ORIGINK Spring 2012

7/27/2019 ORIGINK Spring 2012

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ORIGSPRING 2012

LADYLIKEHas society stripped itselfof preconceived notions

about tattooed women?

Ancient Art of the Japanese

Tebori Tattoo MastersInk in Harmony

Inkling of ConcernChemicals in Tattoo Inks Face Scrutiny

Controversy and the NewZealand MokoInternational Infuences and the

Appropriation o the Maori Tattoo


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conceptual

62 LADYLIKEHas Society Stripped Itsel o Preconceived

Notions About attooed Women?

Brian Martinez

72 FINALLY, FINE ARTAmanda Wachob Proves Why Her Work

is Museum Worthy

Katelyn Houde

78 LARGE SCALECreating a Cohesive Piece When Covering

a Dedicating a lot o SkinTomas McCants

82 A DIFFERENT TYpE oF BADGE Danzig Baldayev Decodes the Systematic

Inkings o Russian Inmates

Danzig Baldayev

14

controvers ial

8 ANCIENT ART oF THE JApANESE

TEBoRI TATToo MASTERSInk in Harmony

Kazuo Oguri

14 MATT MYRDALTe echnique Hes Using to Perect His

Shading Work

John Durnham

22NKLING oF CoNCERNChemicals in attoo Ink aces Scrutiny

Brett Israel

32 CALIFoRNIA LoVEWe alk to West Coast Artists to See

What All the Fuss is About

David Sluss

54

innovational

40 CoMING SooN To A pHARMACY

NEAR YoUResearchers May Have Found a Medical

Use or Getting Inked

Jessica Byrn

42 CoNTRoVERSY AND THE NEWZEALAND MoKoInternational Inuences and Appropria-

tion o the Maori attoo

Rachel Sawaya

48 RoSE CoLoRED GLASSESFemale Artist Megan Massacre Believes

Color Work is Better Work

Duke Harten

54 BLACKLIST To BLACKCARDattooing Has Made the Shit rom

aboo to Couture

Christine Caruso

82


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62

pUBLISHING DIRECToR: Melissa Blenkhrn/ ASSoCIATE pUBLISHER: Jan Kubasiewicz/ EXECUTIVE DIRECToR: David Sluss/DESIGN DIRECToR: Regan McLean/ SENIoR ART DIRECToR: Jaime Cha/ ART DIRECToR: Kathyrn Jnes/

CHIE F EX EC UT IV E oF FI CE R: Lawrence Tierney/ CHIEF opERATING oFFICER: Chris Cnry/ pRESIDENT: patrick McCann/VICE pRESIDENT: Jennifer MacKenzie/ LITERARY EDIToR: Duke Harten/ LEGAL AFFAIRS: Nancy Murhy

every i ssue

4 TRENDING9 Ridiculous attoo rends o the Past

Five Years

Greg Rowley

6 HISTORY QUICKIE A Brie History o attooing

Matthew Geary

86 LETTERS TO DUKEAsk him the dumb questions

Duke Harten


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4 ORIGINK

EYEBALL

Forget about every weird tattoo or piercing youhave ever seen, theres a bod mod trend beingused by some cell mates thats denitely goingto get your attention. 27-year-old David Boltjes

was the rst prisioner to be brave enough tolet his prison mate stab him in the eye with anunconventional, untested, tattoo method. Tetattoos change the sclera (the white part o the

eye) to be blue or even red and really changethe look o the eye.

NINE

ABSURD

TATTOOTRENDS

of the past

FIVE

YEARSGreg Rowley

TEETH

A US dental technician is blazing a trail asone o the worlds rst tooth tattooist. SteveHeward is also a trained tattooist and handpaints minute works o art onto crowns. Hiscompany, Heward Dental Lab, based in Utah,US, has been established or 20 years and his

team o technicians are trained to be artistsrst, and taught to construct crowns aterwardsPrices or the permanent tiny tooth etchingsrange rom $75.00 up to $200.00 or morecomplicated designs which include anythingrom Mickey Mouse, Elvis and Abraham Lin-coln to eagles, bowling balls and spiders.


