Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry - Tattoo Documentary

Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry explores the roots of American tattooing through the life of its most iconoclastic figure, Norman "Sailor Jerry" Collins. Considered by many the foremost tattoo artist of all time, Collins is the father of modern day tattooing, whose uncompromising lifestyle and larger than life persona made him an American legend.

Through rare interviews, photographs and hours of archival footage, Hori Smoku Sailor Jerry: The Life and Times of Norman Keith Collins, explores the past, present and future of the global tattooing phenomenon. Featuring interviews with Sailor Jerry's protege, Ed Hardy.



Sources

La Sumisa
Hulu



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Tattoo Artist Nigel Kurt - The Best in the UK

Nigel Kurt started his tattooing career in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. He opened his own studio, Fun House Tattoos in Barnsley in 1993. Nigel is well known for his black and grey work and has won many awards over the years.

A tattoo artist from South Yorkshire has been named Best UK Male by the UK Tattoo Industry.

Barnsley tattoo artist Nigel Kurt, who has run Fun House Tattoos since 1993, said he was "chuffed" when presented with the award on 15 May in Liverpool.

Mr Kurt said he did not like tattoos when he was younger but he changed his mind after seeing the work of American tattoo artist Jack Rudy.

"He more-or-less invented portrait in tattoos," he said.

Mr Kurt specialises in photorealism, creating tattoos to look like pencil drawings, using black and grey inks.

His work ranges from colour tattoos of well known characters, including ITV's Coronation Street character Hilda Ogden, through to people requesting a drawing of their loved ones - including parents, children and pets.

Mr Kurt who has worked in the industry for 20 years has had many requests for tattoos but there are some areas of the body he will not work on.

"We don't tattoo faces and we don't do hands either. If someone comes in with something that won't make a nice tattoo, we won't do it."

The shop has seen a rise in inquiries since body art became popular with celebrities, including pop star Cheryl Cole and footballer, David Beckham.

"Every week we get at least one or two people coming into the shop asking for copies of David Beckham's tattoos," said Mr Kurt.

"There are hundreds of people walking around with copies of celebrity tattoos."

Despite receiving the award, Mr Kurt said it would not change him.

"Once I stand out that shop I'm just a slightly scruffy man walking down the street," he said.

To contact: 01226 779595

Or visit the shop which is located at:
Fun House Tattoos
140 Sheffield road
Barnsley
S70 1JH


Sources
La Sumisa
BBC News


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Aldo Distefano's Five Tattoo Commandments

Aldo Distefano is a living art. With his body emblazoned completely with tattoos, the artist has been decorating people's bodies for more than a decade. As skin is his canvas, the American tattoo artist is excited about setting up shop and a learning school in the country.

He reveals that the reason why tattoos have always been such a rage is because mankind since the beginning has been obsessed with permanence. "Though tattoos are usually associated with biker boys and rebellion, our ancestors were also infatuated with body art. Be it cross, skull, wedding band or Chinese characters, tattoos have always been a way of expressing yourself. And even if you don't know what you want, you do want one (tattoo) on your body."

From celebs to your neighborhood hunk, tattoos have become the perfect style statement. But before you get into the chair, remember, "Your body is your temple, decorate it wisely."

Aldo's Five Commandments:

1)Hygiene factor: You don't want to get a tattoo done in doctor's cabin but make sure that the place is hygienic and the needles, equipment and gloves are sterilized.

2)Artist's Portfolio: You might get awed by the attractive designs on the tattoo parlor wall, but before you let the guy give you a permanent tattoo, make sure you know his style and his work experience.

3)Significance: It's going to be there for life, so make sure you don't get something you regret a few years down the line. Your current girlfriend/boyfriend's name might seem like the right thing now, but few years down the time, you might have to cover it up.

4)Diet: While you might think going their drunk might lessen the sensation- it's not a good idea as alcohol thins out the blood and you'll end up bleeding more. Better would be to carry a chocolate to give you instant energy.

5)Post tattoo care: Yeah, you are eager to see the tattoo in its full glory but give it at least two weeks time to heal. Put water based creams instead of petroleum (vaseline) products. And do not pick or scratch the scabs.


