Wild ink works

10 may, 2013
Wild ink tattoo studio
Guwahati, Assam (India)
Artist- Sanjeev deka

Wild ink works

Today's work
Wild ink tattoo studio
Guwahati, Assam (India)
Artist- Sanjeev deka

Tattooing makes transition from cult to fine art

A design by the artist Duke Riley called
"Laugh Now, Cry Later."
The revelation went beyond the
acknowledgement from Ms. Moss, one of
the most photographed women in the
world, that she had tattoos. It included
the claim that the swallows on her
haunch were the work of the German-
born British artist Lucian Freud , who had
died the previous year.
In a rare interview published in the
December issue of Vanity Fair magazine,
Ms. Moss pondered the financial value of
that tattoo: “It’s an original Freud. I
wonder how much a collector would pay
for that? A few million? I’d skin-graft it.”
The numbers might sound surprising, but
a nude portrait of Ms. Moss, painted by
Mr. Freud in 2002 while the model was
pregnant, sold three years later at
Christie’s in London for €3.92 million, or
about $5.14 million at current exchange
rates. The mention of a skin graft put the
spotlight on the relationship between
tattoos and fine art — and by extension,
art collection.
Until recently, the integration of tattoos
into the art world was mostly confined to
performance art. In 2000, for example,
the Spanish artist Santiago Sierra paid
four prostitutes the price of a hit of heroin
and filmed them having single black lines
tattooed across their backs
. But today, tattoos — much like graffiti,
which in the past decade has been
transformed from cult to collectible — are
increasingly being embraced by the art
world, particularly in areas where art and
fashion meet.
For the introduction in 2011 of Garage
magazine, for instance, the editor Dasha
Zhukova commissioned artists including
Jeff Koons, Dinos Chapman and Richard
Prince to design tattoos. One version
showed part of a nude model whose
private parts were covered by a green
butterfly sticker created by the English
artist Damien Hirst
. Taking off the sticker uncovered a
butterfly tattoo, also designed by Mr.
Hirst.
Prestigious art institutions like the Musée
du Quai Branly in Paris have taken note.
The museum is planning an exhibition in
May 2014 called “Tatoueurs, Tatoués,” or
“Tattooists, Tattooed,” to explore
tattooing as an artistic medium. The show
will include “works produced specially for
the event by internationally renowned
artist tattooists, body suits on canvas and
volumes comprising imprints taken from
living models,” the museum said in a
news release.
Two exponents who are bridging the art
and tattoo worlds are the artist Duke
Riley , based in New York, and the London-
based tattooist Maxime Büchi. Mr. Riley,
who trained in painting and sculpture at
the Rhode Island School of Design and
the Pratt Institute in New York, describes
himself as a “fine artist and tattooist.” His
growing success as an artist has
“elevated” his status as a tattooist, he
said.
Mr. Büchi, a London-based tattooist and
the editor of Sang Bleu magazine, which is
available at the Tate Modern in London
and the Colette store in Paris , says the
Internet has made it possible to browse a
huge online catalog of tattoo art. While he
claims to dislike the term “tattoo artist,”
he said that an increasingly discerning
public had bolstered demand to be inked
by someone whose work in other media
is sold, exhibited and recognized.
In addition to being an exhibition space,
the Internet provides opportunities for
marketing and self-promotion in a rapidly
changing field. Twenty years ago, Mr.
Riley said, tattooists learned a wide range
of styles to demonstrate mastery of the
craft. Today, by contrast, there is a sharp
increase in tattooists seeking to establish
unique artistic identities.
As with contemporary art, questions
about originality and copyright have
emerged. Some see imitation in the field
as part of a collective tattoo tradition,
while others are more protective. Mr.
Riley is sanguine about the subject —
when his work is copied, he said, he is
flattered. Mr. Büchi said he felt
“honored” when copied, but he
acknowledged the complexity of the
issue. “If you are creating a style which is
so specific that nobody imitates it,” he
said, “then you are clearly doing
something wrong. But it’s a delicate
thing.”
Mr. Büchi spoke of a “license” of sorts, an
agreement between those who are
inspired and influenced by one another.
“That’s different from someone seeing a
design of mine online and passing it off as
their own,” he said.
As for Ms. Moss’s musings about reselling
tattoos, Mr. Riley said that skin grafting
had come up in conversation “at least
once a week” in his Brooklyn parlor, East
River Tattoo.
The preservation of skin art is already a
reality. The Wellcome Collection in
London and the Amsterdam Tattoo
Museum both feature preserved tattooed
skins. And the Irish performance artist
Sandra Ann Vita Minchin, who
commissioned a tattooist to recreate a
17th- century painting by Jan Davidsz. de
Heem on her back, plans to have her skin
preserved posthumously and auctioned to
the highest bidder.
In 2006, the Belgian artist Wim Delvoye
created a piece of work titled “Tim,
2006,” in which Mr. Delvoye tattooed the
back of a man, Tim Steiner, and signed it.
In 2008, it sold to a German art collector
for €150,000, which was split between
the Zurich gallery which had sold it, the
artist and the model. Mr. Steiner displays
his skin several times a year, and has
given consent for his skin to be framed
after his death.
Preserving skin posthumously is likely to
become relatively common by the time
the 20-year-olds of today enter old age,
Mr. Riley said, particularly considering the
monetary investment involved with
collecting high-end tattoos.
Such thoughts can veer toward the
sinister. Ilse Koch, the wife of a Nazi
commandant during the Holocaust and
one of the first prominent Nazis to be
tried by the U.S. military, was accused of
having taken souvenirs from the skin of
concentration camp victims with
distinctive tattoos. In Roald Dahl’s 1952
short story “Skin,” a destitute man enters
a gallery and displays a portrait tattooed
on his back by a now celebrated painter,
leading to a bidding war and an unsettling
ending.
A more likely scenario, Mr. Riley said, is
that family members would choose to
preserve the tattoos of loved ones. For
Mr. Büchi, however, tattooing is not art
to be passed on through generations.
“The value of a tattoo lies in the fact that
it does not belong to the artist in that
way,” he said. “To preserve it would be to
devalue it. Its value is that it will die with
you.’