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SPRING 2012 5

TRENDING

TONGUE

Practitioners admit it hurts a lot and speech isinitially dicult. Te new technique has thesame durability as any regular tattoo, but hasthe added aspect o eliciting a specic taste togo with the design. Tey come in chocolate,vanilla and garlic

ACCESSORIES

A man apparently had a pair o sunglassestattooed to his ace and posted the video on theinternet. Te one-and-a-hal minute clip, titledGuy Has Glasses attooed On His Face,

eatures a man reportedly named Matthewsitting back in the tattoo artists chair. Matthewalready had extensive ink on his arms, handsand neck.

PALATE

So ar, this BME user is the only person withthis type o sketchy star tattooed on his palate.It was done by Franca at attoo Way in Sao

Paulo, Brazil.

ON PIGS

Wim Delvoye has been tattooing pigs sincethe 1990s. In the early 21st century a tattoo-ed pigs project was set up in the Art Farmin China, where there are ewer stricturesregarding animal welare than in most partso the Western world. In 2005 his colleague,

artist Devos, spent several months at the arm,reorganizing, managing and rebuilding. He isa vegetarian. Te tattoos range rom traditionalags and lions kind o stuf to Louis Vittonlogo patterns. Te skins are not used as ormalart objects until the pigs die, at which time, theskins are removed and displayed on walls invarious art venues.

INNER LIPAs ar as weird places or tattoos this may topthem all: the inner lip. Lip tattoos aregenerally on the inside o the bottom lip, butoccasionally on the inside upper lip. Tesetattoos are generally donned by people whowant to have one word, a small phrase, or a ewnumbers tattooed in a airly hidden area.

HAIR

England-based HiStyl uses what it describes asa mild orm o medical tattooing to simulatethe look o closely cropped hair. Te procedure,

which HiStyl calls hair ollicle replication,takes three hours to complete and requires anadditional ollow up session. Clients have toshave or cut their hair in order to blend the

tattoos with their natural ollicles.

ON CATS

A very controversial body enhancement wascarried out on Mickey a rare Canadian hairree breed also known as a Sphynx cat. Hisemale owner was said to be delighted with theutankhamun design inked on to his chest ata tattoo parlour. She said: I wanted something

new and diferent or the times we live in.Horried animal rights campaigners slammedthe sick ad in Moscow as barbaric and earit could catch on among wealthy pet ownersin the West. Te cat was dazed ater beinganaesthetized or three hours.


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6 ORIGINK

A BRIEF HISTORY

OF TATTOOINGMatthew Geary

EnglanNYC

United States

3300 BCE:tzi the Iceman dies in theAustrian Alps, where hisrozen body is discoveredby hikers in 1991 CE,making him the worldsoldest mummy. His 57tattoos straight lines andsmall crosses, mostly arebelieved to be therapeutic,possibly used to treatosteoarthritis.

2800 BCE:Te ancient Egyptianspopularize tattooing as anart orm, which spreadsrom Greece to China.

921 CE:Islamic scholar Ibn Fadlanmeets Vikings on a journeyrom Baghdad to Scandi-navia and describes themas covered rom neck totoe with tattoos.

1600 CE:Unlawul intercourse byIndian priests is punishedby tattooing genitals ontheir oreheads.

1700 CE:Obeying the letter o thelaw middle-class Japaneseadorn themselves in ull-body tattoos when a law ispassed that only royals canwear ornate clothing.

1790 CE:Cpt. Cook returns romthe South Pacic with atattooed Polynesian, OmaiHe starts a tattooing trendamong the upper-classin London. Omai intro-duces the word tattoo intoWestern lexicon, rom theahitian tatau, to mark.


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SPRING 2012 7

Austria

Egypt

Iraq

India

Japan

HISTORY QUICKIE

1802 CE:By now, tattooing hascaught on with sailorsthroughout the Royal Navy,and there are tattoo artistsin almost every Britishport. Especially popularare Crucixion scenes,tattooed on the upper backto discourage fogging bypious superiors.

