Wear Your Dreams: My Life in Tattoos, by Ed Hardy - The Tattoosday Book Review

Ten years ago, only tattoo aficionados knew who Ed Hardy was.

I still remember the moment I saw an Ed Hardy shirt for the first time. On Sixth Avenue in Manhattan on a hot, sunny day. Within months, it seemed they were everywhere.

Honestly, my introduction to Hardy was an amazing volume he edited that was based on his correspondence with Sailor Jerry. As an up-and-coming tattoo blogger, I learned more from that volume, than any other.

When all is said and done, there are two Ed Hardys - the great tattooer who learned from the legendary Sailor Jerry (and others), and the brand. The Brand turns any self-respecting tattoo artist's smile into a frown, but the wave of Hardy clothing and paraphernalia cannot drown out the artist's contribution to the craft.

That said, when I got my copy of Wear Your Dreams: My Life in Tattoos, Ed Hardy's  autobiography, I wondered how he would address this vast disconnect. He didn't waste any time. The first line of the book reveals:

"Today there have been nearly one billion Ed Hardy retail items unleashed on an unsuspecting but highly receptive public. That staggering sum makes no more sense to me than it does to you."

What follows is a veritable feast of tattoo history. As one would expect from a biography, we watch Hardy grow up from a school boy in Southern California with a makeshift tattoo shop for his friends where he would draw designs om classmates, to his days as an aspiring art student heading to Yale, up to the present day, where Ed Hardy is known to more people as a brand.

I'm always fascinated by the stories of tattoo artists and their craft, back before the "reality" show mentality crashed into our culture in the last twenty years. You really don't get the sense of the hard work and difficulties faced by artists nowadays, where a contestant spot on Inkmaster gives one more recognition than true masters of the art form, who have been slaving away, somewhat anonymously, for decades.

It only seems fitting that we are getting the Ed Hardy story now, as tattooing is an industry that continues to grow by leaps and bounds. It's a way for people who are truly interested in the history of the modern American tattoo to discover how pivotal this one artist is.

The book is a great read. Hardy's narration, with Joel Selvin, is matter-of-fact and delivered poignantly. He just tells it like it is, and the reader is rewarded with a narrative of an amazing life, from humble beginnings to the last tattoo. I particularly liked the tales of Hardy's early days, working with Sailor Jerry, his interaction with Phil Sparrow, and his experiences tattooing yakuza in Japan.

Not only can you grab Wear Your Dreams, which is officially released today, but Hardy is on a modest tour, starting tonight in New York, popping over to California, and ending in Honolulu next month. You can see the full schedule with venue details here.

This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattoosday Book Review - Tattoo Art: A Photographic Sourcebook

I'm not going to lie. There are a lot of quality books out on the shelves of your local bookstore (if you still have one) that showcase tattoo art and its best practitioners. I'm still partial to Tattoo World (edited by Marisa Kakoulas), which is a hefty brick of tattoo awesomeness.

So how fair was I going to be when I came upon a copy  of Tattoo Art: A Photographic Sourcebook by Doralba Picerno, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and layout of this undertaking.

The book is clearly and concisely written, with sections divided up into your standard categories - Famous Faces, Fantasy World, Natural World, Getting Away, Love Objects, Symbolism, Fusion, etc. Each section has a short paragraph or two, but the bulk of the 120+ pages (8.9 by 11 inches) are devoted to crisp, clean photos of stunning and well-executed tattoos.

What is particularly interesting to me is the heavy European slant. Picerno, who is a photographer living in London, focuses primarily on the work of artists in the UK and the European mainland. There are a few exceptions, like Bugs in California and Liorcifer in NYC, but despite the lack of familiar names (at least to this American-centric ink blogger), the unfamiliarity of the work made it that much more enjoyable.

I wish that I had more images to show you, but they are scarce online, which is ultimately a good thing, I guess. The list price on the book is $12.95, which is a veritable bargain, especially considering how full of fun and amazing work this volume is.

