The October issue of Inked, which just dropped, has my interview with Joe Capobianco, the Prince of Pin-Up tattoos. In it, Joe talks about his signature style, quitting the convention circuit, hair pomade, and what makes a woman sexy. Here's a taste:

You have such a signature style that one can look at a pin-up tattoo and know that it's a "Capo Girl." What are the elements you put into your work that make it your own?

"There are certain ideas that go into my work: the shape of the figure, the attitude of the figure--in pinups it's important that the girl has the right attitude. I usually start with the face. In my opinion, if you blow the face on the pinup, it doesn't matter if she's naked with big boobs. If the face is shot, the pinup is shot. In everything I've done, I've looked to great artists like Gil Elvgren, Earl Moran, Alberto Vargas, Hajime Sorayama, and Olivia. Their work is in the back of my mind--it's subconscious--but I don't try to copy them. I think that's something some people lack: they try to make their work look like someone else's, but for me, it's more about letting things happen on its own, naturally."


What do you think makes a good tattoo?

"In my opinion, a good tattoo is something that is readable and something that's going last. Outlines are important, shading is important, solid color is important. I even go a little bit crazy with the saturation of color, which some traditional guys say, "Why do you do that? It's too much." But I don't think too much is gonna hurt the tattoo. I want the tattoo to look like I just did it for as long as possible. It's not high art. It's not your vision on somebody. I know this will sound shitty--and I'm not making points with some people--but I don't think it's fine art. A tattoo is a tattoo. "


Especially considering that you tattoo these tributes to women--what is sexy to you?

... Aaaaaand they're up.

Check Brian's photos from the London Tattoo Convention on Flickr.

Tattoo by Chad Koeplinger on Cian Wright of SwallowsnDaggers.net.

When do you people leave?

I was pulled aside and asked this, rather politely, by the night manager of the Ibis hotel where tattooists packed the bar and restaurant celebrating the end of a successful London Tattoo Convention. They'd all soon go back to their studios around the world, but as I looked at the mass of scary looking dudes beer swilling and back slapping, I knew that it wouldn't be soon enough for this frazzled hotel employee.

We weren't badly behaved. We were just intense. Three days in a place where thousands converged to feel and give pain, to preen and gawk--all surrounded by buzzing, blood and the blare of heavy metal--well, it demands a little steam letting.

The London convention is one of the world's largest. As I mentioned last week, over 20,000 people descended upon the historic Tobacco Dock in 2009; this year, however, it seemed a bit less although the organizers didn't give an official head count yet. Lines to get in still went down the block (and we won't even discuss the bathroom lines). But everywhere you looked, tattooists were working.

The artist roster was a Who's Who of Tattoo. Any type of tattoo could be had; the masters of all these styles were there and some even opted to take some appointments from the floor and not book up completely in advance. I wonder if those who managed to score time appreciated their luck.


Tim Hendricks tattoo on Sharon of Classic Ink & Mods.


The last tattoo show we attended was the Traditional Tattoo & Wolrd Culture Fest in Ireland, which felt like a mini-Woodstock. In sharp contrast, the London show was an amped Warped Tour:  kilowatts of commotion, crowds to lose your friends in, packed pubs, freakshows and Fuel Girls. The energy was just bouncing off the vaulted brick halls.

Within this historic warehouse, artists worked in a maze of glass enclosures. It was like an art zoo, where tattooists were fed cash to perform artistic feats. This menagerie was easy to get lost in, but one you want to get lost in; where you could unintentionally find a tattooer whose work you've never known before that blows you away.

This year, however, I didn't have the luxury of getting lost and making these discoveries. I stayed in my own glass exhibition space with Edgar Hoill as we sold out our massive "Black & Grey Tattoo" box sets and displayed Edgar's photography on the gallery walls.

Also with us was Lars Krutak, our favorite tattoo anthropologist, whose latest book "Kalinga Tattoo" is a stunning--and also massive--hardcover featuring photos and stories of the ancient tattoo tribe in the Philippines. [More on that book coming up.]


Indio Reyes signing his artist pages in "Black & Grey Tattoo."

Because I spent most of my time shilling books, I didn't do my usual flitting about. Thankfully Brian did, taking plenty of photos and bringing back some good stories, which he'll post once he recovers from the hand-poked toe tattoo he got from Clare Goldilox.

[I also did a hand-poked tattoo, my first tattoo ever actually. And I did it on Clare's bum. It was not my finest moment. [Although she does have a fine bum.] When I'm feeling more shameless, I may just do a post on it. Or maybe not. Needless to say, I won't be tattooing ever again.]