1846 CE:Martin Hildebrandt sets upNew Yorks rst tattoo shopon Oak Street in lowerManhattan.

1891 CE:American Samuel OReillyborrows Edisons electricpen design to patent anearly identical machinethat tattoos. Its basicdesignmoving coils, atube, and a needle bar isstill used to today, so re-member kids: Tats 19thcentury technology theyrestabbing you with.

1944 CE:In one o the rst instanceso legal trouble or the tat-too world, Charlie Wagneris ned by the city o NewYork or not sterilizing hisneedles

1961 CE:Hepatitis B makes thetattoo not cool again,an outbreak o which islinked to tattoo parlors inNew York City. Parlors areoutlawed in the Big Appleuntil 1997.

2005 CE:Popular culture helps tat-toos become more popularin the West than at anytime in recorded history,with more than 45 millionNorth Americans havingone.


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INK IN HARMONY

Kazuo Oguri

ANCIENT ART OF THE

JAPANESE TEBORI

TATTOO MASTERS

8 ORIGINK


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This ancient art is still practived in

Japan. This woman receives Tebori at a

convention in Osaka.


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10 ORIGINK

There inothing t

replac

human ski

you have t

learn busing you

own bod

A Jaanese tatt artist wrks n the shul-

der f a Yakuza gang member. phtgrah by

Hrace Bristl


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SPRING 2012 11

CONTROVERSIAL

bamboo stick or sujibori (outlining), whichwas about twenty centimeters long. Te edge othe stick was sharpened, and 6-7 needles wereput in order and tied up by silk. Te length othe tip o needles was 3-4 mm. I wanted toworkas a tattooist soon, and practiced incisingboth my thighs with the bamboo stick everynight ater work. I did not know how to usethe tattooing tools and how to adjust theangles. Sometimes I penetrated the skin very

deeply with the needles, and the skin bled andswelled. I couldnt tattoo by using the bamboostick as I wanted. During the daytime I did

chores. I I had no work during the day, Iwould sit down on the let side o my masterand watch his work rom the distance.Everycustomer came to the master by appointmentand got hitoppori. Hitoppori in Japanesemeans to get tattooed or two hours each day.I a big tattoo was to be done, the customercame by every third day. I used to keep sittingstraight or two hours and just watch mymasters hands to learn his tattooing skills. Temaster would say to me, Im not going to lec-ture you. You steal my techniques by watchingme work.

Watching is the fastestway to learn, if people

really want to learn.

aking of rom JFK today or a twoweek trip that will take me on a quickstop at okyo, then on to Korea,

China, and nally Hong Kong. Te zen andartistry o Japanese tattoo has long ascinatedme, and with this trip, this post seemed tting.

Oguri, known in Japan as Horihide, histattooing name, is a amous artist and highlyregarded as the pioneer that brought Japanesetattooing to American tattooists, like Sailor

Jerry, and subsequently Ed Hardy, ater WorldWar II. Tus setting the stage or large Asianbody suit tattoo design to change the ace o

western tattooing in the last hal o the twentyrst century. Here in his own words is his story.

In the old days, Japanese tattooists worked

at their own houses and ran business quietly(without using the ads.). Tey didnt put up asign and list telephone numbers on the book.

Te practice o tattooing was orbidden inJapan (until the end o World War II). Tecustomers used to nd shops by word o mouth.

When I was an apprentice, eudal customsstill existed in Japan. Te apprenticeship wasone o the eudal customs called uchideshiin Japanese. Normally, pupils lived with theirmasters, and were trained or 5 years. Ater 5

year training, the pupils worked independently,and gave the masters money that he earnedor one year. Te one year service was calledoreiboko in Japanese, the service to express thegratitude towards the masters. Te mastersusually told new pupils about the system,5-year-training and 1-year service, when theybeing apprenticing.

I slept at the masters workplace when Iwas a pupil. I wanted to be a great tattoo artistas soon as possible. In the middle o the night,I picked up the needles rom the masters toolbox, sat cross-legged and practiced tattooingon my thigh without the ink, remembering

my master peorming. I continued to practicetattooing without using the ink. I used a thick

Watching is the astest way to learn, ratherthan listening to the lecture, i people reallywant to learn something. Even though I wasull o enthusiasm, my skills were not improvedeasily. I couldnt see any progress.

