I’ll post a few more over time, but care of John Durante (IAM:Jawn D) at Laughing Buddha in Seattle is this picture of an Iban Warrior, Rumah Entalau, Sarawak, Borneo… Check out his page if you’re interested in more great travel shots like this.
I just wanted to say that I really like the facial tattoo that Kaustika (who’s also from here in Mexico) had done by Nazareno Tubaro in Argentina… I’ve seen some other blackwork by Nazareno (such as the gorgeous work on the already striking La Negra) and am definitely a fan of his work and aesthetic.
I mentioned John Durante of Laughing Buddha in Seattle a few entries back… Since I also recently posted about the rituals in Phuket, I thought I’d post a picture from his travels in Trang, Thailand (2001) — I wonder why this guy chose handcuffs?
More from his travels; here’s a picture of him and his Punan grandmas in Punan Ba, Sarawak, Borneo back in 1999.
Let me say for the record that this entry is written in good humor and I mean no offense to the wearers of these tattoos or the artists behind them!
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| Is there anything tribal cover-ups can’t solve? |
It’s no secret that Dennis Rodman is a body art fan, and earlier this year he posed nude for PETA‘s Think Ink, Not Mink anti-fur campaign. Well, guess who made a surprise appearance at a pulling that Tiana and Jeremy (IAM:Jahad2k) recently did in Seattle? That’s right, The Worm!
"Let's face it: When Dennis goes out, he doesn't blend in well."
- George Tiantafilla, Rodman's bodyguard
One of the coolest things about running BME is getting to meet people from all over the world… and one of the amazing things has been seeing how even though we come from different cultures and histories and speak different languages, we respond to body modification, body art, and body rituals in the same way, and it becomes a really obvious example of humans being the same all over the world.
Today let’s start with a photo via the West Coast of Canada where I’m originally from:
Next we’ll shoot over to Star Studio in Bali. These photos are of MrJaxon, Albar, the boss, the tattooist, and a mystery person… There’s more on his page if you’re interested.
Staying in Asai, we’ll move up to Qingdao, China. I’d be surprised if this is entirely legal there?
How about something closer to home like the shores of France?
Or maybe you prefer Brasil?
Speaking of travel, apparently Pingy travels by RyanAir, and has previously been to Pottstown, PA.
Becky on the other hand isn’t going anywhere:
Here’s some initially self-done facial tattoos being reworked by Jesse at Temple Ink in Portland, Oregon. Facial tattoos change a person’s face in fairly marked and obvious ways. This one here, I think it makes him look like a superhero (or supervillian).
Sorry I haven’t updated much in the past few days. We’ve had a guest down here in La Paz so Rachel and I have been busier than usual, and Jordan’s internet connection is out… Anyway, I’ll start off with a cut-out heart tattoo that I really like even though it’s pretty over the top emo, and which I have no doubt will start being copied a day or two after this entry goes up.
For the record, this original (?) piece is by Ron Aytes of Three D Oils and Ink in Valparaiso, Indiana. Here’s another one I like, this one by Brett Osborne (IAM:bretticus) of Pure Body Arts in Brooklyn…
Live to Squeak, Squeak to Live
I get tattoo pictures of snakes daily, and every time I get one I think how much better of a tattoo it would be if there were some ladders thrown in. Well, thanks again to Brett (see above), my wish was answered.
Next, on IAM:nuclearsummer, vagina monsters go to war with a flying penis… tattoo courtesy of Dave Knight at Tattoo Mania in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. As far as I can tell the penis monster is winning, but war is a sticky thing and penises tend to blow up unexpectedly, so the outcum is anyone’s guess.
How about an assortment of Volkswagen tattoos? VW pride!
Yes, the last one is on his nutsack.
Finally, this slogan tattoo wouldn’t even make me look twice if I saw it on the street here in Mexico, or even in the US. However, this piece actually hails all the way from Planet Tattoo in Kiev, Ukraine, by Dmitry Mitsik… I suppose Latin Spirit is everywhere?
I’m really a big fan of the work (facial and otherwise) that “Tattoo Joe” out of Physcial Graffiti Ink in Bridgeport, Connecticut is doing (he’s the bottom right photo in this entry by the way — one of the few, if not only, Western tattoo artists I can think of with this type of facial work)… who’d have thought that Bridgeport, Connecticut was some sort of facial tattooing hub? Anyway, the world would be a more interesting — and I dare say better — place if more people went and got their faces tattooed.
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All tattoos by “Tattoo Joe”, Physical Graffiti, Bridgeport CT
The application of neo-traditional Maori and Polynesian designs on Westerners of course raises cultural appropriation issues that there’s a great deal of debate on (ie. do we have the right to borry these motifs in the first place?), but my feeling is that body art is universal and belongs to everyone, and in this modern global culture, we are a lot better off embracing each others cultures and celebrating them than saying “this is off limits and only <insert race here> can do this” — or worse yet, relagating these things to the realm of some “noble savage”. Body art must live through all people of the world and of time, and is core to the human experience.
