There’s just some internet memes that are just too easy to use. The “This is Sparta!” one, while long dead, still rears its ugly head from time to time, especially when you get a glimpse of something like this scarification piece that IAM: Eroswastika recently cut into one of his clients.
It’s hard to say if the owner of the scar is a fan of the comic or the film (or perhaps both), but it’s reasonable to assume he is a fan of Miller’s work.
In case you can’t tell by the photo, the scar is located on his bicep, right above the ditch. You can get another look at it from a different angle by checking out the skin removal scarification gallery.
I try to post a variety of images every day to ModBlog. And with every image I post, I try my best to make a story around it. I see a tattoo of Prince’s love symbol, and I think of both the artist and the dedication of his fans. I see a candid image from a pulling performance, and think of the outer expressions of inner pain.
Then I see an image like this…
…and I’m at a loss for words.
Which of course got me to thinking, what is it about certain images and action that can take our breath away. To render even the most expressive of us speechless. Is it some base instinct that we have, like the fight or flight reactions, that when we are emotionally overwhelmed we react by silencing ourselves? Or is it a cultural phenomenon, where we’ve been raised in a world where the effects of the Romantic period have permeated our collective consciousness. The moment where our minds are presented with an overwhelming amount of emotional stimulation causes us to take pause and reflect on the images before we are able to express ourselves and our reactions.
Now that I’ve had a moment to reflect on the image, I think that it conveys exactly what I was just talking about. We have this woman looking outwards her lips bound by a black ribbon woven through her piercings. You see through her eyes that she has something to say, but for the moment she cannot speak. It is only when the ribbon is removed, can she express herself fully. So we too, in those moments when everything falls away and we get lost in the image, have our lips bound, not by ribbon, but by our own minds. We pause, holding everything in until the right moment, when we can remove our own ribbons and are free to speak again.
I want to thank BMEzine.com member Scissor_Kitty for submitting this image to the piercing galleries. So while you may not like every image in the galleries, there are certainly enough images in there that can take your breath away, simply through the story the image is telling.
When looking for a video to open this post with I came to understand exactly why I’ve always thought Prince Rogers Nelson is one of the greatest musicians of all time. There isn’t anything he can’t do. Although to be fair, I’ve never seen him cook an omelet. Think about it, this little dude from Minnesota has over the course of his life (so far) has put out 10 platinum albums and over 30 top40 singles, not to mention the hundreds of awards he’s got lining his walls.
Granted The Artist hasn’t gone without his share of controversy. In the early 80s it was his song Darling Nikki that prompted Tipper Gore to push for explicit lyrics sticker that everyone who has owned a CD should be familiar with. Of course nobody can forget when he changed his name to which caused writers everywhere to go crazy trying to figure out how to spell his new name. His record label troubles made front pages everywhere, especially after he started appearing in public with the word “SLAVE” written on his face. There was also the rumors that always circulated about him. How he would change his clothes 20 times a day, how he has this vault of thousands of songs that are locked away, and of course his “awakening” (his words) which led him to become a Jehovah’s Witness, which Kevin Smith mocked mercilessly during one of his Q&A videos.
So is it any wonder that his fans are so passionate about him? The Purple Yoda has consistently produced incredible works of music, and in 2007 performed that Superbowl half-time show in the video that people describe as the best show ever. While some may only think of him for his pop songs from the 80s and 90s, others for his soul albums, some admire his films, and well, some just love The Bat Dance, many people tend to forget that he is consistently rated one of the top 10 guitarists ever to perform.
IAM: mook is one such fan of Prince, and recently got a tattoo that shows her love of His Purple Badness.
I’ll admit I did giggle a little when I saw it next to the bat symbol.
But mook here does show her passion for one of her favorite artists. Music is a powerful thing, it can bring about feelings of love, sadness, anger, and more, simply by listening to it. If tattoos are meant to be an external representation of our inner feelings, to identify with a particular artist is something that can seem natural to some people. I can’t count the number of Nine Inch Nails, Misfits, or Tool tattoos I’ve seen over the years, so the band tattoo is hardly a new thing. Just take a look at the music galleries on BME and you’ll see artists and musicians from all genres represented.