A post by Iestyn flye , scarCon london

A post from me that’s not about history?
I know, I know. But I’m looking at things
in the long view- eventually ScarCon will
join my own ScarWars event as a nodal
point in the history of Scarification, so….
this post is just coming a bit early!
Ron Garza is one of my oldest friends, and
along with Steve Haworth is someone I
consider to be directly responsible for the
way that Western scarification has
evolved. He’s influenced the best in the
world and in 2006 at Scarwars LA I was
honored to present him with the ‘Keith
Alexander Award for the Advancement of
the Art and Culture of Scarification’. To
date he’s the only artist who’s been given
this award. He recently hosted ScarCon;
an international gathering of Scarification
artists hosted in London England and has
graciously contributed photos exclusively
to ModBlog and Scarwars (so check there
for pictures not included in this update!)
The artists for the inaugural London
ScarCon were: Christiane Lofblad, Ryan
Ouellette, Bruno BMA, Iestyn Flye, Ron
Garza and Brenno Alberti .

rita ora gets n gives new tattoo!!

Rita Ora, Jay-Z 's latest musical project, is
just one of many celebrities to flock to
tattoo artist Keith McCurdy when in
need of some new ink.
While Rita was in New York , sometime
after her Met Gala PJ party , she hit up
Bang Bang NYC to get a swooping dove
tattooed at the base of her neck.

tribal tattoos of arunachal pradesh, India

Centuries before rockstars and
celebrities, tattoos were used by
tribal men and women across the
world, whether it was the Maoris of
New Zealand or the Apatanis of
Arunachal Pradesh, to mark out
identity and territory ...
On his Orkut profile, Michi Laling, a 20-
year-old Delhi University student,
describes himself as a "free soul with
strategically placed tattoos and body
piercing". Ink, in fact, runs in Michi's
blood. Back in his village in Arunachal
Pradesh's Ziro valley, his 80-year-old
grandmother also wears a tattoo, though
for entirely different reasons. While body
art is a fashion statement for Michi, his
grandmother was forced to get her face
tattooed when she was barely eight.
Centuries before it became an accessory
for rock stars and celebrities, Arunachal
Pradesh's Apatani tribe - to which Michi
belongs - was tattooing its womenfolk to
make them unattractive to rival tribes in
neighbouring districts, who might
otherwise abduct their prettiest women.
Today's quintessential fashion statement,
a tattoo, was a way to protect the
identity of various tribes, revealing a rich
and eerie intersection of primitive art and
violence.
"Apatani women were often abducted by
the neighbouring Nishi tribesmen for
their beauty, so to make themsleves look
unattractive, they tattooed their faces
and wore huge circular nose plugs," says S
K Baruah, an anthropologist who has
researched on the tribes of Arunachal
Pradesh for more than 30 years. Though
not many women born in the last three
decades have chosen to get their faces
inked - the 'inhuman' practice was banned
by the government in the '70s - elderly
Apatani women can still be seen with a
thick blue line running from their
forehead to the tip of the nose and six
smaller lines on their lower chin.
The Apatani tattooing procedure used to
be a very painful affair. Unlike the state-
of-the art tattoo guns and ink used today,
the Apatanis used thorns to cut the skin
and soot mixed in animal fat for the dark
blue colour.The wounds were allowed to
get infected so that the tattoos became
larger and clearer.
The Apatanis are not the only tattooed
tribe in northeastern India.The
headhunting Konyaks of Nagaland used to
tattoo their faces like headhunters from
the Philippines, Taiwan and other Pacific
islands. Facial tattoos were marks of the
head-taker, the various designs indicating
the person's prowess in battle and his
head-count, write Aditya Arya and Vibha
Joshi in their book Land of the Nagas.
Researchers also say that tattoos helped
establish tribal identity besides enabling
recognition after death in a war or a fatal
accident. Facial tattooing was prevalent
among Noctes and Wanchos of Arunachal
as well.
The married women of the Singpho tribe,
found both in Assam and Arunachal, were
tattooed on both legs from the ankle to
the knee, while the men tattooed their
limbs, while unmarried Singpho girls were
barred from wearing a tattoo.
With the modernisation and urbanisation
of northeast India over the decades, the
tattoo culture has shifted significantly.
The traditional patterns may have been
replaced by modern motifs, but the
meaning behind the pain-inducing
practice hasn't changed much - just like
today's city bred youth, Nagas regarded
tattoos as a sign of strength, courage, and
virility because of the pain associated
with it.
Indian tribes are not the only ones that
tattooed themselves. The Ainu of Japan
traditionally wore facial tattoos. Today,
one can find Berbers of Tamazgha (North
Africa),Maoris of New Zealand, Arabic
people in east Turkey and the Atayal of
Taiwan with facial tattoos. The practice
was widespread among Polynesian
peoples and among tribes in the
Philippines, Borneo, Samoaa, and
Cambodia .
Despite some taboos surrounding
tattooing, the art continues to be popular
in many parts of the world.
Ancient art
Tribal adaptation of popular designs like
the dragon and tiger and abstract art is
gaining popularity among the youth.
Done in black ink - which shows up very
nicely on Indian skin complexion - 'tribal
tattoos' accounts for a third of all tattoo
design searches on the internet, according
to recent statistics provided by Google.

Guess which celeb is rocking a brand new dove tattoo

E! Online - 10 hours ago
This blond beauty debuted some new ink in the
form of a dove on the lower right side of her
neck today. She posted a snapshot of the tattoo
and said, "My new baby bird thank you @
bangbangnyc." Can you guess who it is? (Hint:
she's Jay-Z's latest protégé.) ...
Bang Bang Tattoos is a celebrity hot-spot for the
inked, dare-devil stars of the world. Rihanna has
been a regular since her tattoo obsession began
and has also posted numerous pictures of her
latest tattoos at the parlour and posing with
Bang Bang too.

justin bieber gets selena taoo.

