Illusion Skull

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Shannon Larratt

I’ve seen a few tattoos that hide a skull inside a field of flowers or architecture or shadows and figures, but this illusion skull for me is my favorite yet, and maybe even has what it takes to become one of the iconic tattoos of the dotwork/geometric genre… I have no doubt you’ll see this tattoo forwarded endlessly over the next decade, so if you see it, let the world know that it’s the work of Kike Bugni (facebook.com/tattoosbybugni. I see a lot of amazing geometric, dotwork, and blackwork tattooing these days, but after a while they start to blend into each other, so it’s nice seeing one that really stands out and will never get mixed up with anyone else — until of course the inevitable copies start!

illusion-skull

Suspension Glory

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Shannon Larratt

Following up on the amazing static rigging I posted earlier today, I want to show some more of the amazing work that’s going on in the suspension world — some just stunning technical suspensions have been done at recent SusCons around the world. I want to show you a couple of Lotus suspension variants first. I’m not sure what I should call this — perhaps a “patriotic suspension” because the pose is reminiscent of a WWII bomber art pinup, which I think fits nicely not just with suspensions but with tattoos because it’s a motif that is often seen there. This was done at Suspension MECCA 2012, and the photo is by Rolf Buchholz.

the-patriot

This next lotus variant is more difficult, and also beautifully executed, a double lotus with the bottom one inverted, as if it’s a suspeded reflecting pool or something. The left photo, of the rigging being done, is by Rolf, and the right photo is by Steve Joyner. You can also see the esteemed Havve Fjell (Wings of Desire) doing the rigging in the photo — it’s amazing watching the best minds in suspension get together to create these moments. Now what’s next? Rigging the guy on the bottom traditional lotus style as well, and tossing both of them in a building sized rotisserie? Why the hell not?

All that fawning commentary said, I wonder if there is a point where we throw up our hands in a mix of humor and despair and walk out of the room? I mean, can suspensions ever jump the shark? If the asstronaut suspension couldn’t do it (and gosh there’s some fun stuff in that link), how about what Andrii Panchenko calls an “ass duet”, which is just what he’s doing here with his friend, photographed about two years ago.

Well, after 20,000 years or so people hanging from hooks, I figure it’s going to take a lot more than this to knock it out of our genome. I mean look, hang a guy from just one hook, and even the strength of two big guys won’t tear him down it’s so awesome (photo by Rolf Buchholz, Suspension MECCA 2012). Never coming down, never!!!

never-coming-down

Yes, it’s a tongue corset

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Shannon Larratt

I know, I know, you’re probably looking at this saying “this is the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen”, but let me give it a little context. Piercer Daniel (of Los 13 Tattoo in Sao Paulo) did this on his friend Fernanda Tsukada at the 2º Encontro Internacional de Tatuadores e Body Piercings do Brasil in July, hoping to win first place in the exotic piercing category… a desire which he achieved, taking home the gold medal or whatever it is they gave as recognition — the most important part being the motivation to continue creating unusual and gorgeous body play. Now, for those that think this is silly, I want to point out one very, very important thing: 99% of the corsets that are done are not done using jewelry that is suitable for long term wear. They are temporary projects. So why is it any worse to do it on a tongue, where at least there won’t be any long term scars left by the game, plus you can bet you’re giving the wearer and the public something they’ve rarely seen before? So what do you think… Is this over the line? Did we cross the line a long time ago? Or are you like me, and you deny the existence of the line entirely?

tongue-corset

Holiday Monday Morning Tattoo Fix

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Shannon Larratt

I want to share a couple great tattoos before I take off to go do other work. This first piece really blew me away with it’s subtle and artistic use of colour, almost as if it was done with chalks or pastels or something. I’m sure a lot of people don’t even want to believe it’s a tattoo and assume it’s body paint or something. This surfer is an amazing piece of work by Radu Rusu of Art and Soul Tattoo in Plymouth.

