Another, even worse example of creating false images of people is photoshopping and recently Lena Dunham created some uproar (with a little help from jezebel blog – this post shows changes in the pictures). Pic doctoring demands some serious thinking process – we all do that, we all play with the way we look, we all pretend who we are(at least to a degree). What is right, what is wrong? Are we manipulated totally? To what degree we are also manipulators?
A big tattoo conventionin Philadelphia is just taking place and it’s a huge performance and game to create a certain image as well. The industry is booming, though – over 800 artists from all over the world, thousands of visitors and lots of entertainment!
In another place of the world, Caracas, another tattoo convention is taking place and it also celebrates not only self-expression but also a human ability to re-create ourselves for many reasons. Stereotypes aside, the Bild magazine put is quite nicely: “doch hinter den Farben auf der Haut und dem Stahl darunter verbergen sich Geschichten von Menschen, die brutal aussehen, aber zärtlich lieben und ihre inneren Kämpfe außen tragen.”
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