In fact, lots of post-convention late night tattooing takes place, and sometimes it takes place after a bottle of Jack Daniels. You know the stories of people taking a sharpie marker to draw all over the guy who passes out at a party? Ok, now imagine that with a tattoo machine.

Those stories were traded during that final convention night revelry at the Ibis bar, but no machines were whipped out and skin scratched. We left with hugs and handshakes, and the hotel employees finally got their rest.

The London Tattoo Convention made the headlines again, although less so this year, but what's out there is pretty good. Here are a few of my faves:

For their In Pictures section, the BBC has a beautiful slideshow of the event including the photo above of Martin Poole, a tattooist in Cornwall who does hand tattooing. In fact, he has done most of his own facial work. I interviewed Martin and will try to have our talk up later this week.

Cheekier photos and captions can be found on Asylum UK's The London Tattoo Convention's Best & Weirdest gallery, which also has shots beyond tattooed butts like the one below.

 

And finally, this video by the Telegraph entitled "My dad's gonna kill me - getting your face tattooed" with some excellent footage and interviews on traditional tattooing among other scenes from the convention floor. Check it below.





My thoughts on the show are up soon as well as those from Brian, who took his own great shots.

I'm thrilled to announce the release of the latest in the series of hardcover coffee table books (or rather coffee tables) for Edition Reuss Publishing, which I co-authored with the wonderful Edgar Hoill. Behold our three-volume monstrous box set:


The beautifully designed box contains three hardcovers, totaling 1,008 pages and weighing 22.6 pounds. They are monsters at about 15 x 12 inches (24.5 x 31.5 cm).  [Yes, like my Black Tattoo Art book, they double as a home defense device.]


I have a limited amount of author copies, and will be selling them to N+S friends for the very discounted rate of $350. I'll even write you a love note in it if you like. Contact me at marisa at needlesandsins dotcom to order or click the PayPal button below [US orders only].


For those in Europe, the set can be purchased for 248 Euros via Hermansky Books & 210 BP (on Amazon.uk).

If you want to take a look inside, check the Flickr photoset.

Ok, now for the promo blah blah ...



"Black & Grey Tattoo" is a mammoth work. Comprising over a thousand pages, it is one of the largest - if not the largest - tattoo book ever published! Its three large-format volumes are contained inside a lavish and sturdy hardcover box. The set explores a monochrome art form through a kaleidoscope of the most widely diverse interpretations and craftsmanly techniques, performed by tattoo artists from all parts of the world. This tattoo tome explores the origins of black & grey tattooing - from the prisons and streets of LA to its contemporary resonance on Hollywood's red carpets, at heavy metal music festivals, and in private ateliers from Budapest to Beijing. While rendered in just shades of grade, the spectrum of design is vast: Aztec warriors, fierce harpies, family portraits, religious icons and permanent shrines to celebrities adorn these pages. The common thread among them all is their inventive exposition and mastery of execution. It is divided into three volumes: "Traditional Black & Grey", "Dark/Horror" and "Photorealism". Indeed, there is cross-pollination among the different styles, but the breakdown is not just for easier lifting of this monster collection. It is to show how tattoos with similar stylistic elements are interpreted differently by stellar artists around the world. The books also present the fine art - including paintings and charcoals - of many of those featured, although the tattoos themselves should be considered fine art.

Today, the London Tattoo Convention kicks off and I promise to lay off the cider to bring y'all a coherent account of the events here. [*crossing fingers behind my back*]

Check out my usual bad photos from last year's show, including the one of above of the beautiful Alice of the Dead (who has a great deal of work from dotwork guru Xed le Head.

Artists have arrived from every corner of the earth, from Borneo to Brooklyn, to swap stories, check out the art in the galleries, buy baby clothes with ACDC logos on them from vendors, and hell, maybe they'll do a few tattoos. With 20,000 people expected over these next three days, there is plenty of skin to be decorated. Last year, the convention made The Guinness World Record For "The Most People Being Tattooed Simultaneously." No joke. It's an actual record.

The convention is already getting some press, but I anticipate news coverage and slide-shows will start popping up online as early as this evening so I'll be posting those links as well as my own redux.

I should also mention that, in addition to my bloggedy blog posts, I'm here to promote my latest book. More on that (shamelessly) coming up.

