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Pagan Fleshworks: The Alchemy of Body Modification
Maureen Mercury (Author), Steve Haworth (Photographer)
Synopsis
Maureen Mercury is a Jungian depth psychologist who began, in the early 1990s a master’s thesis on male tattooing. She decided in order to better understand why others tattoo, she would get a tattoo herself and found that the tattoo was neither something she had previously envisaged, nor in a place she would have previously chosen. As a depth psychologist Mercury sees psychological forces as the major influence on the choices we make. In this book Maureen Mercury refers to pagan "as a polytheitsic style of imagining the world" but not as ritualistic religious practices. She refers a polytheistic or pagan cosmos that uses the ritual of body modification to separate from a monotheistic world view with defined routes to the divine.
As such, any desire for a simple book about storytelling (why did I get my piercing/tattoo etc..?) should be thrown out the window. Yes, this is a complex book, sometimes difficult to read, but doesn't deserve the mockery of the previous review. Yes, this book made me think - especially about my own forays into body piercing. If you want a picture book then this certainly isn't for you. If you want to look more closely at why you might want a piercing or other body modification, then this book could be useful. There were times when I found the concepts difficult and times I didn't agree with the author. Overall, however, I gained some great insights.
In a culture where community ritual and a collective sense of the sacred is all but invisible, I can understand, now, why body modification is so important.
This is a brilliant book but an intellectual one. Don't buy it unless you're prepared to take the theories on board. You don't have to agree but this book does encourage you to examine.
128 pages, 8x10 inch format
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Return of the Tribal: Celebration of Body Adornment, Piercing, Tattooing, Scarification, Body Painting
Rufus C. Camphausen
Synopsis
The Return of the Tribal attempts to look at all types of body adornment from tribal to urban, from piercing to body painting, from scarification to tattoos, and from genital mutilation to structural modifications of the ears, legs & neck. And it does so with a cornucopia of full-color photos presented alongside a very readable text. This may well be the best book of its kind currently available.
128 pages
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The Return of the Tribal Body Adornment Kit
Park Street Press (Author), Traditions Inner (Creator)
Synopsis
Allows you to experience the body adornment movement firsthand. * Contains a rainbow of safe, nonpermanent body adornment items, including an ornate bindi from India, cosmetic piercing, henna from Pakistan, kumkum body paint, and tribal tattoo designs. * Includes instructions for applying each item, suggestions for creating one's own designs, and discusses the history and significance of these body adornments. * The perfect way to Go Tribal!
The modern worldwide revival of piercing, tattooing, scarification, and body painting has its origins in tribal culture and practices. Many interpret this vanguard activity as a return to our tribal beginnings--a way to identify who we are in a world that has lost its sense of community.
At last readers can try for themselves--in safe, nontoxic, and, best of all, nonpermanent ways--many of the body adornment techniques that are pictured and explained within their indigenous cultural context in last season's bestseller Return of the Tribal. The kit contains an ornate bindi from India, traditional kumkum body paints, a cosmetic piercing, henna from Pakistan, and several tribal tattoo designs of the Borneo and Dayak traditions. Each of the items included was chosen for its authenticity as well as aesthetic value. The accompanying 64-page book describes in words and illustrations how to apply each of the items, gives suggestions for how to create one's own designs, and reveals the history and significance of these body adornments in the cultures from which they originate and in which they are still practiced today. Readers will find this kit a perfect launching point for their entry into the world of body adornment, as well as a way to explore their own creativity in developing their own designs. It's the perfect way to Go Tribal!--even if only briefly.