This title is a hidden gem which is a spectacular addition to any tattoo fan's library!

This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattoosday Book Review: Skin Graf - Masters of Graffiti Tattoo

I guess it's no surprise to me that a quality book about the convergence of graffiti and tattoo art  has come to pass. Even less surprising is that Michael "Kaves" McLeer is involved.

Kaves is co-author, with Billy Burke, of  Skin Graf: Masters of Graffiti Tattoo, which is being released tomorrow, April 25, 2013, by Prestel Publishing.

In fact, before I even talk about the book, I should alert readers that tonight, April 24, 2013, Kaves and Burke, along with writer/producer Sacha Jenkins, will be speaking at the New York Public Library as part of the library's "Design and Style Series." The event runs from 6:00 to 8:00 PM and I plan on being in attendance. Directions and further details can be found here.

I am not a native New Yorker, but when I moved here in 1997, I settled in south Brooklyn, in the area known as Bay Ridge. My fellow city-dwellers who have lived here longer, recall the days when graffiti artists were household names, and have their share of memories of subway cars that were moving billboards for the daring and adventurous artists of this often-misunderstood art form.

When I started blogging about tattoos in 2007, it really was a learn-as-you-go experience for me. I first encountered the work of Kaves a year later, with this post. A year later, I met him, after he opened up shop on 93rd and 3rd near my home in Bay Ridge, and had the pleasure of watching him tattoo close-up (while I was being tattooed by another artist working in the space). His shop, Brooklyn Made Tattoo, is a fixture in the neighborhood and I run into Kaves from time to time, such as when he shared this tattoo, which was done by the legendary Mark Mahoney.

So you can imagine my excitement about the opportunity to read and review this new book, which chronicles   the history of some of the most well-known graffiti artists who have crossed over into the business of tattooing.

The list of artists ranges from Kaves to Seen ("the undisputed godfather of graffiti-inspired art on skin"), and includes Med, Baba, Mister Cartoon, Giant, Ces, Yes2, Pyro, Norm, Helz and Coast.

Each artist merits a chapter, cleverly color-tabbed, and chock-full of wonderful photos by Estevan Oriol and Angela Boatwright, and supplemented by many of the artists, as well.

The reader is introduced to each of these legendary figures with their tags, locations (Bronx, Brooklyn, San Francisco, L.A., Boston...), a small biographical blurb, and several pages of first-person narrative, accompanied by pictures of both art forms, graffiti and tattoo.

Seen

Photo by Estevan Oriol

The juxtaposition is brilliant, as the reader is treated to the sense of styles jumping from inanimate to animate, from brick to flesh. And just to prove to the naysayers who may question the "validity" of graffiti as an art form  we also see more traditional tattoos from these amazing artists, but with that extra something, a touch of the urban art that lies within the steady hand of the tattooers.

by Mister Cartoon

Photo by Estevan Oriol

I can't praise enough the ambitiousness and scope of this project, which succeeds to no end. It's amazing to see the versatility of these exceptional artists who can work as impressively on a canvas the size of a building facade or on something as small as the side of a hand.

Pyro Can

Photo by Estevan Oriol

by Kaves

Photo by Angela Boatwright

This book really is a visual treat.

by Mike Giant

Courtesy of Giant

by Mike Giant

Courtesy of Giant

The range of talent is breath-taking and I whole-heartedly recommend Skin Graf as a must-have for fans of graffiti art and tattooing.

My only criticism is that I want more. The book is bursting with color and styles, but it leaves me with questions, and wanting more. I would love to see a sequel. Are there any established female graffiti/tattoo artists? How about from other parts of the world? Hopefully we'll see a Skin Graf 2!

This book will hook you with its serious appreciation of the history and art of graffiti tattoo. It certainly expands one's appreciation of the art form, both on and off the human canvas. It's a must-have for your tattoo library!

Remember, if you're in New York City tonight, come to the New York Public Library to hear the authors discuss this incredible book.

This entry is ©2013 Tattoosday.