Okay, it's pret-ty obvious by now that Justin
Bieber 's new tattoo is a pic of Selena Gomez !
And, the boy does love his tats! There's even a
website dedicated to all the ink he's had done
on his body. Ummm, never underestimate a
Belieber.
So, let's just say The Biebs went on a tatting
spree to commemorate all the things that he
absolutely loves! Well, no need to wonder
because we did the work for you! Yup, let's look
at just some of the INKredible Justin Bieber
tattoo ideas we have in store for you….
He was really into that yellow spiky hat of his for
a while. In fact, he loved it so much, he might as
well had it permanently etched into his skin!
Let's see what that would look like:

harry styles gets new tattoo

Harry Styles has a new cougar mom woman in
his life, and now, it appears that he also has a
NEW TATTOO!
However, unlike other pop sensations like Justin
Bieber , the One Direction crooner's latest ink is
NOT in honor of his recent lady love, 33-year-old
Kimberly Stewart !
Instead, it appears the body art is instead
dedicated to one of his group's very own songs!
Find out which one we're talking about… AFTER
THE JUMP !!!

ho chi works

YESTERDAY'S WORK. ARTIST- Sanjeev
Deka
HO CHI TATTOO STUDIO, ZOO ROAD
TINIALI, GUWAHATI- 3
PHONE- 8761959122 — at Zoo tiniali
Road.

wild ink works

TODAY'S WORK. ARTIST- Sanjeev Deka
HO CHI TATTOO STUDIO, ZOO ROAD
TINIALI, GUWAHATI- 3
PHONE- 8761959122 — at Zoo tiniali
Road. — at Zoo tiniali Road

wild ink works

7 May 2013 ·
TODAY'S WORK. ARTIST- Sanjeev Deka
HO CHI TATTOO STUDIO, ZOO ROAD
TINIALI, GUWAHATI- 3
PHONE- 8761959122 — at Zoo tiniali
Road. — at Zoo tiniali Road. — at Zoo
tiniali Road

Tv hotties shape up for bolly debut

TOI 2013-05-05 00:05:00
...Story 2 Films in hand: Pure Punjabi, Jatt
Romantic and Mere Yaar Kaminey; 3 film
deal with Vikram Bhatt For the big leap:
Got tattoos done, funky hair style In
between doing Punjabi movies and
looking after his family business, Karan's
putting in the right...

tattoos get an image makeover

Youngsters in Chennai wear their
heart on their sleeve, or back, as they
get inked on symbols that hold
meaning
When Rohit Agarwal decided to get
himself a tattoo of dragon on his back, he
was only reinforcing his faith in Buddhism
and his affinity for the astrological symbol
of dragon.
Increasingly, youngsters in the city are
dissing traditional, abstract, and popular
tattoo symbols in favour of ink
impressions and etchings that define their
world view and philosophy.
"If something means a lot to you, then
tattooing is the best way to express it
and reaffirm your faith in it, " says Rohit,
who's now looking at getting another
tattoo that will feature half the face of
Buddha juxtaposed with half a dragon's
face. "It will stand for the two sides to
me — peaceful but aggressive at certain
other times."
Sanaya Zehra, a model, seconds Rohit's
opinion, and adds that tattooing
communicates ideas that fail to be
conveyed through words. "I have got a lip
and a wording 'Babe' next to it inked on
my lower hip. Being in the field of
glamour, I always like to carry around
myself that way," she says.
There are many others who like to
customize their tattoo designs. Take, for
example, Vernon Fernando, a sailor, who's
got an anchor and a mermaid tattooed on
his hand. "I am a sailor, and I relate to
these patterns," says Vernon.
City-based tattoo artist Naveen Kumar
agrees that other than bespoke tattoos,
people these days like to opt for tattoo
designs they can relate to, like fish,
dragon, angel, butterflies. Among the
popular trends, exotic Maori motifs have
been trending on the tattoo circuit as
well. "Maori is a combination of
indigenous Maori culture and European
traditions and practices, and youngsters in
Chennai seem to be quite taken in with
it," says Naveen.
Tattoos, it seems, then, has moved from
being a funky fashion statement to
becoming a lot more about who you are.
Dr Raj, whose passion for tattooing saw
him bid goodbye to dentistry, makes it a
point to tell his client the significance of
each design before he inks it on them.
"Each design carries a meaning with it.
For example, a fish or a phoenix signifies
power, whereas an angel shows peace.
They should be sure they want a certain
design, because though you can remove
tattoos through laser, it is an expensive
proposition," warns Raj.
Tattoo spotting on celebs!
Mamta Mohandas - Ganesha, treble and
bass clef symbols
Shruti Haasan - Rose and her name in
Tamil
Khushbu - Daughter's names (Avantika
and Ananditha) and Alphabet S with a
heart symbol
Vikram - Arm band
Design and average price
1. Maori - `12,500/-
2. Tribals - `2,000/-
3. Fish - `7000/-
4. Butterfly - `2000/-
5. Phoenix - `2500/-
6. Angels - `3000/-

