Vintage Tattoos: The Book of Old-School Skin Art

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Vintage Tattoos: The Book of Old-School Skin Art

Vintage Tattoos: The Book of Old-School Skin Art

# Author: Carol Clerk
# Paperback: 256 pages
# Publisher: Universe (February 17, 2009)
# Language: English


Editorial Reviews

Review:
“It seems like everyone and their mother has been inked. Carol Clerk’s new tome, Vintage Tattoos, The Book of Old-School Skin Art, tracks the evolution of old-school pin-up girl pieces…as well as classic floral, nautical, death memorials and heart designs.” ~Nylon Magazine

“We’ve read our fill about tattooed circus acts and indigenous people, but we’ll always make time for the scalawags who revolutionized tattoo art. The best chapters in Carol Clerk’s Vintage Tattoos: The Book of Old-School Skin Art detail the history of nautical and patriotic tattoos and their superstitions.” ~Inked Magazine

"The lavishly displayed wealth of brightly colored old-school flash is the heart of Vintage Tattoos, and the main reason you’ll find yourself flipping through it again and again. (Clerk's) ruminations on these designs and their cryptic meanings are enlightening." ~Playboy.com

"Vintage Tattoos is as much a tat history for tat lovers as it is for anyone into pop culture and art. Gems of tattoo lore transport us to the traveling circuses of the turn of the century (which kick-started America’s tattoo fascination) and hidden backroom parlors which popped up once state governments started banning tattooing in the 1960s. It’s a history lesson worth its ink." ~ModernTonic.com

"Vintage Tattoos...is 256 pages of art and anecdotes. Salty stories of tattoo times when shotguns, not art school degrees, hung on the walls behind the parlor counter. When tattooists traveled with the circus, not metal bands. And when the art went underground because of tattoo bans." ~Needled.com

"...an entertaining and informative title that should be in every tattoo enthusiast's book collection." ~Skin Art Magazine

“Somehow quaint and sexy at once, this opus of the epidermis will stimulate smiles, winces, and perhaps more.” ~Passport Magazine




Product Description:

Tattoos have gone from badges of rebellion to fashion statements fully absorbed into mainstream culture. They are enjoying a renaissance, with graphic designers and artists creating specialty tattoos for a growing audience, unleashing a revival of interest in the bawdy vintage tattoo. Old school tattoos are being rediscovered (sometimes ironically, sometimes not) by a new generation. Originally embraced by rebels, sailors, and gangsters, these tattoos—broken hearts, naked girls, floral motifs, and maritime emblems—are now showing up on the fashion runway and in music videos. This book chronicles vintage motifs in thematic chapters interspersed with profiles of influential tattoo artists and their distinctive designs: Sailor Jerry Collins, Don Ed Hardy ("the Godfather of Tattoos"), Mike "Rollo Banks" Malone, Bert Grimm, Japan’s Horiyoshi III, and Shanghai’s Pinky Yun.
Vintage Tattoos: The Book of Old-School Skin Art

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Bodies of Inscription: A Cultural History of the Modern Tattoo Community

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Bodies of Inscription: A Cultural History of the Modern Tattoo Community

Bodies of Inscription: A Cultural History of the Modern Tattoo Community

# Author: Margo DeMello
# Paperback: 256 pages
# Publisher: Duke University Press Books; 1st edition (2000)
# Language: English


From Library Journal:

DeMello (formerly with Univ. of California, Davis) presents an anthropological study of tattooing and tattoo communities in North America. Both a researcher and a "tattooed person" who is married to a tattooist--both "insider and outsider," that is--she describes the rigid hierarchies within tattoo communities (how tattooists jealously guard secrets from outsiders and newcomers) and engages in a broader analysis of tattoos as socioeconomic indicators. She looks at the meaning of tattoos among bikers, Chicano gangs, middle-class baby boomers, and Generation X. Modern, elite tattooists, she argues, downplay tattooing's lower-class roots in favor of new "middle-class consumption." And whereas baby boomers' traditional tattoo designs--which most now want to hide--featured lifestyle, patriotism, love, and memorable events, Generation X youth proudly display more "exotic" and "primitive" designs. An interesting, authentic account of tattoo communities; recommended for all libraries.
-Chogollah Maroufi, California State Univ., Los Angeles
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist:

Although academic, this book has much to recommend it for general collections. The tattoo community of which DeMello writes--and in which she participates--is demographically quite different from the old. It is more female, more middle-class, and more educated, whereas the earlier society of tattoo collectors was primarily working class and male. DeMello lays out some of the social history of tattooing to prepare for her discussion of the changes in tattooing in the past 20 years. From handpicked prison tattoos to the latest in today's "tribal" design, from gang symbols to feminist ones, tattoos themselves have changed to meet changing consumer demand. Some of the tensions among social groups for whom tattoos have dramatically different meanings are documented, but DeMello's major interest is in describing the new community of tattooed people, both men and women, for whom new meanings are being forged from the meeting of skin and ink. Patricia Monaghan.
Bodies of Inscription: A Cultural History of the Modern Tattoo Community

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Tattoo - Behind the Needle (Tattoo-U)

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Tattoo - Behind the Needle (Tattoo-U)

Tattoo - Behind the Needle (Tattoo-U)

# Paperback: 144 pages
# Publisher: Wolfgang Publications, Inc. (July 1, 2009)
# Language: English


Product Description:

Tattoo – Behind the Needle, takes the reader into the shop of twelve talented tattoo artists. This is an opportunity to learn how and where each artist learned his or her skills, where they find inspiration, and exactly how they create bright, colorful, living tattoos.  Joy Surles, former editor of Skin Art magazine, and author of Tattoo, from Idea to Ink, is the ideal author for this new title from Wolfgang Publications. Joy not only understands tattoos, but also has a discerning eye and the respect of the artists. With this kind of report, Joy is able to draw out each artist so that each interview provides more than just the basics of the artist’s education and experience, and includes personal insights and secret techniques.  Each of these artists has a unique style, a style that is explained from both an artistic and a technical style in this new book from Wolfgang. Technical details include each artist’s choice of tattoo machines and inks.   Because of Joy’s experience, all these details and insights are explained in language that is easily understood both by fellow artists and tattoo aficionados. In fact, this entire book has enormous appeal to individuals inside and outside the profession.  While there are plenty of tattoo books that offer tattoo flash, or that discuss the beauty of the art, there are very few that encourage the artists to explain the why of the art, the things that make their personal art unique, and the overall state of the art.  Tattoo – Behind the Needle, uses over 300 color photographs to illustrate each artist’s style and specific artist-to-artist differences. In-shop-photos help to match a human face to each interviewed artist. Wolfgang Publications presents this book on 144 pages, each one measuring 8-1/2 by 11 inches.

Tattoo - Behind the Needle (Tattoo-U)

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