Schön Magazine!‘s online editorial Pure Grace celebrates the ageless quality of beauty by featuring tattooed forty-one year old model Ree Ja Kim.
Matt Lodder on his research and studying art history at Essex
In this video, Doctor Matt Lodder explains how his interest in tattoos, body modification and the representation of the body came about. Matt is currently working on a history of tattooing in Britain and how the perceptions of tattoos have changed over time. He also explains how art history students should challenge themselves and ‘make themselves uncomfortable’ in order to uncover and learn more.
There’s also a cheeky shot of The Art Issue of Things&Ink at the end of the video…
To find out more about art history at Essex go to: essex.ac.uk/arthistory
Matt Lodder on his research and studying art history at Essex from University of Essex on Vimeo.
Millie Hall, female tattoo artist NYC MP3
The nipple artist
The Nipple Artist: A video collaboration between The New York Times and POV showcases one woman’s search for nipples
The five-minute documentary tells the tale of writer Caitlin Kieran’s journey to a tattoo studio in Finksburg to have the illusion of real nipples tattooed on her body.
Tattoo artist Vinnie Myers has left behind his career in traditional tattooing and now specialises in nipple areola tattooing, which he has been doing for over ten years. Vinnie creates a three dimensional ‘normal’ looking nipple after women’s mastectomy or reconstructive surgery. He helps many women to reclaim their breasts, and love themselves again after their battle with cancer.
Surgeons also offer nipple tattoos during reconstructions but having seen these ‘round and red’ ‘pepperoni slices’, Caitlin decided to travel across America to have custom coloured subtly shaded nipples.
Watch the video here
‘I am so thrilled with the result. I feel great, I feel physically normal, I actually feel like my body looks better now than it did before. I know I’m never going to be the woman I was, but I feel like now I’m better.’
Caitlin quoted from The New York Times Blog and images from POV Blog
Exclusive new images in Mark Leaver’s facial tattoo project
Facial tattoos are bold and unflinching, they cannot be hidden – perhaps this is why they still sometimes provoke fear and prejudice. Mark Leaver’s photographic project tackles this issue and tries to dispel some of the myths that exist about this niche within a subculture.
These are two brand-new, unseen portraits in Mark Leaver’s beautiful (and much talked about) series of portrait photographs. (previously blogged about here, and also featured in The Identity Issue of Things&Ink). This time Mark photographs a couple of our friends, Duncan X and Blue from Into You, London.
Duncan X, 48 years old, Tattoo Artist
Duncan was 21 when he got his first tattoo. Duncan was in a band for 7 years until he began working at Into You as a receptionist at 30 years old. He did an apprenticeship in Soho with Dennis Cockell. Duncan’s first facial tattoo was by Curley Moore (when Curly worked at Into You). Duncan doesn’t intend on getting any more facial work.
Blue, 50 years old, office manager at Into You, London
Blue was 18 when she started getting tattooed and it wasn’t until her mid 30s that she decided to move to her face. For her, the hands and neck were a bigger deal to get tattooed than her face. Blue has been at Into You for 20 years and she wants more facial work, but not for a while – maybe at 70!
A word from the photographer Mark:
It seems oddly timed that the project has had so much publicity and attention right after I’ve graduated from university! To get the series published by the Daily Mail is an amazing (and unexpected) progression of the project. This marks a new audience which is amazing for much a niche subject – before the series was only really viewed by people from the tattoo community, for it to be in a tabloid paper is incredible.
The project is nowhere near over, I’m still shooting. I shot these portraits last week of Duncan and Blue. And I actually shot two more today and will be doing two more tomorrow. There’s still a few big names/characters I’d like to have in the project before I put it to rest.
We will continue to keep you updated on Mark Leaver’s progression with this project. His work can be viewed at www.mdleaver.com