I suppose the question that could be asked it, what is it about a specific band or artist that can touch your soul to the point that you need to have them become one with your skin?
I’m probably the furthest thing from a religious scholar you will find, but during my years in university I did come across a large number of texts that were either directly tied to the church, or at least were influenced by it. Now the term “gargoyle” refers to any sculpture (usually in the form of an animal or person) that is designed to allow water to fall away from the edges of a building to prevent erosion. Over the years people have just adopted the term to apply to any decorative sculpture on the roof of a building.
The reason I bring up the religious side of gargoyles is that centuries ago, when being illiterate was the norm, the church needed ways to convey their stories and rituals to the masses. What better way to educate an illiterate crowd than through images. It was here that the myth of the gargoyle began. As the story goes, St. Romanus encountered a monster in his travels, your typical dragon type creature that breathed fire. Well when Romanus defeated the creature, he brought its body back to be burned, but discovered that the head wouldn’t burn because the dragon breathed fire and the head was adapted to heat. So he hung the head on the outside of the church to ward off evil spirits. Over time the churches would add their own stone gargoyles to the outside of the building in order to let people know that outside the church evil lurks, but inside they will be protected.
Now of course when I was growing up gargoyles were just scary looking statues that eventually came to be “cool” in my young eyes. I suppose that was aided by the Disney cartoon. Of course I’m not the only person walking the planet that enjoys looking at gargoyles. Bromley_Daz submitted this image to BME the other day, and I think it’s safe to assume he enjoys gargoyles as well.
It’s always nice to see images added to the mythological and religious gallery, because often there is a good story behind the designs. This image in particular reminds me that every culture around the world has developed their own wards against evil. Be it symbols or rituals, these wards have become much more than just a repellent to evil. The gargoyle being a prime example of that. What first started as a way to protect buildings from erosion, a practice that pre-dates Christianity by centuries, eventually became a symbol of warning to people. As time passed, these statues became the guardians of the the buildings they were installed on, until eventually they were regarded primarily for their historical significance and their art.
Now while I don’t feel the need to possess any particular wards against evil, I do own a Rangda mask that hangs on my wall, that I really like the aesthetics of. How about you? Do you possess any symbols that can be attributed to warding off the evils of the world?
One of the perks of having a membership to BMEzine.com is that you gain access to the Surgical and Hard galleries. For those that have never had the opportunity to see these galleries, may not be aware that there are special bonus galleries that are dedicated to individual members. No topic is taboo, and these individuals are continually pushing the boundaries of modifications and mod-related play. Often you’ll get a glimpse of some of these sections in ModBlog’s regular “Guess What?” feature. Today I opted for just sharing a simple picture with you. Now while this is probably on the very tame side of what you can expect to see, it is still an interesting image to share.
To be on the safe side, I’m going to hide it behind a clickthrough just in case a co-worker happens to be walking by.
See, I told you it was tame. But like I also said, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what you can see.
My only concern about this play piercing session is wouldn’t it be difficult to sit down with all those needles poking out?
Ok, fess up, what did you think was going to be behind the clickthrough based on the headline?
Be free all worthy spirits, and stretch yourselves, for greatness and for height.
–George Chapman
Today I’ve spent a bit of time focusing on the work of the artists that make up our community. Specifically the works of one artist, but the idea is there. What doesn’t get discussed a lot on ModBlog is the DIY aspect of the modification community. Now the DIY modification enthusiasts range from the simplest of piercings, to some of the hardest modifications and play sessions that are covered by BME. Due to the nature of the broad spectrum that DIY covers, it is impossible write a post about every aspect without getting complaints from people about writing the longest ModBlog post ever. What I do hope to do is feature DIY stories more frequently as there are a tremendous amount of photos of DIY modifications in pretty much every category of photo.
For today, I thought it would be nice to go with something simple. Now the headline may be a bit misleading but it will make sense if you follow along.
So, what would you say is the most popular form of DIY modification? In all honesty, I don’t have any numbers to back me up, but I think a safe bet would probably be lobe stretching. I think it is safe to say that the majority of people with stretched lobes have at some point performed the stretching themselves, probably without even realizing that they were adding their names to the list of DIY modified people.