One day, the masters wie asked me to splitwood. (Pupils normally call the masters wieane-san or okami-san. Te masters wie lookedso happy when I called her ane-san. So I calledher ane-san during the apprenticeship.) Oneday while I was splitting wood in the back yard,I got hotter and hotter. I was in a sweat, and

took of my shirt and trousers.

Ane-san came and asked me to take arest. Ten, Ane-san happened to see my traceso the needles on the thighs. She was surprisedand said to me,How did you get scars on thethighs? Do you practice tattooing by yoursel?

Yes, I answered,but I cant tattoo well likethe master does. Have you ever seen my hus-bands legs and ankles? She asked again.No.I said. She continued, His whole legs arecovered with tattoos. You know what I mean?He told me that he practiced tattooing on hislegs with the ink when he was a pupil. Tats

why his legs are all black. He also told me thata tattooist needs to learn by tattooing his own

body to become a proessional tattooist. Tereis nothing to replace human skin. So you haveto learn tattooing by using your body.

Needles used fr tebri

prer frm fr tatting Mdern day practice


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12 ORIGINK

I WILL PRACTICEuntil my whole

body is black

I will never give it up. If

I give it up, I will not be

a true man.

Ater hearing this story, I remembered themaster had tattoos rom his arms to his wristsbut that I had never seen his bare eet. I won-dered i I should practice tattooing with theink. Otherwise I cant get how the ink wasinserted into the skin. I decided to master thetechniques until my whole body was black.

Since then, I practiced tattooing on any

parts o legs rom the thighs to the anklesalmost every day. In order to keep practicing

again and again, I didnt use the ink whenpracticing tattooing.

odays young people never understandhow tough the training was. I used to wakeup 5 a.m., and sweep the whole house insideand out. I also wiped the oor with a dampcloth. In winter, my hands were numb withcold water and got chilblains. My ngers wereswollen. At meals, I was allowed to have onlyone cup o soup and one dish. A bowl o ricewas also served. Even though I wanted to eatmore, I could not eat enough because I was in

training. It was right ater World War 2. Dueto insuciency o supplies, it was so hard orus to get enough rice. We would eat a mixtureo rice and barley. I was only 19 and alwaysstarving. It was tough experience.

Sometimes the master yelled at me and

even hit me. o endure such treatment needspatience. Because o such unreasonable treat-ment, most pupils gave up and ran away romthe master. O course, I oten wondered whyhe hit us. Although I had anger towards themaster, I could not talk back. All I could do inthe eudal period was to obey what the mastersaid. I was so rustrated that I cried in bed so

many times. Te master sometimes slappedme without any reason. However, I ound themaster purposely hit me and also orced meto do overwork or my mental training aterI became a tattooist later on. I hated him somuch during the apprenticeship. Looking backnow, I am ashamed o having had such eelingstowards my master.

When I was an apprentice, my mastertaught me how to make tattooing needles.

Each tattooist has his own preerred way o

making needles. I put 7 needles in order, andcurve the tips o them. I put these needles intothe shape o a an. Te middle o the needlesis set as the top o the an, pulling the rest othem down. Te needles should be arrangedlike the ollowing gure and soldered up.

When incising thin lines, I use 2 or 3 o 7needles, which are the closest to the hands, byadjusting the angle o the needles with the skin.Normally when tattooing the outline, I touchthe skin with only the middle o the group oanned needles.

o tattoo details, some tattooists use a

separate tool consisting o only 3 needles. Butthe proessional tattooists can tattoo whateverthey want, using only one set o needles oroutlining. Tey dont have to use other tattooingtools. Tey can tattoo any thin or thick lines,small circles and so on. Te proessional tattoo-ists tattoo the designs on the skin smoothly,rom up to down, down to up, right to let, letto right. When I need more ink ater tattooingrom let to right, or example, I do kaeshibari,ipping the needles. Kaeshibari is one o tech-niques, which is ipping the other side o theneedles and tattooing by using the rest o theink on that side.

