If you’re black or white (or a mixture of both)..
By Belly, Perpignan, France.
See more in “Wildlife and Nature Tattoos“ (Tattoos)
It don’t matter..
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Category Archives: modblog
Living Canvas Sold For … Wow, That’s a Lot
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| Photo credit: Paolo Foschini |
Over the course of 35 hours, Belgian artist Wim Delvoye — famous for, among other things, tattooing live pigs and just generally pissing people off — tattooed a more-than-decent image of the Virgin Mary on the back of Tim Steiner of Zurich. The tattoo was part of a larger plan, however:
The tattoo on Tim Steiner’s back was bought last week by a German art collector for €150,000 (SFr240,000) in a deal coordinated by the Zurich gallery De Pury & Luxembourg.
The gallery, Belgian artist Wim Delvoye and 32-year-old Steiner all took a cut of the money.
In return Steiner is required to exhibit the work three times a year in public and private shows, the first of which will be the Asia Pacific Contemporary Art Fair in Shanghai next week.
The sale agreement extends further, stating that after Steiner’s death the tattoo and its skin canvas will revert to the new owner, contemporary art collector Rik Reinking.
The content and execution of the tattoo itself is largely irrelevant — indeed, the fact that it was conceived as a commodity to be profited off of was an “integral part of the work itself.” It’s an interesting concept, and while there’s a certain forward momentum in tattoo work being seen in the context of fine art, this seems to be more about making a statement about what could potentially be valued as art — the performance aspect rather than a showcase of the art itself. It’s not a bad tattoo by any means, but given the fact that it was dreamt up with profit in mind with a secondary focus on what was produced, is it all that much more than a high-brow version of Brent Moffatt’s Golden Palace advertisement?
BREAKING NEWS: Angry Guys Are Angry
OK, maybe Internet vitriol doesn’t quite count as breaking news, but when it’s as enjoyable as this, it deserves its own headline. Local hothead and 9/11 Truther Anthony Bosco really, really doesn’t like your stupid tattoos. Hates them! And by golly, he wants you to know it.
Tattoos are nothing but a commitment towards future embarrassment and ridicule. You may think that who you are now will never change. And if you are a wilfully ignorant or narrow-minded person who will always refuse to change their perspective on the world, irrespective of how much things around you change, you may be right. At least in terms of your mental retardation, anyway. But, what you are most certainly incapable of retarding, is the inevitable physical changes to your body as you begin to age.
And yes, I have heard all the argument before…”It’s okay if I get saggy and my tat ends up looking stupid, because I’ll be old and covered up anyway, so no-one will see it”. Really? Isn’t people seeing it the whole point of getting ink injected permanently beneath five layers of dermis? Because this excuse sounds an awful lot like an admission of the temporary relevance of whatever statement, symbol, character, etc. you have had tattooed to your body.
He says what we’re all thinking! But wait, there’s less:
And before anyone pulls the “But I got my children’s names tattooed across my heart because I’ll always love them” card, just hold up a minute. You can’t be serious, can you? If you need a massive tattoo across your chest, back or forearm to stand as a reminder of how much you will always love your children – then you really don’t love your children! You just want other people to think that you do. People who really and truly love their children do not need to advertise it on their flesh!
Now, this is something with which I agree. Displays of affection for loved ones? Over it! While we’re at it, all you poseurs who hang pictures of deceased family members in your homes? Cut the crap. We know you’re just trying to trick visitors into thinking you loved Grandma. God, you are so selfish.
Elsewhere on the Internets, Tyler F. Williams unleashes the hate for Danielle Lloyd — allegedly some sort of British pseudo-celebrity — who just recently got this transliterated Hebrew tattoo:
Not only is the tattoo gibberish; it isn’t written in Hebrew (i.e., the language) at all! When I first looked at the pictures of the tattoo, I couldn’t figure it out. It wasn’t Biblical Hebrew. I didn’t think it was modern Hebrew. I was looking up words in my modern Hebrew dictionary and starting to think that I shouldn’t be teaching Hebrew this semester! Then I figured it out. The tattoo isn’t written in the Hebrew language, but is English written with Hebrew letters! If you transliterate the Hebrew characters into their English counterparts, voila!, you get the supposed translation: “Only God can judge me, only God can judge me.” What makes this even more silly utterly ridiculous is that the transliteration isn’t even consistent. In the first occurrence, “can” is spelled qof-nun (קן) while the second time it is spelled kaf-nun (כן). Not only doesn’t Danielle know Hebrew, she apparently doesn’t even know how to spell “can” in English! (I won’t even comment on the rest of the supposed transliteration)
If there was a prize or award for the dumbest tattoo, this should certainly win. I just can’t believe it… this is beyond stupid.