If you are seeing this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattoosday Book Review: Painted Bodies

As regular readers may now, we occasionally review tattoo-related books here on Tattoosday. We're going to try and make this a regular Saturday occasion as we enter the colder weather and try to make our summer backlog last as long as possible.

Today's book is Painted Bodies: African Body Painting, Tattoos, and Scarification by the award-winning photographers Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher.

Published by Rizzoli, this beautiful book offers up large and colorful photos en masse - highlighting a wide range and variety of body art adorning African tribes. I will concede, the 288 pages of mostly full-page photographs are specific to body paint, there is one chapter that focuses on tattoos and scarification.

That said, this is not the book for someone looking for an expose on African tattooing. However, I paged through this volume transfixed, amazed at the simple beauty of the patterns and color utilized by the tribal artists documented with great respect for its subjects.

Beckwith and Fisher have been photographing the indigenous people of Africa for decades and have produced several volumes over the years that have celebrated the diversity of cultures on that continent.
This large coffee table-sized book, which retails for US$100.00, but is discounted through Amazon.com, at least at the time of this writing, takes great care to not only document the different body-painting styles of numerous tribes, but to also describe in chapter prefaces, the processes and cultural significance of the techniques.

"In order to attract females, Karo men decorate themselves lavishly using clays and pigments found naturally in the Omo River region..."    © Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher, 2012

Although technically not a tattoo book, I still believe this would be a valuable addition to anyone's library, whether it is utilized as a sourcebook and inspiration for artists looking to the roots of body art, or as an appreciation of one section of humanity's embrace of the earth and human expression.

"A proud Wodaabe female from Niger is easily identified by a combination of tattoos that mark her forehead, cheeks, and the corners of her lips, along with face paint that emphasizes her aquiline nose and high cheekbones." © Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher, 2012

I would recommend, if anyone is interested in the work of these photographers, to head over to this National Geographic website, where one can learn more about Beckwith and Fisher, and see more of their amazing photos.

This review is ©2012 Tattoosday. All images and excerpts are ©2012 Carol Beckwith & Angela Fisher.

If you are reading this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Matt's Black Flag Tribute

I met Matt on the 59th Street subway platform in Brooklyn back in October 2011 and he shared one of his tattoos with me.

Before I proceed though, I should point out that this is my last photo from 2011. I was holding out to make this an elaborate post, combined with a book review, but it just never evolved that way.

And, as Tattoosday recently reached its five year milestone (more on that later), we're going to try things a little differently around here. Of course, that has nothing to do with this tattoo:

This tattoo is based on the album cover for Black Flag's My War.

Note the slight artistic differences:

Matt credited this work to Oscar Varela, a visiting artist at New York Hardcore Tattoo in Manhattan.

When I asked Matt why he chose to pay tribute to this album with a tattoo, he explained, "That's been one of my favorite hardcore albums of all time ... I grew up in Anaheim, California, so, you know, the So Cal scene and everything like that ... gotta keep it real."

I had originally wanted to tie this piece in with a review of Henry Rollins' book Occupants.

With Rollins the lead singer of Black Flag, it seemed like a cool tie-in.

The problem is, I really couldn't wrap my head around a book review for the site, but I can give it a rousing endorsement. The volume consists of Rollins' photos as he has traveled the world, and essays he has written to accompany the images. The words are profound and the linked photos are stark and moving. I strongly suggest that people check out the book.

Thanks to Matt for sharing his Black Flag tattoo with us here on Tattoosday, and for waiting patiently these past months for me to post it!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattoosday Book Review - Science Ink

If you’re still recovering from a day of camping out and fighting the crowds for Black Friday holiday gifts, might I suggest one more item for your list?

Science Ink: Tattoos of the Science Obsessed was recently published by Sterling Press and it rates as one of the finer titles on tattoos that I have seen in while. Science Ink is written by Carl Zimmer, a science writer with great credentials and whose blog rates a spot on my blogroll shortlist.

