…and those who put in the time and heart to stay true to the craft. Moral to the story is that you have to start at the bottom.” -Sailor Jerry Collins. “…apprentices get all the ass jobs, like devils shoveling coal, lips, meat stamps etc. In more modern times, though times have rapidly changed, the passing on of a lineage still has been the core force of tattooing, entrusted to those willing to pay their dues and commit… The artisan tattooer is a wizard of tattooing.īert Grimm in front of his Long Beach Pike tattoo shop. In a day when tattoo business was feast or famine, whether there was a huge line of serviceman to churn out or customers trickling in, this magical orchestration allowed a tattooer to apply a quick, artistic, long-lasting tattoo, and also earn a living. Flash was generally painted as realistic representations of a tattooer’s capabilities and also with flair to attract clientele. The execution of a tattoo depended on the capabilities and/or limitations of equipment (machines, inks, etc), in conjunction with a tattooer’s individual skill. In Bert Grimm’s day, though designs were copied over and over, they were composed for proper, artistic application of tattoos. The craft of tattooing itself, not unlike any other artisanry, is the sum of many parts that make up a magical whole. “In traditional society, people who made things were seen as transformers of the world, performing magical acts for the benefit of all members of the family, clan, tribe, or nation.” -Nigel Pennick. The artistry of tattoos comes through lineages, in the way of passed on and honed technical ability and composition, with the touch of each tattooer’s personal hand. In the 1940s, when Bert Grimm said “The business of tattooing is mechanical-not art,” he was speaking to the importance of these foundations in artisanship-the magic it creates. “It’s the work of a Master’s Hand.” Ī tattoo, as a whole, carries the lineage all the blood, sweat, and tears and the heart of those who paved the way all the successes and failures, all the trial-and-error of the artisan. On a more arcane level, tattoos, through their own self-referencing story, tell the story of our state of being. Our deep-seated affinity with tattoos is that they exist only by virtue of being on our bodies, and their very existence upon the body affirms our state of being. But the independent development of tattooing around the world tells us it’s something that also transcends time and space it’s ingrained in human psyche. The sacred knowledge of tattooing-how it is executed and all that entails-has been handed down through age-old cultural lineages. Then, from all those iterate inklings embedded with centuries of “sacred knowledge,” a magical work of art emerges. The next mark and the next, and so on, represent the many mystical manifestations of tattoos within cultures across time That first mark hearkens back to an ancient moment in time when humans first thought of etching on their skin. The rituals, techniques, and spiritual iconography of scarmasters in Benin (Bétamarribé), Papua New Guinea (Kaningara), and Ethiopia (Hamar) expose a relatively undocumented world of permanent body symbolism created through painful and bloody rites of self-sacrifice and restraint.Tattoos are magical iterations of the past in that the process of making a tattoo holds their very history: Part two is an absolute must-read-and-see for anyone seeking knowledge about the religious meanings of tribal scarification. The discussion of talismanic tattooing is concluded with a detailed look at the individuals who created magical tattoos and the various techniques they used. The first part delves into the ancient art of Thai tattooing or sak yant, and the tattooing worlds of the Amerindians, from Woodlands warriors to Amazonian shamans. The journey into highly sacred territory reveals how people utilize ritual body modification to enhance their access to the supernatural. Spiritual Skin: MAGICAL TATTOOS AND SCARIFICATION is a photographic masterwork in two parts exploring the secret world of magical tattooing and scarification across the tribal world.
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