History of tattoos

The word tattoo comes from the Tahitian
"tatu" which means "to mark something."
It is arguably claimed that tattooing has
existed since 12,000 years BC. The
purpose of tattooing has varies from
culture to culture and its place on the
time line. But there are commonalties
that prevail form the earliest known
tattoos to those being done on college
students on Telegraph Ave. in Berkeley.
Tattoos have always had an important
role in ritual and tradition. In Borneo,
women tattooed their symbols on their
forearm indicating their particular skill. If
a woman wore a symbol indicating she
was a skilled weaver, her status as prime
marriageable material was increased.
Tattoos around the wrist and fingers were
believed to ward away illness. Throughout
history tattoos have signified membership
in a clan or society. Even today groups
like the Hells Angels tattoo their
particular group symbol. TV and movies
have used the idea of a tattoo indication
membership in a secret society numerous
times. It has been believed that the
wearer of an image calls the spirit of that
image. The ferocity of a tiger would
belong to the tattooed person. That
tradition holds true today shown by the
proliferation of images of tigers, snakes,
and bird of prey.
In recorded history, the earliest tattoos
can be found in Egypt during the time of
the construction of the great pyramids (It
undoubtedly started much earlier). When
the Egyptians expanded their empire, the
art of tattooing spread as well. The
civilizations of Crete, Greece, Persia, and
Arabia picked up and expanded the art
form. Around 2000 BC tattooing spread
to China.
The Greeks used tattooing for
communication among spies. Markings
identified the spies and showed their
rank. Romans marked criminals and
slaves. This practice is still carried on
today. The Ainu people of western Asia
used tattooing to show social status. Girls
coming of age were marked to announce
their place in society, as were the married
women. The Ainu are noted for
introducing tattoos to Japan where it
developed into a religious and ceremonial
rite. In Borneo, women were the
tattooists. It was a cultural tradition. They
produced designs indicating the owners
station in life and the tribe he belonged
to. Kayan women had delicate arm tattoos
which looked like lacy gloves. Dayak
warriors who had "taken a head" had
tattoos on their hands. The tattoos
garnered respect and assured the owners
status for life. Polynesians developed
tattoos to mark tribal communities,
families, and rank. They brought their art
to New Zealand and developed a facial
style of tattooing called Moko which is
still being used today. There is evidence
that the Mayan, Incas, and Aztecs used
tattooing in the rituals. Even the isolated
tribes in Alaska practiced tattooing, their
style indicating it was learned from the
Ainu.
In the west, early Britons used tattoos in
ceremonies. The Danes, Norse, and
Saxons tattooed family crests (a tradition
still practiced today). In 787 AD, Pope
Hadrian banned tattooing. It still thrived
in Britain until the Norman Invasion of
1066. The Normans disdained tattooing.
It disappeared from Western culture from
the 12th to the 16th centuries.
While tattooing diminished in the west, it
thrived in Japan. At first, tattoos were
used to mark criminals. First offenses
were marked with a line across the
forehead. A second crime was marked by
adding an arch. A third offense was
marked by another line. Together these
marks formed the Japanese character for
"dog". It appears this was the original
"Three strikes your out" law. In time, the
Japanese escalated the tattoo to an
aesthetic art form. The Japanese body
suit originated around 1700 as a reaction
to strict laws concerning conspicuous
consumption. Only royalty were allowed
to wear ornate clothing. As a result of
this, the middle class adorned themselves
with elaborate full body tattoos. A highly
tattooed person wearing only a loin cloth
was considered well dressed, but only in
the privacy of their own home.
William Dampher is responsible for re-
introducing tattooing to the west. He was
a sailor and explorer who traveled the
South Seas. In 1691 he brought to London
a heavily tattooed Polynesian named
Prince Giolo, Known as the Painted
Prince. He was put on exhibition , a
money making attraction, and became the
rage of London. It had been 600 years
since tattoos had been seen in Europe
and it would be another 100 years before
tattooing would make it mark in the
West.
In the late 1700s, Captain Cook made
several trips to the South Pacific. The
people of London welcomed his stories
and were anxious to see the art and
artifacts he brought back. Returning form
one of this trips, he brought a heavily
tattooed Polynesian named Omai. He was
a sensation in London. Soon, the upper-
class were getting small tattoos in
discreet places. For a short time tattooing
became a fad.
What kept tattooing from becoming more
widespread was its slow and painstaking
procedure. Each puncture of the skin was
done by hand the ink was applied. In
1891, Samuel O'Rtiely patented the first
electric tattooing machine. It was based
on Edison's electric pen which punctured
paper with a needle point. The basic
design with moving coils, a tube and a
needle bar, are the components of
today's tattoo gun. The electric tattoo
machine allowed anyone to obtain a
reasonably priced, and readily available
tattoo. As the average person could easily
get a tattoo, the upper classes turned
away from it.
By the turn of the century, tattooing had
lost a great deal of credibility. Tattooists
worked the sleazier sections of town.
Heavily tattooed people traveled with
circuses and "freak Shows." Betty
Brodbent traveled with Ringling Brothers
Circus in the 1930s and was a star
attraction for years.
The cultural view of tattooing was so poor
for most of the century that tattooing
went underground. Few were accepted
into the secret society of artists and there
were no schools to study the craft. There
were no magazines or associations. Tattoo
suppliers rarely advertised their products.
One had to learn through the scuttlebutt
where to go and who to see for quality
tattoos.
The birthplace of the American style
tattoo was Chatham Square in New York
City. At the turn of the century it was a
seaport and entertainment center
attracting working-class people with
money. Samuel O'Riely cam from Boston
and set up shop there. He took on an
apprentice named Charlie Wagner. After
O'Reily's death in 1908, Wagner opened a
supply business with Lew Alberts. Alberts
had trained as a wallpaper designer and
he transferred those skills to the design
of tattoos. He is noted for redesigning a
large portion of early tattoo flash art.
While tattooing was declining in
popularity across the country, in Chatham
Square in flourished. Husbands tattooed
their wives with examples of their best
work. They played the role of walking
advertisements for their husbands' work.
At this time, cosmetic tattooing became
popular, blush for cheeks, coloured lips,
and eyeliner. With world war I, the flash
art images changed to those of bravery
and wartime icons.
In the 1920s, with prohibition and then
the depression, Chathma Square lost its
appeal. The center for tattoo art moved
to Coney Island. Across the country,
tattooists opened shops in areas that
would support them, namely cities with
military bases close by, particularly naval
bases. Tattoos were know as travel
markers. You could tell where a person
had been by their tattoos.
After world war II, tattoos became further
denigrated by their associations with
Marlon Brando type bikers and Juvenile
delinquents. Tattooing had little respect
in American culture. Then, in 1961 there
was an outbreak of hepatitis and
tattooing was sent reeling on its heels.
Though most tattoo shops had
sterilization machines, few used them.
Newspapers reported stories of blood
poisoning, hepatitis, and other diseases.
The general population held tattoo parlors
in disrepute. At first, the New York City
government gave the tattoos an
opportunity to form an association and
self- regulate, but tattooists are
independent and they were not able to
organize themselves. A health code
violation went into effect and the tattoo
shops at Times Square and Coney Island
were shut down. For a time, it was
difficult to get a tattoo in New York. It
was illegal and tattoos had a terrible
reputation. Few people wanted a tattoo.
The better shops moved to Philadelphia
and New Jersey where it was still legal.
In the late 1960s, the attitude towards
tattooing changed. Much credit can be
given to Lyle Tuttle. He is a handsome,
charming, interesting and knows how to
use the media. He tattooed celebrities,
particularly women. Magazines and
television went to Lyle to get information
about this ancient art form.
Toady, tattooing is making a strong
comeback. It is more popular and
accepted than it has ever been. All classes
of people seek the best tattoo artists.
This rise in popularity has placed tattoists
in the category of "fine artist". The
tattooist has garnered a respect not seen
for over 100 years. Current artists
combine the tr5adition of tattooing with
their personal style creating unique and
phenomenal body art. With the addition
of new inks, tattooing has certainly
reached a new plateau.