Book 64 pages, plus materials
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Decorated Skin: A World Survey of Body Art
Carl Groning & Ferdinand Anton
Synopsis
The decoration of the human body is one of the oldest art forms known to man. As primitive cave paintings show, its history dates back at least 10,000 years, and it has remained with us as a means of cultural expression. This volume presents some of the finest examples of body art of the past and present, taken from all over the globe. Ranging from Australian Aborigines and the Papuans of New Guinea, via the Americas and Africa to India and the Far East, it is a voyage of discovery ending in the present-day "civilized world" with its carnival ceremonies and its made-up clowns, mimes and dancers - the remnants of a tradition which is now re-emerging in the urban western world. Anthropologists, specializing in the various geographical areas, provide commentaries to accompany the pictures which document body painting, and also the wide variety of scarring and tattooing techniques found throughout the world. Two developments in the "civilized world" - anthropological research and tourism - have left their mark on tribal life and modified cultural traditions of the past; this book is not only a documentation of historical art forms, but also an illustration of subtle processes of change and new present-day forms of artistic expression.
256 pages, paperback, 9.8 x 12.8 inches
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Body Painting
Sophie Hayes
Synopsis
Using the pens in this kit, you can paint the body beautiful with designs from Asia, India, Africa, Mexico and Celtic Ireland. The book shows how to "tattoo" on key areas such as hands, feet, wrists, ankles and shoulder blades. Basic tattoo shapes and the 10 basics of tattoo design are covered.
96 pages, 6.1 x 8.1 inches plus pens
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Ritual Body Art: Drawing the Spirit
Charles Arnold
Synopsis
This fascinating book covers: a brief history of body art; how body art works its magic; symbols (and their meanings) used in body art; meanings of the colors; ritual and makeup; masks and masking; ritual apparel and props; ritual jewellery; scents; the setting for ritual body art; full body art; sabbats, esbats and the elements; and, everyday use of ritual body art. Paint binds and separates, defining the pairs of opposites: sacred/profane, male/female, sick/well, good/bad, high/low, living/dead. Paint sets human beings apart from nature, while at the same time putting them in touch with natural forces apprehended but dimly understood. Finally, paint communicates on the outer skin something of inner self. It is a self enlargement, idealised, enhanced. And the soul rejoices and is content.
160 pages, paperback
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Body Painting: Masterpieces by Joanne Gair
Joanne Gair
Synopsis
If ever there was a defining moment in a career, for renowned body-painting artist Joanne Gair it came when she painted "that suit" on Demi Moore for the cover of Vanity Fair. From creating painted swimsuits on supermodels for Sports Illustrated or making music videos with Madonna, Gair's career allows us to see the human body as a canvas to be transformed and has worked with some of the world's most celebrated personalities to create unforgettable images. During a career spanning over 20 years, she has worked with Elle McPherson, Gillian Anderson, Heidi Klum, Pamela Anderson, Demi Moore, Madonna, Karen Elson, Alek Wek, Carolyn Murphy, Rachel Hunter, and Molly Sims. Among the star photographers whose work is included in this book are Michel Comte, David LaChapelle, Annie Leibovitz, Herb Ritts, Howard Schatz, and Mark Seliger. Joanne Gair is a fixture of the fashion, advertising and music industries. Her collaborations have resulted in thousands of extraordinary photographs from magazines, record covers, music videos, films, and catwalks. Showcased here are 75 of her most iconic images.
156 pages, 12.1 x 9.6 x 1 inches
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Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo
Margot Mifflin
Reviews
I bought this book having read the other good reviews on Amazon and I have found it very useful. I am currently writing a creative piece concerning women and tattoos and this book is intelligent, thought-provoking and surprising. It is full of personal stories from women that I have found invaluable for my work. It is particularly strong on the history of women-as-tattooists and is full of good photographs. I would recommend this book to anyone who has any kind of interest in the subject.
This is not only one of the best books on tattoo or women, but it is one of the best books I have ever read. As a student I used the book for my dissertation on women and tattoos, and it was so helpful; I haven't found another book on the subject that even comes close. The photos are great too. I agree with Pat Fish in that people do not realise that it is not that there is a surge in women having tattoos, but women are changing their attitudes in showing them. From where women had their tattoos, to how they made women money, this book looks at over 100 years of history. It is so worth buying!
192 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches, Hardback
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