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Magnet Implant

Magnetic children have been springing up across former Yugoslavian nations recently. Their stories are a little dubious, but some scientists and body-modification fans have been irresistibly drawn to the idea of merging man and magnet, with startling results.

Magnets have long been a source of fascination for we curious apes, drawing the attentions of generations of scientists, writers and philosophers. The ancient natural philosopher Thales thought that they might perhaps have a soul, prompting Aristotle to note (with perhaps a hint of snarkiness), "[he thinks] all things are full of gods." 2600 years later the rapper Shaggy 2 Dope summed up the frustrations many of today's youth feel when physics intrudes into their lives, pleading, "fucking magnets, how do they work?"

History is littered with experiments in magnetism; from Shen Kuo's successful use of magnets in navigation by 1088, to William Gilbert's investigations of Earth's magnetism published in 1600, to my own experiments in the mid-1980s, which involved inserting bar magnets into my nostrils and trying to make paperclips stick to my nose.

I wanted a magnetic nose. I still do, and who wouldn't? A magnetic nose is not something to be sniffed at (or with; removing bar magnets from sinus cavities is not a pleasant task for anyone involved). Imagine being able to sense north through a tingling in your nose, feel your mobile phone ringing in your face, or spend the night locked in a pleasant nasal embrace with your dream lover of opposite polarity. The possibilities are as endless as the variation in your mileage.

In Eastern Europe my dreams of magnetic people have supposedly become reality, for a very low value of supposition and a very tenuous definition of reality. Boys and girls with 'magnetic bodies' have been springing up all over the place, without a nose-bleed or a hidden bar magnet in sight.

The latest is Ivan, a six-year-old Croatian boy with "the ability to attract metallic objects, from coins to heavy frying pans, to his body" according to the, er, well, Guardian sadly. He follows ten-year-old Serbian girl Jelena, and her seven-year-old compatriot, Bogdan, who is supposedly banned from going near anything electrical and therefore won't be on Twitter any time soon.

All three are claimed to be magnetic, but this obviously isn't the case. Bogdan is pictured with china plates and a TV remote control plastered to his chest, while Jelena is able to 'attract' mostly-plastic cigarette lighters - not objects you would really expect magnetism to act on.
The videos are rather oddly staged, too. None of the footage shows any objects being impelled by any force, or moving without human assistance; the items are always placed carefully against the flesh, with big surfaces in contact rather than, say, the edge of a knife. Larger, heavier items are positioned at the top of the chest with the child leaning backwards, suggesting that actually a lot of the weight is pressing into the skin, not pulling against it (and both boys are generously proportioned, allowing some of the weight to rest on their tummies).

It also bugs me that the demonstrations are so unimaginatively lame. If my ejaculate somehow gave rise to a magnetic boy I can think of a thousand experiments way cooler than sticking cutlery to him. It would be nice to see him lift a cloud of iron filings off of the ground with a wave of the hand, or put a compass near him, or have him picked up by one of those electromagnetic cranes they use to pick up cars in junkyards, or make him be the first person to wing-walk on the underside of a wing.

In short, these aren't very convincing displays. Human skin is greasy and oily and stretchy and can be pretty sticky - most men at some point in their lives will experience the agony that comes when you sit naked on a leather chair in hot weather and then stand up, only to find the bottom half of your scrotum still welded to the seat. There's nothing in the videos that can't be explained by sticky skin and some careful positioning.

My dream isn't quite dead though. Thanks to the efforts of artists and scientists, magnetic people do exist. Quinn Norton wrote a fascinating essay for Wired in 2006 which describes the adventures of body modification artists Jesse Jarrell and Steve Haworth, who worked in collaboration with graduate student Todd Huffman to develop implants that would allow them to sense magnetic fields through their finger-tips.

The implants were tiny - miniscule fragments of iron encased in a silicone sheath to prevent rejection - but the results were startling. "In time, bits of my laptop became familiar as tingles and buzzes. Every so often I would pass near something and get an unexpected vibration," Norton relates, in an article that is well worth reading in full.

In Britain, graduate student (and science blogger) Jawish Hameed at the University of Reading has been living with his own magnetic implants for over two years.