This month's Smithsonian Magazine features an article by Abigail Tucker on photojournalist Chris Rainer entitled "Looking at the World's Tattoos."  

[I became an instant fan of Rainer in 2006 when I bought his gorgeous photography book Ancient Marks: The Sacred Art of Tattooing & Body Marking.]

The article looks at Rainer's experience, from his time spent as Ansel Adams' last assistant in the 80s to his first introduction to traditional tattooing and how that informed a body of work that explores the art across the globe from Borneo to Burning Man. Here's what Tucker says of the photographer's start:

"Like his mentor, Rainier is primarily a black-and-white photographer. Unlike Adams, however, he is less captivated by landscapes than by the topography of the body, and he specialized in portraits. In the 1990s, while traveling the world to chronicle waning indigenous cultures, he got interested in traditional tattooing--which has cropped up from Greenland to Thailand at one time or another--and its sister art, scarification, a cutting practice more common in West Africa and elsewhere. Some of those customs, Rainier says, are dying out as modernization penetrates even remote areas."

A slideshow of select images from Rainer's tattoo-focused work accompanies the article. 



The article also discusses the upcoming film Tattoo Odyssey, which will air on the Smithsonian channel on September 26th. In it, Rainer visits the Mentawai people in a remote village on the Indonesian island of Siberut. There he sets out to document their ancient tattoo ritual as it rapidly disappears.

Thanks to Father Panik for the link.

Celebrating its sixth successful year, A Convention of the Tattoo Arts will take place October 22-24, this year in SF at The San Francisco Airport Hyatt Regency. Organized by State of Grace Productions, the show is run by tattooists for tattooists and collectors, and not by a convention corp trying to squeeze a buck out of the "tattoo fad." In addition to the hand-picked roster of artists, there are a number of exciting events that weekend.

For one, there's the groundbreaking seminar by Chris Conn Askew: "Drawing Women for Tattoo, the Chris Conn Way." The class, which costs $200 a person, entails a slide-show presentation and lecture, live sketching, and Q&A with the artist (who retired from tattooing in 2006). Program details can be found on Chris's Tumblr blog. Each attendee will also receive an instructional sketchbook, signed and numbered, exclusive to this convention. The seminar is a limited-enrollment event and is already 90% booked, so if you're interested, it's best to get in touch with Chris at sekretcity@hotmail.com right away (no drop-ins will be accepted). You can view more of Chris' fine art, like the one above, on his gallery page.

A number of book releases and signings are taking place as well:  Grime's much anticipated book covering his last ten years, and Jill "Horiyuki" Mandelbaum's Tattoo Artist: A Collection of Narratives. Also for sale will be the Bob Roberts: In a World of Compromise I Don't and These Old Blue Arms: The Life & Work of Amund Dietzel, among other books.

The show kicks off Thursday evening, October 21st, with an opening party hosted by Black Heart Tattoo. For more info, check the convention site.

In the words of Notorious B.I.G.: "If you don't know, now you know."

Tattoo machine graphic by Myra Phan via Gizmodo.

Interactive Lower Back Tattoos from Kat Von D


"Changing people's lives one back tat at a time."

Ok, Kat, this was hysterical. Bravo.

Comedian, activist, and hottie Margaret Cho, will be showing off her moves and tattoos in the latest season of Dancing With The Stars, which premiers this Monday the 20th. Represent, Cho!

I've never seen the show so I read this thingie that says, "We, the viewers, call the shots. We determine who stays and who goes each week." So how do we do that? Well, I read this thingie, which explains it all. In a nutshell, you can call or text to vote at the top of each performance until 30 minutes after the end of the show; for online voting, you have until 11am (Eastern Time) the next day.

So, vote for our own version of "hot inked chick" and keep her dancing, or have people like The Situation of Jersey Shore and Bristol Palin (Sarah's daughter -- yeah, I don't know why she's on either) taking away her air time. [Ok, The Situation should be amusing as well.]

Curious about Margaret's tattoos?

Artists who have worked on her include Ed Hardy, Chris O'Donnell, Mike Davis, Kat Von D,  Nathan Kostechko, Andrew Moore, and Barnaby of Mom's Body Shop. She's blogged about these experiences here.

The fabulous Shawn Barber has also painted Margaret -- a portrait of her while getting tattooed by Mike Davis -- and that painting is the cover of her ChoDependent album, which includes soon to be classics like "Eat Shit & Die." The ChoDependent tour starts today in Vegas and will hit tons of cities across the US and Canada. Check the list of dates here.