Top 10 greatest tattoo artists around the world

According to 28 april 2010 these are the top  10 tattoo artists of all time:-
1. Brandon Bond - For the last 16 years,
Brandon has created some of the world's
most recognized award winning tattoos.
As an owner of the All or Nothing Tattoo,
and Anti Art Elite in Atlanta, Georgia, he is
one of the few artists who remains
booked well over a year in advance.

2. Nick Baxter - Famous for his large
scale color tattoos, Nick Baxter remains at
the top of the charts due to his
consistent attention to detail and
willingness to push the boundaries of
what it means to be an artist.

3. Aaron Cain - for almost 20 years,
Aaron Cain has led the biochemical tattoo
artists to new heights with his beautiful
art. Most recognized for his thick lines
and hard edges, Cain continues to inspire
future tattoo artists with his awe-inspiring
creations.

4. Paul Booth - One of the most famous
tattoo artists on the planet, Paul Booth is
the household name that is synonymous
with everything evil in the world. His
lifelike portraits of the dark side have
brought him to stardom with appearances
on stations such as CNN, MSNBC,
DISCOVERY, A&E, TLC, and MTV.

5. Carson Hill - Do not let his age fool
you. At the age of 31, Carson Hill has
become one of the most revered
biochemical tattoo artists on the planet.
His work is constantly improving, and his
tattoos continue to bring new dimensions
that other artists simply cannot match.

6. Bob Tyrrell - A late bloomer, Bob
Tyrrell began tattooing at the age of 34.
However, over the years he has become
one of the most well known tattoo artists
for his incredibly lifelike portraits. It is
almost as if the faces are staring into your
soul.

7. Mike DeVries - His color portraits,
animals, and pinups are among the best
in the world. The depth that he puts into
his art makes you truly believe that they
will pop right out of the skin.

8. Ryan Dearringer - With a solid belief
that the tattoo artists are an artist first,
and a tattoo artist second, he continually
pushes the boundary of style and
creativity with his amazing work. With a
unique ability to blend the old-school
styles with the new, I believe we have
yet to see the true greatest that Ryan
Dearringer has within.

9. Guy Aitchison - With work displayed in
the top art and tattoo magazines, Guy
Aitchison is among the world leaders in
Biomech tattoos.

10. Jesse Nesse - Ranked as one of the
top tattoo artists in his field, Jesse Nesse,
is an absolute wizard in the art of cover
up tattoos and custom color tattoos.

Looking at the world's tattoos

Chris Rainier has seen bare flesh etched
by the crudest of implements: old nails,
sharpened bamboo sticks, barracuda
teeth. The ink might be nothing more
than sugar cane juice mixed with campfire
soot. The important part is the meaning
behind the marks.
“Blank skin,” the photographer says, “is
merely a canvas for a story.”
Rainier has documented these stories in
dozens of cultures across the globe. In
New Guinea, a swirl of tattoos on a Tofi
woman’s face indicates her family lineage.
The dark scrawls on a Cambodian monk’s
chest reflect his religious beliefs. A Los
Angeles gang member’s sprawling tattoos
describe his street affiliation, and may
even reveal if he’s committed murder.
Whether the bearer is a Maori chief in
New Zealand or a Japanese mafia lord,
tattoos express an indelible identity.
“They say, ‘this is who I am, and what I
have done,’” Rainier says.
Rainier’s portraits are featured in a new
film, Tattoo Odyssey , in which he
photographs Mentawai people living in a
remote village on the Indonesian island of
Siberut. Their spider web-like tattoos,
which echo the shapes and shadows of
the forest, are meant to anchor the soul
in the body and to attract benevolent
spirits. The film premieres September
26th on the Smithsonian Channel.
Rainier’s images “lifted a veil on
something that wasn’t accessible to us in
Western culture,” says Deborah Klochko,
director of San Diego’s Museum of
Photographic Arts, which has displayed
Rainier’s portraits. His work, much of it
presented in the 2006 book Ancient
Marks: The Sacred Origins of Tattoos
and Body Marking, may be the most
comprehensive collection of its kind,
Klochko says. Yet, she points out, “he’s
not an anthropologist. A scientist would
take another kind of picture of the same
markings. He brings a different sensibility,
an emotional connection.”
Rainier was Ansel Adams’ last assistant—
they worked together in the early 1980s,
until Adams’ death in 1984. 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.
Yet he is also fascinated by the current
tattoo craze in the United States,
apparent everywhere from Nevada’s
Burning Man art festival to Pacific Coast
surf beaches to Midwestern shopping
malls. Once confined to a few
subcultures, tattooing has today gone
mainstream: according to a 2006 Pew
survey, 40 percent of Americans between
the ages of 26 and 40 have been
tattooed.

Description about tattoos

A tattoo is a form of body
modification, made by
inserting indelible ink into
the dermis layer of the skin
to change the pigment. The
first written reference to the
word, "tattoo" (or Samoan
"Tatau") appears in the
journal of Joseph Banks, the
naturalist aboard Captain
Cook's ship the HMS
Endeavour: "I shall now
mention the way they mark
themselves indelibly, each of
them is so marked by their
humor or disposition".

Latest tattoo events...