His implants are tiny neodymium disc magnets inserted in the ring and middle fingers of his left hand. They are 3mm in diameter, and just 0.7mm thick, and coated in a material called Parylene C to prevent any reaction with the surrounding tissue. Doctors at the university refused to perform the surgery, so Hameed had the procedure carried out by a body modification artist, Mac McCarthy. It sounds risky, and he tells me that he did it with his family's 'minimal knowledge', "They had concerns of its long term effects. But over two years with the implants without incident has comforted them somewhat!"

The magnets are positioned in the pads of the finger-tips. Electromagnetic fields can stimulate the magnets, and their tiny movements and vibrations are picked up by the tightly-packed mechanoreceptors (nerves that sense mechanical pressure and distortion) in Hameed's fingers, allowing him to experience magnetism as little tugs and tingles.

I asked him what it felt like. "It startled me on numerous occasions when interacting with everyday things like cash machines, microwaves, speakers and even my own laptop," he says, "I was suddenly aware of the silent spin and working of the hard drive and the cooling fan. I could feel a field around microwaves from about a foot away."

His experiences then are similar to Quinn Norton's, with household objects suddenly interacting with his senses in whole new ways. "Each magnetic field induces a different sort of feeling, depending on the strength and frequency of the current that drives the electromagnetic fields," he tells me, "It is hard to describe an analogy but [it] feels like the vibrations from wind."

A simple interface, consisting of an electromagnetic coil on a wire-frame wrapped around the finger, allows a computer to deliver signals to the implants. Initial tests have been promising, although there is obviously a long way to go before anything like this could be used widely. There are many possible applications, particularly for the blind. He has been able to use the implants to receive Morse code, and has experimented with transmitting information from an ultrasonic ranger to the implants to help people 'feel' the environment around them.

He also plans to integrate the implants with his mobile phone, "I'm currently preparing a mini ring-sized wearable interface to injecting text messages from my phone." Even without the interface, he says his extra sense has practical uses: "I use it quite regularly to sense if a wire is carrying AC household current."

Check out the video below, it shows how the procedure is done.



It goes to show that where we find fairy tales, science is often not far behind. Jawish Hameed is not 'Magnetoman', but there's something quite amazing about a species that, given five wonderful senses with which to experience our world, sets about trying to build a sixth.


Sources
La Sumisa


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Body Modification

The concept of body modifications has long been prevalent in the human race. Put in simple words, ‘body modification’ refers to the process of making changes in the body. The changes incorporated can be temporary or permanent in nature. Primarily done for the purpose of beautification, body modification has emerged to be very different from what it had started as. The need as well as the ways for body modification has undergone transformation. This concept of making changes in the body has various implications and differs from culture to culture. While sharp objects, to tattoos to amputations are all categorized as ways to modify any part of the body, jewelries are the most common element that is used in body modifications.

Apart from being a fashion statement, body modifications in early days were done for purely religious reasons. This thing still prevails in the modern times where examples can be cited from various regions. Believers do so with this faith that their sacrifice and pain will satisfy God and they will be granted their wishes. The pain inflicted on the body while doing so becomes immaterial at that time.

Tracing back to the times of Indus Valley civilization, ornaments or jewelries has played a crucial role in body modifications. Earrings, anklets, necklaces, nose rings all excavated from the ruins have proved that they were in use in those days. The Bronze statues of a dancing girl excavated at one such site bore proof of the same fact. Bangles, rings, head bands also found at the excavation sites are evidence of the fact that even men used these for body modifications.

For many cultures across the world, body modifications have an altogether different need and importance. It is an inherent part of their culture and they are taught to imbibe this from their very childhood. Say for example in Myanmar, the women of the Padaung tribe has this tradition to wear tight neck rings around their necks. The practice starts at a tender age of 5. While at this time, the number of ring put around the neck is one, the number soon increases with time. It’s quite prevalent among them to wear as many rings as possible around their calves too. The ultimate reason for doing so is to modify the neck as in the process it gets elongated at times to alarming rates. Other body modifications followed by tribes related to this use jewelry extensively for elongating their ear lobes or ear piercings done previously.

