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RIP HR Giger (1940 – 2014)

HR Giger, Museum Corridor, ©Louis Stalder

 

We are shocked and saddened by the news that the great surrealist and father of biomechanical art passed away yesterday at the age of 74: RIP, HR Giger. We at Things & Ink wish to offer our sincerest condolences to his family, friends, loved ones and admirers.

Giger had a profound impact on the fine arts, pop culture, cinema, and tattoo culture. His brilliant mind and creative genius gave us creatures and settings featured in the Alien movie series (1979 – 1997), Species (1995), and most recently in Prometheus (2012), and the video game Dark Seed (1995). If you ever wish to immerse yourself in ‘Giger reality’ more deeply and vividly, go visit his museum and bar in the historic, medieval walled city of Gruyères, in Switzerland.

His biomechanical style, with its beautiful smokey textures and unsettling realism, has been a major tattoo style for over 30 years. Our writer, Kimberly Baltzer-Jaray, discussed this influence in Issue #4 (The Art Issue), in her article titled: Tattoo Styles. In the article you will find pictures and a short interview with the talented tattoo and airbrush artist, Rico Schinkel, a great Giger fan and friend. Be sure and check it out.

The one great assurance we have is that Giger will never be forgotten, lost or become obscure. His imaginings, his art, his creative gifts are very much woven into the fabric of the 21st century, and in the flesh of countless people.

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Tattooist and the Tattooed, An Exhibition in Paris

From the origins of body art 3,000 years ago to contemporary artwork, a new Paris exhibition from HEY magazine and tattoo artist Tin-Tin charts the history and significance of tattoos throughout civilization.

Tatoueurs Tatoues runs from 6 May 2014  until 18 October 2015 at the  Musée du Quai Branly, 37 Quai Branly, 75007 Paris.

The exhibition is curated by journalists Julien and Anne, and includes photographs, tools, skulls and pieces of tattooed human skin.

“Tattooing is part of the common heritage of most of humanity, we wanted to do this exhibition for a long time because we feel it’s important to show that tattooing has a real history and is a pure product of humanity. There’s not a place in the world where mankind has been that has not used tattooing … It’s both artisan and artistic. In the past there was a fear of tattoos and people would hide them. Today attitudes have changed. People used to do it because they wanted to identify themselves as different to make a statement, but today it’s become fashionable and the opposite holds true. People want to be different so they don’t want tattoos.” Julien.

The exhibition explores the art of tattooing from around the world and maps the tattoo revolution. From traditional styles and techniques to the more mainstream and trendy ideas of tattooing.

All images from Vogue Hommes International 

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Are we getting too many tattoos too young?

I’m an avid collector of tattoos, although I choose my artists and designs carefully even I am worried that I am covering myself far too quickly. In the space of a year I have acquired numerous tattoos and blown my student loan. But should this matter? Are we desperately trying to be covered, to be a tattooed person that we lose sight of many of the reasons behind tattoos? Not every tattoo should have a meaning but getting tattooed for the sake of it is in many eyes foolish.

A girl I used to go to school with has recently had two complete arm sleeves done in a matter of months.  Has she thought enough about the designs, the placement or is she driven by a need to become tattooed in a fashionable and trendy way?

She has chosen one local studio and artists, which is a shame when there are so many incredibly talented and diverse tattooers around. You just have to join Instagram to be bombarded with amazing tattoos. This is where I find my artists and inspiration, I have a growing list of ideas and tattooists that I plan on getting at some point. Sadly it’s the money side of things that prevents many of us from being tattooed too often.

But are we getting tattooed too young? Should we be getting chest pieces at 18? Should we be covering ourselves in fashionable imagery? Should we be getting our hands tattooed way before anything else?

There is also the worry that we will run out of space, of skin; that other artists will come along who we cannot add to our collections. Or that our tastes will change as we age, we will want to document other experiences and add other artwork but simply will not have the gaps to do so. Yes there is lasering, but it’s a painful and expensive process. Should you have to sacrifice tattoos that you once loved just to get new ones?

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Wedding competition winners announced!

Over Christmas, you might remember that we launched a VERY exciting competition to win  wedding photography, from Heather Shuker at Brighton-Photo.com, for the ULTIMATE tattoo love story. The competition was stiff, we had some awesome couples enter, so it was so hard picking our finalists – even with the help of our tattooed judges – Alex and Zoe Binnie, Rock N Roll Bride, Marry Me Ink and our very own Beauty Editor Marina de Salis.

But we are FINALLY, after much deliberation,  announcing our gorgeous finalists. Here they are:

Vicky Morgan and Lee Withey,  31 & 27, from Nottingham. They met working together in the same tattoo studio

Marina “These two look adorable together, and the plans for their celebration sound magical!”

Kat Williams R&R Bride “ Thailand, and Disney Princesses – yes! I can’t wait to see how a really alternative couple do this! “

 

 

Roxanne Donovan & Greg Furber,  28 & 31, from London. They met on  film set and talked of a dragon tattoo.

Kat Williams R&R Bride  “because they clearly know how to party.”

Marry Me Ink “I love how they’re both film guys and met on the Fantastic Mr Fox set!”

 

Tanya Mayor and Chris Baker, 26, from Stoke on Trent and Barnsley. They met on Instagram and now work together in their studio

Kat Williams R&R Bride “because meeting on Instagram is flippin’ awesome”

Alex and Zoe Binnie  “cute couple, look like a proper tattoo couple, bless”

We are currently arranging to do a love shoot with each of our finalists, which we will share with all of you! We will also find out some more about each of these couples before picking a winner.