I have been a fan of Carl Zimmer’s Science Tattoo Emporium since 2008, even warranting a mention in a stand-alone post here.

I was excited to hear last year that he was compiling a book on the subject of scientific tattoos, as, unlike a lot of the work in London Tattoos (my last review, which appeared here), the ink is drenched in meaning.

As a storyteller and a writer, I’ll admit to favoring tattoos that have stories and/or specific meaning behind them. Not that I don’t appreciate a fine work of  body art that is beautiful for beauty’s sake. I just find myself more intellectually stimulated by tattoos that pack a narrative punch. This is also why I dig literary tattoos.

All that being said, Zimmer should be commended for compiling a whole slew of scientific ink, and organizing it in such a thoughtful and pleasing way. Chapters are divided up by category (Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, Earth Sciences, etc.) with photos of the contributors work, along with a paragraph or two devoted to explaining the accompanying pieces. These are not tattoos that resulted from walking in to a shop and picking flash off the wall. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Rather, we’re treated to tattoos that were clearly thought out and executed with the purpose of connecting to the individuals passion for their intellectual stimuli.


Tattoo purists may look at this book and cringe at the quality of some of the tattoos depicted. But the quality is not the point, and there is a lot of fine work, nonetheless. With a few exceptions, we are not seeing work contributed by tattoo aficionados. Instead, we get a glimpse of tattoos from people that you don’t normally associate with ink: scientists, doctors, university professors, and anthropologists. For that reason, Science Ink succeeds in drawing in the reader to the individual narrative behind the tattoo. What makes someone who is uninked take the leap and go under the needle?

Ultimately, it is the answer to that question that propels the mini-narratives forward and make Science Ink such a compelling read. Above and beyond the appreciation of tattoos, the book speaks to a larger audience, those who are steeped in the sciences and those who don’t consider themselves part of a “tattoo culture”. Ultimately, not everyone who is science-minded gets a tattoo related to their field, but a mathematician may understand someone’s desire to get an interesting equation inked on their forearm more than they would, say, getting a flaming skull or a scattering of cherry blossoms.

The biggest fault I find with Science Ink is not an original one. Marisa over at Needles and Sins voiced the disappointment in her review, as well, that the artists who created the body art are rarely named by the contributors. I always ask Tattoosday contributors to disclose their artists’ names to give credit where credit is due. Occasionally I  meet people who do not recall the names of their artists, but that tends to be a smaller percentage. Zimmer includes a thumbnail “visual index” of contributors. It would be nice, if there is ever a Science Ink II, to include an index of artists, as well. As a saving grace, Zimmer does credit the artists on his website here, but I only discovered that by accident.** I’d imagine, however, that to the bulk of the reading audience, the tattooist’s identity  is not as important and may seem extraneous, but for many it is nice to see credit where credit is due.

All in all, however, Zimmer hits the ball out of the park with a wonderful tattoo-themed product that I fully endorse and recommend.

With the holidays just around the corner, this would make a great gift for the science obsessed person in your life!

**After this posted, Carl Zimmer e-mailed me:

"Thanks! I agree that the artists should get credit. My designer and I put together a list, but a change in schedule prevented the publisher from putting it into the book. We'll be sure to get it into the next printing".

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I can contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattoosday Book Review - London Tattoos

 

Let's eliminate the suspense - London Tattoos is a lovely book, and one of the best tattoo titles I have seen in recent years. I recommend it highly and strongly encourage Tattoosday readers to check it out.

The book is beautifully photographed by Alex MacNaughton. The concept is simple: each subject stands in a full shot at the beginning of their section. There is a paragraph or two composed by the host, describing, in various degrees of detail, their tattoo journeys. A list of tattooist credits follow as footnotes, and then we are treated to several more (at the very least) more detailed shots of the body sections featuring the person's ink.

There is a fine distinction here, that between a close-up of a tattoo, and a close-up of the tapestry on which the tattoo is marked. Its a fine line of art that McNaughton executes brillianty. We catch glimpses of work, we see sections in great detail, but we are rarely confronted by an image that is a sterile full-frame of tattoo.