A lot of what makes the DIY movement so significant is that it is taking the next step in control over the body. While everyone getting mods is doing it for their own personal reasons, they all are in essence changing their bodies to what they want, primarily through the help of practitioners. What DIY means to many is the opportunity to make the changes that they want but by their own hands. This means that by performing any mod by yourself, you are singlehandedly pushing the limits of control you have over your body, changing it to what you want it to be.
One person in particular who was kind enough to send in an image of a DIY modification is IAM: tiny.vertebrae.
From what I can tell, it appears she’s using a piece of wood to stretch out her own lobes.
So while lobe stretching is fairly common when it comes to DIY modifications, it is still a process that is being undertaken by those who are choosing to modify themselves under their own power. I know someone is thinking it, and yes this isn’t the limit in which a lobe can or has been stretched, but in the moment captured in the image, the stretching is pushing the limits of what came before.
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath (or polymathic person) may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable. Most ancient scientists were polymaths by today’s standards.
The terms Renaissance man and, less commonly, Homo Universalis (Latin for “universal man” or “man of the world”) are related and used to describe a person who is well educated or who excels in a wide variety of subjects or fields. The idea developed in Renaissance Italy from the notion expressed by one of its most accomplished representatives, Leon Battista Alberti (1404–1472): that “a man can do all things if he will.” It embodied the basic tenets of Renaissance humanism, which considered humans empowered, limitless in their capacities for development, and led to the notion that people should embrace all knowledge and develop their capacities as fully as possible. Thus the gifted people of the Renaissance sought to develop skills in all areas of knowledge, in physical development, in social accomplishments, and in the arts.
When I started writing today’s posts I had noticed that a few of the images I has selected were all from the same artist. We’ve already seen Gabor Zagyvai’s scarification work, as well as one of the suspensions he performed recently. Now for the final part of the trifecta, I present one of his tattoos.
This piece, entitled “Abstract Mistycism” (not my spelling), was part of the large image upload that Gabor sent in recently. This leg piece is just breathtaking in it’s intricacies. I love how you can get lost in the images, especially considering the monochromatic nature of blackwork.
I was to talk about the term “Renaissance Man”. The wiki definition above gives us the classical definition, and for the most part that definition still works today. I think that Gabor is a good representation of the Renaissance men and women that are so prevalent in the modification community today. While classical artists tend to favor one medium over other others, what we are seeing now is a large percentage of the modification artists branching out from one particular form of modification. Scar artists are also tattoo artists, piercers also suspend people, and even more, like Gabor, cover every aspect of the modification spectrum.
This then brings up the argument, is it now necessary in today’s world to become a master of multiple genres? Is wearing just one hat enough these days to become successful, or should artists work towards perfecting their art in different mediums? I guess the more important question is, have we as a community raised our expectations to the point that artists feel they must diversify to meet the needs of their clientele?
What do you guys and gals think? Does the future of modification lie in artists becoming polymaths, or are there enough people out there that specialization is still the preferred way to go?
Often I get to see an image that just delights me. Most people that know me know that I’m a big horror fan, zombies in particular. When I’m scanning the tattoo galleries for new images I always notice the horror related ones first, but today, when looking at the suspension galleries I was pleasantly surprised.
I had to shrink the image down to fit it on ModBlog, but the full sized version can be seen here. For those with keen eyes you can make out a couple of notable horror icons. I believe that’s Michael Myers on the left, Bela Lugosi’s Dracula on the right, and of course the woman in the middle is Lianna Quigley from Return of the Living dead. I think the reason I like this image so much is that you have all these horror movie related images blended together while blood is dripping down onto it.
While you may not be familiar with Return of the Living dead, it is the movie that you can thank for creating the famous zombie quote “Brainnnssssss”.
Now, if you were in this position, what image would you like to see your blood dripping down on to? Which I realize is a somewhat morbid phrasing to a question, but hey, we are talking about the walking dead are we not?
