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.

Dispatch from the 2011 New York City Tattoo Convention (A Recap)

 

Yesterday I spent a half dozen hours at the Roseland Ballroom, where the New York City Tattoo Convention was holding court. This was my third trip to the show, and each year, I have a different experience, as Tattoosday has evolved as a site (read about 2009 here and 2010 here).

In years past, I have only highlighted one or two pieces, as I go into sensory overload. What, outside of a convention's setting, would normally pique my interest, seems commonplace and ordinary. This year, however, I took many more photos, and actually interviewed four people, so this will be Convention Recap Week.

I do want to say the best part of the show was hanging and chatting with Marisa and Brian from Needles and Sins, as well as with Nathan from Knuckle Tattoos. It's not a portrait of future world domination, yet, but here's the three of us, masterminds of three of the best tattoo sites around, and hands and above, the best three inkbloggers at the show:

Nathan, Marisa and Me (photo by Brian Grosz)

That moment of self-adulation aside, I spent the first few hours talking to vendors about advertising, chatting with colleagues, and saying hello to people I've met in years past, like Greg who was the high point of last year's show for me.

I also like to introduce myself to artists whose work has appeared on the Site before, so I said hi to Adam Rosenthal of Th'Ink Tank in Denver, and Vinny Romanelli at Red Rocket in NYC.

I also took a slew of photos of people I didn't interview, so I will just throw them up here. Unfortunately I can't credit any of the amazing artists responsible. However, if you see your work here, shoot me an email and I can give you your proper due. Many of these shots were taken during the first round of the contest, which centered around black and gray work:

This one was one of my favorites, especially considering the woman's reflection in the blade of the knife:

And this Star Wars leg was totally cool:

Finally, through social media, my friend Ben in Hawai'i requested a shot of "80s West Coast punk rock logos." I thought I had failed in my quest until, as I was leaving, I captured this tiny Black Flag tattoo on a guy named Crash, who works for Tattoo Artist Magazine:

Mini-Black Flag Bars Tattoo by Oliver Peck

and this incredible Misfits piece to boot:

Tattoo by Frank Lee at Tattoo Blues in Ft. Lauderdale

Yes, we know, Misfits are an East Coast band. But it was too nice a tattoo to not photograph. Can you blame me?

Check out the Tattoo Artist Magazine blog here.

Check back throughout the week to see what four tattoos I found most blogworthy for us here on Tattoosday!

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 contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.