I just love the way that this photo narrative unfolds. Especially remarkable are the subjects who appear mostly, if not fully, covered. A turn of the page strips layers off of the individuals and we are treated to the artistic treasures that lie beneath. It dazzles the imagination, the unveiling of a person who appears uninked, only to reveal a breath-taking display of coverage that illuminates that this person spent hours upon hours under the needle.

It is brilliantly executed and I recommend it fully, all 304 pages with 700 color illustrations. Alex MacNaughton is also the author of London Street Art, London Street Art 2 and London Street Art Anthology. I encourage Tattoosday readers to buy London Tattoos - the holidays are just around the corner - and, at the very least, visit MacNaughton's website here to get a bigger taste of the work inside this wonderful book.

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday. Photographs are ©2011 Alex MacNaughton.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

The Tattoosday Book Review: Ink Flamingos

Full disclosure: Ink Flamingos, by Karen E. Olson, features a tattoo blogger who is an instrumental figure in the narrative. I also have it on good authority that Tattoosday was, in part, inspiration for this plot point. And yes, Ms. Olson thanks me in the acknowledgements, much more profusely than I anticipated. All that being said, skeptics might argue that there was a snowball’s chance in hell that, here on Tattoosday, you’d see a negative review of this, the fourth installment in the Tattoo Shop Mystery series.

Fortunately for me, I have no moral dilemma, as Ink Flamingos is, like its predecessors, a great read. All bloggy plot points aside, I can whole-heartedly recommend not just the book, but all four volumes. They are consistently fun, humorous, exciting and, quite importantly, respectful to the tattoo industry and the good people therein.

Before I continue, however, I’ll point you to my previous reviews of  Driven to Ink, Pretty in Ink, and The Missing Ink for the whole suite of opinions on Ms. Olson’s tattoo-themed work. Click on the titles to be transported back in time to my reviews.

As flattering as it was to learn that I helped, in part, inspire the blogging aspect of this latest volume in the series, I took pause when I learned that the blogger was not a benign presence in the novel. Fortunately, Olson’s easy-going narrative style, transported me past my initial misgivings, and into the brisk current of the story. 

Despite the presence of the blogger, the real meat of the mystery derives from the dead rock singer, who appears to have been the victim of a an allergic reaction to some color ink, and a doppelganger/impersonator of our heroine, tattooist Brett Cavanaugh, that shines the spotlight on her as a suspect, at least in the eyes of some.

The whole cast of characters is back, as we watch Brett go very easily from being determined to not getting involved to rapid ascension into the thick of police matters. We get a little less Bitsy and Dr. Bixby, and a little more Joel this time around. But fans of Brett Cavanaugh's stormy love-him-or-hate-him relationship with her peer, Murder Ink's Jeff Coleman, will not be disappointed.

And, as always, the city of Las Vegas plays an important part, as well. With Brett Cavanaugh's shop being based in an upscale casino, the character of the city in the dessert is omnipresent.

Karen Olson continues to develop her characters and feature the art of tattooing at the forefront of her plot lines which, for me, is always entertaining. We've come far beyond the days of tattoos being nothing more than part of a murder suspect's characteristics, and tattoo artists being portrayed as suspects on the fringe of society.

If you are reading this and just learning about the series, head on back to book 1 and start from the beginning.

The series is fun and light, and treats tattooers and the tattoo industry with the respect and dignity it deserves. Remember, folks, these are murder mysteries, and their purpose is to entertain. Present volume included, Brett Cavanaugh has never bored me, and Olson knows how to spin a tale efficiently and with a sense of humor, as well.

Ink Flamingos is the latest journey into the world of Brett Cavanaugh, the best damn fictional tattoo artist I know. It's always a pleasure to join her as she unravels some mess, and I encourage Tattoosday readers to check out her shop in the pages of Karen E. Olson's books. It's a whole lot of fun and costs a lot less than getting a new tattoo.