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…
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.
‘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.’
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 x
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
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 Mailis 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
On 30 May 2014 the public memorial service for HR Giger was held at the Fraumünster reformed church in Zurich. It was an occasion to bid farewell to a man who influenced so many and so much. I wish I could have attended with my Giger Gang friends, but sadly my budget was not in shape for European travel. So, I thought maybe a personal tribute was in order, a way to pay my respects and say goodbye.
Note: I am still gathering things related to the influence Giger had on tattoo artists, I do want to broaden it to include people with Giger tattoos, but that project is taking a while to come together and truthfully I’d love one day to see a book of Giger and Tattoo Culture. So, maybe my efforts can help with that. 🙂
A few years ago I wrote a blog essay on my ‘Birth Machine’ thigh tattoo, one of the most obvious ways to see Giger’s influence on my thinking and my body. Check it out here. For all things Giger, check out his personal website. And some great posts about Giger can be found here and here. And there’s many more online.
I first became acquainted with his artwork at a very young age, in the 1980’s. I fondly remember being mesmerized by the Debbie Harry ‘KooKoo’ album cover, and the Emerson, Lake & Pamer ‘Brain Salad Surgery’ album cover (both were owned by family members). I have a soft spot for the first two Alien movies; I saw both before I turned 13. I loved the creatures, the sets, and I loved the fear they induced.
Giger never failed to put me in a total state of awe with his smoky velvet textures, the heavy moods present in his works, and his alien or industrial landscapes. I have always loved his depictions of strong, maternal, sexual female creatures. His female creations are never victims or purely objectified pieces of meat to be devoured. They always seem very confident and fierce, something you’d love and fear at the same time. The sexuality in his paintings is thought-provoking and aesthetically beautiful (never pornographic or tasteless). He had such a unique way of blending sexual content with power, maternity, fear and anguish, and he did so as seamlessly as he blended human and machine elements.
The most wonderful feeling I have when I look at Giger’s work is that of being at home: It feels like I’ve found an artist who speaks my language or rather paints my mind on a page. I’ve always been fascinated with things many people consider dark: I love reading about the history of torture devices, or the ways they would test if someone was a witch during the trials in the USA and in Europe. Ever since childhood, I found myself more interested in the villain in books or movies, or even taking their side and wishing they had won: I cried when Darth Vader died in Star Wars. And ever since I can remember I have had horrible nightmares. Often as a kid I didn’t like going to sleep because I had so many monsters in my head. I knew once I shut my eyes I’d be running from something. I was so embarrassed of this too, I felt so alone, since none of my friends had this issue. When I learned that Giger too suffered from nightmares, using them as inspirational material for his art and thus achieving a kind of catharsis, I felt at ease and like I’d found a friend in terror. I never feel alone when I look at his work, and studying it deeply helps me exercise some demons as well.
Thank you, Giger, for being my friend in the darkness. I will never forget you or what you have meant to me. I am surrounded by your work; you are always here to inspire, to heal, to provoke, and to push the boundaries of those who enter my work space.