Kick some ass, Margaret!

Thanks to our esteemed colleague Jay Fingers, it was brought to my attention last night that rapper Lil Wayne has a new video out for a song called, "I Am Not A Human Being." Admittedly, I have no love for the syrup-slurping, Rikers Resident, but Jay was quick to point out that the video features Wayne's latest ink acquisition: a collection of stars and a set of kissy-lips done up in UV (blacklight) ink.

We've discussed black-light tattoos before with our coverage of the Lost/Dharma Initiative tattoo and the difficulties associated tattooing with UV ink (the artist needs to work under a black-light while creating the piece) - but I think we should go to Wayne himself for his insight on the process:


So... what have we learned, children?  Well, apparently tattoos hurt and letting someone paint on you makes you a "bitch."  

Getting green, day-glo stars around your eye, however, is 100% Gangsta.

(In my opinion, the song itself leaves much to be desired - I don't know what producer in his right mind allowed Wayne to wait 90 seconds at a stretch to hit such a poor excuse for a "hook" - but if you're interested, the music video is embedded after the jump)

First off, let me just thank y'all for your comments and suggestions--publicly and private--because it really helps in our efforts to make this site better and give you what you want. And I want what you want. Because I love you.

So, in the comments on the Baltimore Tattoo Convention media reviews post, LC made note of the Boston convention flying under the radar. When I looked into it, I found that there was plenty of media coverage -- it's just we didn't cover that coverage. My bad. [That was the weekend we switched servers and launched the redesign. Excuses, Excuses.] Even though the convention was 12 days ago (five years in Internet time), I still think the photos and stories are interesting. Here we go:

Boston.com did something cool: they had their photographer Erik Jacobs set up a portable photobooth to take shots of artists and collectors but also get some quotes on the tattoos. For example, I really dig the photo above of Josh Kanter whose head tattoo is done by Derek Noble in Seattle [you gotta see Derek's portfolio]. When asked "Any regrets?", Josh said, "You get, you own." I like that.

There's also a separate set by Essdras M. Suarez, including the cute pic below of Laura Rost & her T-Rex.

And the Boston Phoenix has photos that are meh but still worth a quick click.

I managed to catch a nasty cold, but what's helping me get better is the arrival of more fun tattoo work for my next project in my monster tattoo book series. Here's the latest:

Check the work of Fred Laverne of Voodoo Lab in Menton, France.

Fred will be working at the Tattoo Art Fest in Paris this weekend along with a great line-up of international artists. [You can see my photos on Flickr from the last time I was at that convention a few years ago.]

So enjoy the tattoo eye-candy while I stick my head in a box of Kleenex.

The Baltimore Sun had some good coverage of the weekend's Baltimore Tattoo Arts convention, including a slideshow featuring this photo of Dan Henk working [where you can just make out his head tattoo that Nick Baxter did in June]. They also shot footage and interviews from the convention floor, shown below.


Just before the convention, the newspaper interviewed organizer Troy Timpel, offering a preview of the event, and published a "Tattoos at the Baltimore Tattoo Museum" photo gallery. In his interview, Troy said:

"I liked getting the dirty looks from the old ladies back in the early '90s and late '80s...It's no longer the lowbrow biker, sailor, convict kind of thing that it was 20 years ago. Sadly, I think it's become socially reputable."

Sarcasm aside, the show drew in over 5,000 convention goers, and from the Twitter feeds of some artists in attendance, it sounds like it was successful for many working it as well.

My next large-scale coffee table book project for Edition Reuss will be a massive collection of top New School work from around the globe. Of course, the term New School itself is pretty fluid and not universally defined, but my approach is to highlight cartoony/animated tattoos that follow the Americana traditions of strong linework and readability but color bombed with vibrant hues, morphed into fantastical characters and imbued with a lot of sexy fun and humor. Think Joe Capobianco, Tony Ciavarro, Jime Litwalk and Kristel Oreto. [*And Joe just reminded me of Dave Fox's work, of course!]

In researching, I've come across many artists beyond the US who have really exciting portfolios that I have to share with y'all. Here's the first artist in this series:

Check Kowhey of  Balance Tattoo in Miyazaki City in Japan.

Of course a trip to the Japanese island of Kyushu would be a sweet tattoo vacation, but Kowhey is also traveling to conventions worldwide to work his psychedelic interpretations of ancient Japanese myths as well as tricked-out Americana motifs like pin-ups, pirates and pirate pin-ups.

You can find more of his work here.