Instances of body modifications can also be found in the American culture where the use of labrets is common among First Nations people inhabiting the North west coast. Modifications of the lips with the use of lip plates are common among Sara and Mursi people, mostly of African origin.

Body modifications can hence be categorized as common and ‘extreme’. While some are temporary and easy to do like body piercing, ear piercing, dermal anchoring which is placing a small steel bead on the skin, neck rings and tattooing – some can be really dangerous and harmful. The extreme kinds consist of tongue splitting and extra ocular implant.

With time, the sense of fashion has undergone a considerable change. For so long, footwear, jewelry and handbags co ordinate perfectly with stylish attire drew the attention in the crowd. Now is the time, when a ethnic embroidered apparel from India or a chic Indo western wear is well complimented by a perfectly done body modification.


Sources
La Sumisa
Tattoo Articles


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Arizona Tattoo Expo

This coming weekend, the Mesa Convention Center hosts the 11th annual Arizona Tattoo Expo, where the tattooed and those looking to get tattooed can explore styles and designs by nearly 150 artists.

The convention draws upward of 7,000 people a year and is an opportunity to promote tattooing, said expo founder Sage O'Connell, who owns Urban Art Tattoo in Mesa.

Most of those who attend sport the full-range of tattoos, from sleeves to back pieces to tiny ankle tattoos, but O'Connell says nearly 25 percent get inked there for the first time - a phenomenon he attributes to the success of cable television series like "L.A. Ink," "Miami Ink," and "Inked."

"I see people that might not have gotten a tattoo that now have seen the show(s) where they saw other people that were like-minded and said, 'You know, I really want to do something that commemorates my father,' or, 'I really want to do something that shows my kids how much I love them,' " O'Connell said.

Sean Dowdell, owner of Club Tattoo with five Valley locations, said the TV shows have made tattooing more mainstream, showing that tattoos are a way of expressing people's individuality. In 2006, nearly 24 percent of American adults, aged 18 to 50, had at least one tattoo, according an article that year in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Dowdell, along with his wife and Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington, opened Club Tattoo in 1995,when tattooing was just infiltrating the mainstream. Now, Club Tattoo participates in nearly 20 conventions a year.

"I think years ago, people associated tattoos with kind of a biker mentality or lifestyle," Dowdell said. "Now people will come up to you on the street and check out (your work) and recognize that particular style."

When he opened Club Tattoo, Dowdell estimates there were maybe four tattoo conventions each year worldwide. Now, "there's one every weekend, probably at three different locations in the United States alone," he said.

"There are so many tattoo shows that it's a bit saturated," he said.

One thing that separates this weekend's convention from similar ones is the focus on area art, Josh Gargalione said.

Gargalione, who goes by the name "Uncle Josh," has been tattooing for more than a decade and works at Lady Luck in Tempe.

Gargalione said a lot of the work done by artists at the convention is the result of pre-booked appointments. Last year, Club Tattoo had 18 appointments for four artists. Usually artists tattoo regulars or spend the weekend finishing large pieces.

The expo is more of an opportunity for artists and the Valley's tight-knit tattoo community to socialize, Gargalione said. More than 70 area shops are represented at the convention, though there will be an international artist from Spain and a few more from around the country.

"A lot of time, people will get tattoos from people that are out of town, because you don't have the opportunity to go into another state to go get tattooed," Gargalione said.

Like many conventions, the Arizona Tattoo Expo conducts contests - best black and white, best themed, most erotic - and seminars, including one on piercing by Dowdell, for tattoo artists.

Contest winners earn cash prizes, including $250 for the best tattoo of the day and $500 for best of show, and gain public recognition for their work, which often results in new and repeat customers.

In an effort to differentiate the convention, O'Connell is hosting a fine art show. The art, featuring everything from sculpting to airbrushing to oil painting, is all done by tattoo artists to showcase artistic ability, he said.

Arizona Tattoo Expo

What: The expo includes more than 150 artists from 70 area shops as well as seminars, contests and an art show. When: Noon-11 p.m. Saturday, May 21 and noon-8 p.m. Sunday, May 22. Where: Mesa Convention Center, 201 N. Center St. Admission: $20 per day, $30 for the weekend. Ages 15 and under free with adult. Details: 480-644-0812, www.aztattooexpo.com


Sources
La Sumisa
AZ Central


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Beware of Scratchers - Tattoos Gone Wrong

They're part-time tattooing wannabes called "Scratchers." It's a group of people who have taught themselves the art of "permanent ink." It's growing in popularity and leaving people right here in the Tri-state with more than just a design on their body.