NEVADA , UNITED STATES
May 10 – 12, 2013

Athens Tattoo Convention
GREECE
May 10 – 12, 2013

2da Convencion Tattoo Rosario
ARGENTINA
May 11 – 12, 2013

Plymouth Tattoo Convention
UNITED KINGDOM
May 11 – 12, 2013

Tattoo Convention Nürnberg
GERMANY
May 11 – 12, 2013

Tattoo Convention de Chalon sur Saône
FRANCE
May 11 – 12, 2013

16th Annual New York City Tattoo
Convention
NEW YORK , UNITED STATES
May 17 – 19, 2013

Croatian Tattoo Convention
CROATIA
May 17 – 19, 2013

Needle Art Convention
NETHERLANDS
May 18 – 19, 2013

Alchemy Tattoo Expo
SWITZERLAND
May 18 – 19, 2013

Tattoo Convention Bamberg
GERMANY
May 18 – 19, 2013

Tattoo Motor Show Festival Davezieux
FRANCE
May 18 – 19, 2013

Recent tattoos

Tattoo Extremities Is Now Available!
Posted on 11/27/12
Tattoo Extremities: Artistic Focus on
the Head, Hands, Neck and Feet
Now Available!
Tattoo Extremities is a High Quality,
Hardcover, Coffee Table Book Published
by Memento Publishing with 240 full color
pages that is 10 inches by 10 inches in
size. Tattoo Extremities Features 170
Tattoo Artists with Over 800 photos!
Only $49.99 Click Here To Order Your
Copy Today
Placement of tattoo art is an important
facet of each design and has the power to
turn each piece into an extraordinary
aesthetic experience. Throughout the
years, the extremities of the body have
been utilized to tell stories, depict
ritualistic significance, and serve as the
canvas for exhibiting grand artistic
projects. Though not all tattoo collectors
choose to decorate their hands, heads,
and feet, many of those who do expose
the world to some of the tattoo industry's
finest accomplishments - proudly
displaying their artwork for all to see. This
book features an extensive body of tattoo
work from tattooists around the globe.
These talented artisans provide us with
distinct styles, genres, and creativity, all
inked upon the far-reaching limbs of the
body. Enjoy an intriguing artistic journey
that honors those bold enough to wear
the ink and the artists skilled enough to
make their imaginative concepts come to
life.
Here is a portion of the artists that have
tattoo work featured in Tattoo
Extremities... Nick Baxter, Jeff Ensminger,
Bob Tyrrell, Paul Booth, Guy Aitchison,
Jesse Smith, Stefano Alcantara, Mike
DeVries, Roman Abrego, Sean Herman,
Josh Woods, Myke Chambers, Jim Sylvia,
Dan Hazelton, DJ Minor, John Anderton,
Jasmin Austin, Jeremy Miller, Kyle
Cotterman, Timmy B, Larry Brogon,
Jeremiah Barba, Ben Corn, Carson Hill,
Cory Norris, Tim Kern, London Reese, Russ
Abbott, Christian Perez, Uncle Allan,
Sweet Laraine, Jeff Zuck, Johnny Jackson,
Tutti Serra, Ron Meyers, Cory Ferguson,
Andy Engel, Josh Duffy, Shawn Barber,
Franco Vescovi, Carlos Rojas, James Kern,
Mick Squires, Kore Flatmo, Steve Byrne,
Petri Syjala, Ty McEwen, Kirk Alley,
Timothy Boor, Ryan Hadley, Jess Yen, Jo
Harrison, Don Mcdonald, Aaron Bell,
Daniel Chashoudian, Juan Salgado, Jason
Stephan, Gunnar, Dan Smith, Bugs, Jamie
Parker, Brett Olsen, Steve Morris, Fabz,
Marc Durrant, Byron Drechsler, Phil
Robertson, and many more!

Tattoo removed

Nicole Richie wants to remove her ''butt
crack cross'' tattoo.
The 'Fashion Star' mentor is embarrassed
by her ''tramp stamp'' - a cross tattoo
located on her lower back - and has
consulted with Los Angeles physician Dr.
Tattoff to have the inking removed.
Chronicling her visit in a new AOL web
series, '#CandidlyNicole', she said: ''I was
16 and an idiot and didn't want my
parents to see, you know? It just means a
certain thing and I don't want to be part
of that group.''
The 31-year-old star - who has two
children, Harlow, five, and three-year-old
Sparrow with Good Charlotte star Benji
Madden - has nine tattoos in total and
got her first one at the age of 14 under
less than desirable circumstances.
She explained: ''The first one I got in a
room inside of a garage. The guy actually
took out a gun and asked my friend to
hold it while he tattooed me.
''I got a Chinese love symbol - which I
don't think it [said what it was supposed
to say].''
After consulting with the doctor and
discovering her undesirable body art
would take a year of treatment to
remove, however, Nicole eventually
decided to wait till the future to have the
tattoo zapped.
She said: ''I don't want to wait two
months in between each process. It's
going to take over a year. If it was a one
time thing, I would do it. But I'm not
going back every two months. It's too
much upkeep. I'm hoping in 10 years
they'll have new technology.''