Oh, one more thing, while not scarring people up like in the previous post, Gabor also spends some of his time rigging people up. There are a few other happy Hungarians hanging from hooks over in the suicide suspension galleries.
Update: Didn’t realize the meaning behind the original image that I used. I’ve since replaced it with the current image.
So I’ve had a few Soundgarden songs stuck in my head ever since I’ve heard the band was getting back together. It got me wondering how a song can be crafted that gives it a timeless quality, like how their songs from 20 years ago still sound fresh today. While pondering this, I was browsing the scarification galleries, when I cam across this image by Gabor Zagyvai.
Which brings me back to Soundgarden. While you may or may not be a fan of theirs, any songwriter will tell you how difficult it can be to craft a song, let alone one that an audience will enjoy. So for the purpose of this discussion, just replace Soundgarden with your favorite musician/composer/band. Like the process in creating a scar, time is meticulously spent over every aspect of the scar. Width of the lines, depth, getting the design perfect, choosing the right blade, and then the placement on the body. All of those factors are considered well before the first cut is made. The same can be said about a piece of music. The right notes, lyrics, tempo, instruments can make the difference between a horrible piece of music and a beautiful one. Like scars, these pieces of music will live on well past the time they were created.
Of course this can be said about any form of art, which is exactly what Gabor has done here with this piece. This piece is only one of several that were uploaded in the past day. Gabor’s own gallery has the entire collection, where many of them have healed images alongside the fresh ones. So while this scar may not be your cup of tea, there are a lot of other beautiful scars you can check out.
Tattoo Hollywood and Known Gallery are also hosting a once in a lifetime opportunity to view works by Kaname Ozuma and Horiyoshi III, appropriately titled: Irezumi Bijin. If you were at the Tattoo Hollywood convention last week you had the opportunity to get a sneak peek at the works by these brilliant artists. Tomorrow night the show begins and will be running until Sept. 18th. I urge you to do whatever is in your power to get to Los Angeles and see this show before it is gone for good.
When:
Opening Reception: Thursday August 26th, 2010 | 8pm-11pm
Show Runs: August 26th – September 18th
Where:
Known Gallery
441 North Fairfax Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90036
About the artists:
Kaname Ozuma
Born in Niigata, Japan in 1939, Ozuma Kaname began studying traditional Japanese painting under his uncle, artist Sakai Soushi, from a young age. Moving to Tokyo at the age of 18, he trained as an art dealer while working at a printing company. Afterwards, he moved on to the publishing industry where he illustrated tattoos. The majority of his work continues to be tattoo-related along with other traditional Japanese themes; and often serves as a source of inspiration for master tattooist Horiyoshi III, whose clients in turn, are often depicted in Ozuma’s paintings.
Horiyoshi III
Born Yoshihito Nakano in 1946, Horiyoshi III is the second tattooist to be bestowed the honorific title—the tattooist affixation “Hori” means engrave—in a line started by his master, the legendary tattoo artist Yoshitsugu Muramatsu, or Shodai Horiyoshi of Yokohama (Muramatsu went on to dub his son Horiyoshi II, and later Nakano was named Horiyoshi III). His images are classical Japanese woodblock print motifs such as the phoenix, dragon, snakes, tigers, samurai warriors, Buddhist gods to name a few as well as background images of waves, clouds and various flowers. Among Horiyoshi III’s published works are 36 Ghosts, 108 Heroes of the Suikoden, 100 Demons, and The Namakubi (severed heads), 100 Dragons and 58 Warriors. Horiyoshi’s artistic genius and generosity of spirit have had a defining impact on the world of tattooing, taking it to new levels in this new century.
I’m definitely trying to put plans together to put myself on the road again sometime before the show ends just so I can check it out. Who knows, maybe I’ll see you there.
which caused writers everywhere to go crazy trying to figure out how to spell his new name. His record label troubles made front pages everywhere, especially after he started appearing in public with the word “SLAVE” written on his face. There was also the rumors that always circulated about him. How he would change his clothes 20 times a day, how he has this vault of thousands of songs that are locked away, and of course his “awakening” (his words) which led him to become a Jehovah’s Witness, which Kevin Smith mocked mercilessly during one of his Q&A videos.