From the beginning, Steve Cupp - the owner of Vertigo Tattoo in Oxford - has been outspoken about safe tattooing practices. He's been creating body art since 1997, but what he's seen grow in popularity lately is just plain shocking.

"You know they will come in with holes in them, puss and all kinds of stuff and they end up hospitalized," said Cupp.

Steve's talking about the aftermath of "scratching."

"As a general rule we'll get five or six clients a week or so they will come through the door with something God awful," said Cupp. "As it grows people think they want to be a part of it and they'll get on the Internet and find a machine and find some needles and with absolutely no training what so ever start trying to tattoo their friends."

This may sound harmless enough in itself, but Scratchers have been coming under serious attack by real tattoo artists because the un-trained practice could be deadly.

"There are tons of infections you can get - Hepatitis A, B and C, there's Staph infection there is MRSA," said Cupp.
Scratchers usually teach themselves how to ink with the help of videos and homemade tattooing equipment, then those Scratchers put their services out there for un-knowing takers.

Alex Cooper became a victim at 16.

"I talked to one of my friends who I went to school with and he got a tattoo from a guy in a house and I didn't know the dangers of it so I got one," said Cooper. "Saran wrap on the kitchen table, no kind of clean substance, basically dry wiping."

"You could be Picasso with a tattoo machine but what your doing is not right," said Doug Paxton, a professional tattoo artist. "It's always been and up and down phenomenon that it will be a fad for a couple of years then it goes up and down its always been that way but these other reason is it's a fast and easy way to make money."

Doug Paxton told us this type of tattooing could literally be the death of a customer if proper health procedures aren't strictly carried out.

"It's nasty and if it's not taken care of properly, you're going to the hospital or worse," adds Paxton.

So how popular is a tattoo? The Pew Research Center in January of 2007 said 36 percent of 18-25 year olds have at least one tattoo.

"I feel like I was extremely lucky to not have any of that happen like the mesa or any kind of staph infection…really," said Cooper.

Professionals say if you're thinking about getting a tattoo make sure the artist follows strict health and safety precautions with sterilization techniques monitored by health officials. They say if a studio is run by a professional you're going to see equipment packaged in a protective pouches that remain sealed until it is opened in front of a customer.

Local health departments regulate tattoo studios in many jurisdictions, which should give the person getting a tattoo some piece of mind about health risks but you want to do your homework. Make sure you ask a lot of questions before you decide to let someone put that tattoo design on your body.



Here are some of the question you should ask.

What are the laws in your city/state on tattooing?

What certifications and/or licenses are required to tattoo legally in your city/state?

What is the procedure of operating an autoclave? what temperature must the autoclave reach and for how long?

What is a blood-born pathogen and how do you prevent the spread of it, and cross-contamination?

How do you thoroughly clean and disinfect needles and tubes before autoclaving?

What layer of epidermis of the skin must you not enter to prevent scarring of a tattoo?

What is plasma, and what does the leakage of plasma during a tattoo indicate?

These are only a few of the things that are absolutely necessary for a tattoo artist to know, and if you can't answer all of these questions with concise understanding, you are not ready to be a tattoo artist.

Here is the Cincinnati Health Department's Requirements of Operators:

(A) Compliance. All operators of tattoo and/or body piercing services must comply with all provisions of OAC 3701-9-05 and 3701-9-06.

(B) Training and Education. All person(s) involved in the operation that have access to the tattoo and/or body piercing equipment shall have annual training for:

(1) Basic first aid, similar in content to course offered by American Red Cross.

(2) Universal Precautions against blood-borne pathogens that meet requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA) specified in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1910.1030.

(C)Operator Responsibility. The operator shall be responsible for all persons performing tattooing and/or body piercing within the operator's establishment.

(D) Other Requirements. Any additional requirements requested by the Health Commissioner.


Sources
La Sumisa
Fox 19


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