In all fairness, Williams’s objections are based in the fact that the tattoo is an affront to his passions and his studies. Bosco is just a dick.
A tattoo is a permanent reminder that you are an idiot [Anthony Bosco’s Weblog]
Danielle Lloyd: The Dumbest Hebrew Tattoo Yet! [Codex: Biblical Studies Blogspot]
Metal Buggers
I think Steve might have meant boogers (I prefer buggers, personally) but either way here he is wearing a new 5/8″ curved barbell in his Hobo piercing..
Confused? Click through then read on..
“For those who are interested but don’t know what they are, they go in like a Monroe but instead of going through into my mouth they curve upwards inside my lip and exit in my nose.
Not too sure what to call them! A couple of friends have dubbed them the Hobos (for obvious reasons). I’m glad they seem to be working out well, but I do know they are still very new and who knows what is to come with them. For now I’m very happy with them!“
By Sque3z, Anomaly Studios, Pasadena, CA.
See more in “Misc. Deep Piercing“ (Surface & Unusual Piercing)
Then we’re all blessed.
Walkin’ Tall
A Lad and his Snake.
Stigmata and Vigo..
Click through for a larger view of these photos (by Nolan Rudi), and be grateful I decided against calling this post Snakes and Lads.
“Get Ink on Your Executive’s Face!” and Other Bad Jokes
Hey, remember that really funny comedian who did that great bit about tattoos? Neither do we! A valiant effort, nonetheless, from Prescott Montgomery:
Sadly, based on the fact that this video was posted on Funny or Die, I can only surmise that Mr. Montgomery has shuffled off this mortal coil. That Will Ferrell is such a bastard. Godspeed, hero.
Announcement: New Blog!
Hey, folks. So, as some of you may have noticed over the weekend, we’ve got a new blog over on the main news page! If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s the BME News Blog (very catchy, unique name, we know — suggestions are welcome). Rather than focusing on the BME community (as ModBlog tends to), the News Blog will catch the stories in the rest of the media that affect and are related to body modification. It’s not unlike the old newsfeed, but in this format, we’ll be able to explore some of these stories more deeply when necessary, and hopefully keep you all in the loop with regard to stories you may have missed.
Soon, we’ll have a proper tip form set up again, but until then, feel free to send any news tips to [email protected], and check the News Blog! (Updated several times daily, god willing.)
One Needle for Another
It seems strange, at first blush, to be ashamed of a disease, especially a hereditary condition to which you may be genetically predisposed. Sure, if you eat like crap or are a furious chain-smoker, there may be parts of your life on which to look back and regret (not to say a person should feel shame about the resulting illness, of course), but to harbor those sorts of feelings because of an affliction caused by little more than dumb luck? Seems a little harsh.
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| Photo credit: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times |
But consider the imposition rather than the disease itself — to have your life and livelihood restricted by a force out of your control, and to be inadvertently singled out among your peers as a result. So was the case for Joshua Sandoval, who was diagnosed with diabetes as a 12-year-old.
Says Sandoval:
Some kids pretend they don’t have diabetes, giving in to the temptation of sugar and refusing to exercise regularly or monitor their glucose levels. Some go to the other extreme, constantly checking glucose levels, exercising every day and openly discussing their disease.
I fell somewhere in the middle. I was obsessive when it came to checking glucose levels, and I stayed active in sports like baseball and basketball, but I was unwilling to discuss my illness.
His parents struggled to get him to embrace the imperfect part of himself, though, and, when he was 16, his mother gave him the idea of getting a tattoo as a way to own the disease and the rituals of a careful diet and daily injections that came along with it. Permanence in any respect can be daunting; it’s hard to fault someone for wavering when faced with the terms of a lifelong commitment, especially one that’s been decided for you. It’s not uncommon to see people get tattoos to commemorate challenging events — events some people would rather just forget — and Sandoval’s decision seems to follow that line of thinking: Combatting permanence with permanence, and turning a purveyor of shame into a source of pride.
Two weeks after the tattoo healed, I was in line at the post office when the pen tip crept out from a short-sleeved shirt. A woman standing in line with no visible artwork of her own asked to see the rest of the tattoo.
After she took a picture with her camera phone and commented about the detail in the feather, she asked about the tattoo’s significance.
For the first time in 10 years, my head didn’t slump between my shoulders.
A diabetic turns to the tattoo as medical I.D. [Los Angeles Times]