surfer-tattoo

The other piece I wanted to share isn’t quite as mind-blowing — and in fact, it’s not even complete yet — is this super fun Minecraft-themed piece that I know a lot of people will really go crazy for. It is of course by Tom Ruki of Tenacious Tattoo in Sheffield.

minecraft-tattoo

Creative Nostril Project

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Shannon Larratt

I wanted to share this creative and unique nostril project by Dana Dinius at HTC Body Piercing, Phoenix North. Another great example of taking a basic, accessible, mainstream set of piercings and turning them into something special that will turn the heads of both the jaded piercing elite and who don’t know the difference between a daith and a fourchette.

nostril-project

Another Rigging Masterpiece

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Shannon Larratt

I hope I am not miscrediting this photo that Steve Joyner took, but I believe this masterpiece of rigging is from the recent Suspension MECCA 2012. The level of technical perfection that suspension artists hold themselves to these days is awe inspiring. If you’d asked even the best to perform this static suspension fifteen years ago I’m certain their heads would have exploded — it used to be that in popular suspension you mostly saw Fakir Musafar’s influence, but now I see much more of Stelarc’s influence, with attention not just to personal ritual, but equally to artistry and technical detail.

staticmasterpiece

Star Horns

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Shannon Larratt

I like these star-shaped horns that have been perfectly placed underneath the wearer’s tattoos, I think adding some “intentionality” to a tattoo mix that otherwise looks a bit haphazard. This photo is from Ministry Tattoo Studio of Buenos Aires, Argentina at the El Tucuman Tattoo Festival, and the implants were done by Matias at Rata Body Art in Buenos Aires, Argentina

starhorns

The Dirtiest Tattoo You Will See Today

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Shannon Larratt

Ask yourself before clicking, “can anyone else see my monitor?”

Giving credit where it’s due, this is by the aforementioned Marcel Daatz (and as you can see if you clicked, he even signed the tattoo, which is unusual and worth mention in and of itself) from Munich. I came across this piece while researching the previous entry, and even though I wouldn’t normally instantly promote someone from a problematic entry, this piece is so hilarious and perfect that I just had to. I’ve seen a lot of hilarious navel tattoos, but this one has to be near the top of the list.

Changing industry ethics?

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Shannon Larratt

When you first look at these tattoos, maybe the first thing you say to yourself is, “wow, I didn’t know tattoos could shift that much with age!”

But then you realize that the chestpiece is on well known tattoo artist Toni Moore (of Broad Street Studio in Bath) by Tim Kern, and the neck piece is a knock off by Marcel Daatz at Extremetattoo in Munich. I know, not a line-for-line copy, but close enough that if you didn’t look at the pieces side-by-side you could easily assume they’re the same tattoo.s I often have more permissive feelings about copying than many of my friends in the industry, because it’s my opinion that tattooing has always been an artform that is built on appropriation, but this example of tattoo plaigiarism really upset me.

The reason this piece upset me so much is that Marcel Daatz appears to be a talented and capable tattoo artist. There is no need or excuse for him to be knocking off his peers’ work and claiming it as his own. It makes me very sad, and it’s an unfortunate comment on how many of the traditional tattoo culture ethics have been lost as this industry ages. I’m used to crap artists aping the pros. But for talented artists to rip each other off? To have so little respect for each other, for themselves, for the industry? It’s really heartbreaking.

What do you think? Where is the line? Is this an example of a professional backstabbing a peer? Or am I overreacting, and it’s been changed enough, and is instead an example of someone simply drawing inspiration from a well-known tattoo and getting “their own version”?

Cave Painting Tattoo

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Shannon Larratt

Given how many mummies and ice-men and “primitive” people we’ve unearthed covered head to toe with wonderful tattoos that would win awards at even today’s tattoo conventions, let alone whatever body art celebrations they had ten thousand years ago, it’s surprising to me that we don’t see more neolithic-inspired tattoos. On that note, I’m in love with this cave painting-inspired tattoo by André Cruz in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The motif works so nicely, and not just because I suspect that culturally there is a strong crossover between early cave painting and early body markings when it comes to the history of the human experience.

cavepainting-tattoo