20 best iconic tattoo studios around the world

1. Fortune Tattoo
City: Portland, OR (US)
Setting up shop in a city with one of the
highest rates of tattoo parlors per capita
in the United States ( around 12 per
100,000 people) can’t be easy, but Ms.
Mikki was up for the challenge. She
opened Fortune Tattoo on April 1st, 2010,
and it’s already one of the most well-
known, respected and popular tattoo studio in the city
As is Ms. Mikki, who’s been featured in
Tätowier Magazine , Skin & Ink, and
Northwest Tattoo.
2. Tin Tin Tatouages
City: Paris (France)
Tin Tin has been tattooing for nearly three
decades and opened his shop in
Monmartre in 1999. His work has been
featured in magazines like GQ and Elle, in
advertisements for Givenchy perfume,
and on celebrities like Marc Jacobs and
Philippe Starck.
3. Boston Tattoo Company
City: Boston, MA (US)
The studio might be new (opened May
2010), but owner Jason Zube wasted no
time developing a solid reputation.
Boston Tattoo Company was the 2011
winner of the “Best of Boston” readers’
poll by The Boston Phoenix .
4. The Tattoo Temple
City: Hong Kong (China)
Joey Pang has a two year waiting list;
unsurprising, considering she developed a
brush-stroke technique of tattooing that
resembles elements of traditional Chinese
calligraphy. Tattoos out of this studio
have been featured on CNN, CBS, and
The Travel Channel.
5. Black and Blue Tattoo
City: San Francisco, CA (US)
Germany-born Idexa Stern opened Black
and Blue in 1996, and the six-member
staff speaks a combined seven languages.
Idexa specializes in “black work,
geometric patterns, scientific imagery,
and organically inspired designs,” and was
named 2009 and 2010 Best Tattoo Artist
in the Bay Area in the San Francisco Bay
Guardian ‘s “Best of the Bay” Readers
Poll. Her work is also featured in Black
Tattoo Art and Tattoo World .
6. Toronto Ink
City: Toronto, Ontario (Canada)
“As Seen on MTV.” Mark Prata of Toronto
Ink was the tattoo / art designer for the
A&E TV series “Breakout Kings” and was
the on-air tattoo artist on MTV Live in
2007.
7. Caio Tattoo
City: Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
Caio started tattooing manually — as in a
needle and no machines — over 40 years
ago. He was in the business back when
tattoos were for, in his words, “sailors,
prostitutes, and bandits.” Caio’s shop in
Arpoador is located on some prime real
estate; right on the stretch between the
Copacabana and Ipanema beaches.
8. Saved Tattoo
City: Brooklyn, NY (US)
Scott Campbell opened Saved Tattoo in
2005, which has since expanded to
include eight other tattoo artists. Famous
clientele includes Heath Ledger, Sting,
Orlando Bloom, and Robert Downey Jr.
9. Kaze Gallery and Tattoo Studio
City: Denver, CO (US)
Kaze pulls double-duty as both a tattoo
studio, where artists Sandi Calistro and
William Thidemann specialize in custom
designs, and a gallery, hosting art
openings for both local and national
artists every month.
10. Angel Art Tattoo Studio
City: Bangkok (Thailand)
Mr. Tung is one of the most well-known
tattoo artists in Bangkok. His tattoos are
free-hand, drawn right onto the skin
rather than on paper, so each one is an
original.
11. Shanghai Tattoo
City: Shanghai (China)
Shanghai Tattoo’s pieces have been
featured in tons of media, including CNN
GO , Adidas commercials, Inked
Magazine, Shanghai Daily, and
Sueddeutsche.de . The studio recently
moved from an area known as “Cool
Docks” to a larger space on Maoming nan
lu.
12. Apocalypse Tattoo
City: Seattle, WA (US)
Apocalypse Tattoo of Seattle has been
featured in dozens of local and
international magazines, including Tattoo
Burst (Japan), Tattoo Energy (Italy),
Tattoo Society (US), Skin Deep (UK), and
Tattoo Arte (Mexico).
13. AKA
City: Berlin (Germany)
AKA is more than a tattoo studio.
According to their website, it’s also “a
café, a performance space, and a foster
home for all kinds of artistic stray cats.”
This isn’t just a place to get a tattoo; it
also hosts exhibitions for tattoo artists
(and other artists) to display their work.
14. Horiyoshi III
City: Tokyo (Japan)
Not only is Yoshihito Nakano — also
known as Horiyoshi III — one of the most
respected tattoo artists in the world, he’s
also the founder of the Yokohama Tattoo
Museum. His studio is located in
Yokohama, but he is closed to new
clients.
15. Hanky Panky
City: Amsterdam (Holland)
His studio in Amsterdam is just one of the
contributions Henk Schiffmacher, also
known as “Hanky Panky,” has made to the
world of tattoo art. Henk has also been
an advisor for exhibitions covering the
history of tattooing at The Museum of
Natural History in New York and the
Museé de la Civilisation in Canada. His
clientele has included members of the
Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam, as
well as Kurt Cobain.
16. Into You
City: London (England)
In 1993, Into You was the first custom
tattoo shop in London. Owner Alex
Binnie is credited as one of a small group
of artists to popularize large-scale tribal
design tattoos. His work has been
featured in Henk Schiffmacher’s “1000
Tattoos.”
Tattoo by Alex Binnie of Into You
17. High Voltage Tattoo
City: Hollywood, CA (US)
Also known as “Kat Von D’s High Voltage
Tattoo.” Kat’s stint as a tattoo artist on
“LA Ink” made her a name in the tattoo
world. She held a Guinness World Record
for the most tattoos given by one person
in a 24-hour period at 400 (which was
broken by Oliver Peck in 2008).
18. American Tattoo
City: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Named one of the top five tattoo parlors
in Argentina by The Argentina
Independent , American Tattoo is actually
three studios located in Barrio Norte.
Owner Mariano Antonio has inked
Maradona, Katie Price, and members of
Guns ‘n’ Roses.
19. Mana’o Tattoo Studio
City: Papeete, Tahiti (French
Polynesia)
Mana’o is the studio-home of Manu
Farrarons, arguably the most famous
Tahitian tattoo artist alive today. His
tattoos consist mainly of traditional
Polynesian designs. In 2011, he was
named Best Tribal Tattoo Artist at the Ink
n Iron International Tattoo Festival in
Long Beach, CA.
20. Sleevemasters
City: Sydney (Australia)
Scottish tattoo artist and writer Terry
Wrigley once called Sleevemasters “the
busiest tattoo studio in the world.”
Sleevemasters opened in 1984 in
Sydney’s “red light” district. They handle
any type of tattoo and specialize in re-
works and cover-ups.

Millie Elder shows tattoo tribute in fashion shoot

Just weeks after paying tribute to her late
father, Sir Paul Holmes, by having his face
tattooed on her thigh, Millie Elder has
shown off her new ink as a model for a
street wear label.
Elder, Holmes' adopted daughter, posted
photographs of herself taken for New
Zealand label Illicit to photo sharing site
Instagram.
Rapper Sid Diamond, known as Young Sid,
also appears in the images including one
where he has a sawn-off shotgun slung
over his shoulder.
Elder had a series of tattoos inked during
March, including a statement in Gothic
script across her entire back saying: "Blood
makes you related, loyalty makes you
family."
The portrait image on her thigh, visible in
the new images, copies a black-and-white
photo of Holmes at the microphone of a
radio studio in his early days of
broadcasting, complete with an afro
haircut, goatee and cigarette in hand.
Steve Hodge, from Illicit, said the photos
were taken as part of promotional shots
for the company's Miss Illicit range.
"That's why I chose Millie because she is
bad, naughty," he said.
Holmes died, aged 62, last month,
surrounded by his family at his Hawke's
Bay home after battling cancer and heart
problems.
At his funeral, Elder paid tribute, using a
quote from her father, similar to the
sentiments she has now had inked into her
flesh.
"Love always wins; it might take longer
than evil or hatred but love always wins.
Find out who you are and know who you
are, and know your strengths and
weaknesses.
"Be brave even if you are frightened. And
don't worry if you are different from
everyone else; we're all different," she
read out at the funeral.
In 2007, she was arrested on charges of
possession of methamphetamine. Holmes
stood by her and ended up campaigning
against the drug.