I couldn't let the day pass without a 9-11 memorial post. To view how some New Yorkers chose to commemorate lost loved ones on that day, see the Indelible Memories Project by Vinnie Amesse, which includes the photo above. In 2003, over a 100 of Amesse's photos were shown at the Historic Museum at Historic Richmond Town in Staten Island, NYC. Some of the stories behind the tattoos can be found here.

Since 2005 (from my Needled.com days), I have posted on 9-11 memorial tattoos and not all responses to these posts have been positive. I have been accused of ignoring the deaths of those in Iraq and Afghanistan, and of blind flag-waving patriotism. I still do not know how a day of remembrance negates other tragedies. I'm a New Yorker who lost neighbors and family friends on that day and these posts are a tribute to their memory, not a political statement. If anything, it's a reminder to be grateful for spending time with loved ones who are with me now. 

The Official Star Wars Blog has a quick Q&A with tattoo artist Jacob Walsh on his most awesome Death Star ear, tattooed by Ben Stubbs. They both work at Ink Addiction in Valdosta, GA.

When asked Why did you decide to get a Star Wars tattoo...on your ear?, Jacob simply replied: "I am a tattoo artist and was sitting at work on May 4th thinking, 'I have to get a Star Wars tattoo today.'" And he did. This is what happens when geeks work in tattoo shops.

Check more Star Wars tattoos here.

[Via BoingBoing]

As I mentioned in July's redux of the Traditional Tattoo & World Culture Fest in Ireland, I had the pleasure of interviewing ManWoman, an artist who's mission it has been since the 1960s to reclaim the swastika from its Nazi taint back to its ancient, peaceful roots.

ManWoman, or Manny as his friends call him, used tattoos as a way to spread his message, and in doing so, found a loyal fan base in the tattoo community. In fact, many of those in attendance specifically came to hear ManWoman's presentation on his journey. Today, ManWoman is no longer adding to his tattoo collection but continues to inspire through other mediums like painting, writing and mixed media arts.

In our interview, ManWoman discusses everything from his spiritual awakening to the swatika's origins to meeting Holocaust survivors. You can read the full article in the October issue of Total Tattoo, now on newsstands and online. Here's a taste:

There are Holocaust survivors living today for whom the swastika could mean nothing else. Have you ever met anyone who was directly impacted by the Holocaust?

Yes, I have. About a year ago I was at a health spa in Glen Ivy, California where my men's group was having our big annual meeting. We were sitting in the hot springs with the water bubbling all around and all of a sudden this little bony hand comes over the railing, and this old, old lady who must've been close to ninety pointed at my arms and said, "They told us children we were going to a party when they put us in Auschwitz." And I thought, "Oh my god, how am I going to explain to this lady that what I'm doing has no connection at all?" She just went into this really sad place and I felt bad. What do you say to someone like her? I just told her that it didn't have anything to do with that. How do you tell someone in 25 words or less, in a two-minute encounter, about the incredible beauty and sacredness of this symbol? A symbol that is has been used by Hindus, Buddhists, Pagans and ancient cultures as the most sacred symbol of blessing and auspiciousness. I was in India last year, and you can't go anywhere there without seeing it. It's everywhere.

The symbol appears in many cultures throughout history. Why do you think it keeps appearing in so many different times and places?

It's because it's a part of the archetypes of the inner foundations of the mind. There are universal symbols; like Karl Yung said, "If you slice through every religion there are universal archetypes: death, rebirth, the sacred mother giving birth to the divine child. And guess what pours through my dreams night after night? It's the archetypes but totally free from any organized religion. I see my duty as an artist and poet to refresh these archetypes. They're not going to change but they need to come out in a new form that we can relate to differently. When I see all these young people taking the swastika and playing with it, dancing with it, and making it into what it really is, it's just amazing. I feel like crying because I'm so excited. I come here and there are all these guys with their heads shaved and swastika tattoos on their faces, and it's like my dream is coming true. I better be careful what I dream of!

Please include:

- OS version number

- Browser and version number

- A direct link to the error page

- Link to a screen-grab (when possible - but those really help)

Browse on, gentle readers - hopefully this new design will be a little easier on your eyes.

ABC News just posted a few photos from the Hell City convention in Phoenix. Cheers to them for some thoughtful captions and not the usual point-and-laugh at the freaks.

I heard the show was once again a success. Cheers to Durb and the crew for another great event. I'm sure their own photos will go up soon, so check back on their media page or head there now to see images from past shows.