Guwahati works

Work done on WILD INK TATOO STUDIO, GUWAHATI (INDIA)
Artist- sanjeev deka

The tribal ink

Reporter: Dhritiman Ray
Photographer: Photo Courtesy
Moranngam Khaling
February 15, 2013
Caption: Mo’s professional tattooing
machine, his tool of discovery. Mo feels
that people from the Northeast have a
passion for tattoos, but lack the right
approach. Some still use bamboo thorns
to pierce their skin, which spoils the
texture and gives them ugly tattoos
Even a century ago, the Konyak tribe of
Nagaland inspired dread. These short
men, with tanned skin, dressed in
loincloth, looked naive when they farmed
but transformed into killing machines at
war. Armed with Dha (a kind of machete)
and spears, they used to mercilessly hack
down enemy tribes to death. But more
than their combat skills, it was their after-
war ceremonies that intimidated many. A
Konyak Naga would chop off the enemy’s
head and hang it by his spear to
demonstrate his prowess. It earned him a
place among the clan as a warrior — and
his face was tattooed to induct him into
the ranks.
Soon after Independence, the primitive
practice of ‘headhunting’ was banned.
Most of the Naga tribes, by now starving
and affected by the plague, were baptised
into Christianity. And with it, the
headhunting tattoo trail went cold. Most
of the fabled tattoo art of India’s ancient
tribes — the Konyaks and Angamis of
Nagaland, the Mers and Rabaris from
Gujarat and the Korathis of Karnataka —
has long been lost in history. But
MoranngamKhaling, a 27-year-old
Manipuri, has taken it upon himself to
explore and preserve India’s rich tribal
ink.
Famed among tattoo fanatics as Mo, this
fashion designer turned professional
tattoo artist — with a degree from
National Institute of Fashion Technology
(NIFT), Hyderabad — opened his maiden
tattoo school in the Northeast with a
vision to conserve and promote tribal
tattoo ensigns. “Our primitive tribes have
a rich tattoo heritage, much like the Red
Indians of America and the Maoris of New
Zealand. But we know nothing about it,”
complains Mo. What irks him more is that
youth in India today are more interested
in old-school American and Chinese
designs, ignoring their own indigenous
motifs. “Some also come in for Yakuza
tattoos, which are emblems of Japanese
mafia gangs,” he adds.
Mo vows to change all that. So, after
honing his skills for seven years in
Hyderabad and Delhi, he has come up
with the Headhunter’s Ink Tattoo School
in Guwahati. He feels that the remote
Northeasternstates have a passion for
needles, but lack the right approach.
“People here still use bamboo thorns to
pierce their skin, which spoils the entire
exhibit and gives them ugly tattoos,” he
says. An ardent student of the needle art,
Mo’s research had been confined to
online reading material and several books
all these years. This time, he wants to
visit the tribes, collect their ancient
motifs and work on them.
Each country has its own brand of
tattooing. The Chinese have their Dragon
and Yin-Yangs, the Kiwis have Maoris and
the Americans have Eagles, Old-School
and Pin-Up (tattoos of beautiful women)
designs. Mo promptly comes up with
their corresponding Indian counterparts
— “We have hornbills for the Eagles,
peacocks for the Dragons and Khajuraho
artefacts for the Pin-Ups.” He adds,
“Indian designs, like that of Lord Shiva
and Ganesha, are becoming increasingly
popular in the West. Here, the absence of
awareness makes us fall back.”
Among the first clients to get the Naga
headhunters’ design made on their skin
were a British couple, James Paul Smith
and Hannah Hatt, who toured the
province last December to be part of the
Hornbill Festival. “When we toured
Malaysia two years ago, we regretted not
getting a headhunter’s tattoo done. We
heard about Mo while travelling to
Nagaland and I was really keen on getting
it done,” Smith says. The couple had no
idea about the tattoo
culture in India before their tour, but was
amazed by Mo’s efforts to save the ethnic
designs. “It would be a terrible shame if a
strong culture like this is lost forever,”
Smith feels.
Mo faces a tremendous challenge as he
moulds age-old symbols for modern skin.
The ancient headhunting motifs that
cannot be inked on the faces need to be
reworked for the limbs; the V-shaped
designs drawn on the chests of the Naga
warriors need more colours today.
Similarly, the legendary Khajuraho
sculptures need to be portrayed in a
more ‘tattooable’ form. Mo’s school is
barely a month old, but has already
sparked interest among the faithful.
Wannabe tattoo artists from Delhi,
Mumbai and Chandigarh are already
enrolling in the 800-sq ft school that
promises state-of-the-art training
facilities.
KumudBalyan, a 28-year-old textile-
industry graduate from Delhi, is one such
enthusiast. “Mo was my senior in college
and I always wanted to learn from him.
So, when I came to know about his
school, I didn’t waste time,” he says.
Even trained artists from Mumbai are
willing to learn the tribal art. The school
falls in line with Mo’s vision of promoting
the near-extinct tattoo art of the
Northeast.
Local enthusiasts travel to Delhi to learn
the skills, where it is a big industry.
“Delhi is home to over 300 professionals.
But the courses are expensive, making it
difficult for Northeasternpeople,” says the
artist whose studio in Delhi,
Headhunter’s Ink, is one of the hot spots
for tattoo lovers. Back in Guwahati, the
school’s courses offer an exhaustive
insight into the artwork’s various forms,
which have spread across continents. Mo
plans to support aspiring artists all the
way by helping them set their own
studios once they are ready.
The symbolism may remain, but the
reasons for tattooing have changed over
the years. What once denoted
regimentation, sacred ritual or act of
valour, has now become a purely personal
form of expression. For artists like Mo,
tattoos are about “understanding one’s
culture, body aesthetics and the art”. An
old tattoo saying explains it all “Show me
a man with a tattoo, and I will show you a
man with an interesting story.”

god tatoos...