Horimono means tattoo in Japanese.Hori or horu is to incise or to dig andmono means things. attooing is similar toengraving a sculpture. A tattoo is not a picture.It is supposed to be appreciated at a distance

o several years. What is expressed by a tattooshould be clearly recognized rom a distance. Ithe tattoo is too detailed, it can hardly be seenrom a distance. Like sculptures, tattoos needto be rough and drastic to some extent. Suchtattoos are more attractive to people. attoosneed to be bold ater the work is nished.

attooing by hand, ebori, requires manyspecial techniques. It should be done by punc-turing the skin with the needles gently, adjustthe strength o hands. Human skin is very sotand elastic. As the needles leave the skin, I canhear the sound, shakki. I I tattoo smoothly, Ican hear a rhythmical sound like sha, sha, sha.I dip the needles in the ink, and tattoo a lineabout one centimeter long. Tis same step isdone continuously during sujibori (outlining).I keep the same speed (rhythm) to tattoo nomatter what kind o designs or shapes, such ascircles, squares and lines, are tattooed. I draw

the outlines step by step on each part o thebody, such as the shoulders, the arms and theback, and nally nish the art work on thebody. Te ull body is completed.

For bokashibori (shading), sets o 12 and13 needles are prepared, and each set is made

in the shape o a an and soldered. Te set o12 needles is put under the set o 13 needlesand staggered by pulling the set o 12 needlesback a little bit. When I do bokashibori , Iinsert the ink into the skin at an angle whichcorresponds to the angle made by the two setso needles. I have to adjust the strength o thestroke by using both 12-set needles and 13-set

needles. I I use either one or the other, the inkcannot be inserted into the skin properly. Telower 12-set needles has to be used careully,like touching the needles on the skin gently.Its very dicult to master how to use those tat-too needles, especially the lower set o needles.

oday, we Japanese tattooists order tattooingneedles rom the actory. However, when I wasa pupil, I would make tattooing needles byusing the thinnest sewing needles. Many o

them didnt have good quality points. Onepackage had 25 needles, and hal o them were


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SPRING 2012 13

CONCEPTUAL

Traditinal Tebribeing racticedin Jaan

phtgrahy by Hrace Bristl


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A detailed view f a traditinal tebridesign tatted n a Jaanese mans back.

phtgrahy by Lauren Bizek


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16 ORIGINK

As longas I can

move myhands, I

will keeptattooing

phtgrahy by Hrace Bristl


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SPRING 2012 17

CONCEPTURAL

no good. In those days, we used the ink calledsakurazumi. Currently we use baikaboku ortattooing, which is made o soot o cooking oil.

Te ink or calligraphy, which is made o sooto resin, is not suitable.

Tose needles were oten stolen by cust-omers. I assume that some other tattooistsasked them to pretend to be clients and to stealmy tools, in order to know how I made the

tattooing needles. Although I understood thatthey had eager eelings to learn proessionaltattooing, I was so angry with the attitudes.

Some tattooists draw a carp climbing upthe waterall together with peonies. Actually,we can see the carp climbing up the waterallrom the late September to October in Japan.It is supposed to go with maple leaves, notpeonies. Te symbol o maple leaves reers toautumn. When hutatsugoi (twin carp) andhuhugoi (a married couple carp) are drawn, twocarp (one carp or the arm, or example) cango with peonies, because we do not have to

express seasons in these cases. Tere are manytraditional combinations: Karajishi, which is a

I keep the same speed no matter what

the design. If I tattoo smoothly,

I can hear a rythmic sound as the

needle leaves the skin.

While I was away (going to the bathroom,or example), they stole my needles. It is notdicult to steal them. Ater all, I prepare thenecessary needles only when I need them. Iusually lock the door o my studio ater work.

Electric machines, color inks, my drawings(about 120 designs) or the back have all beenstolen at various times. Te tattoo designs wereespecially important or me. I had drawn manydesigns and collected them or a long time. Iam so rustrated whenever I remember those

incidents and think how much time I spent onthese drawings. attooists who have not been apprenticedand trained by tattoo masters do not know thereasons or meanings o the traditional designs.For example, there are our seasons (spring,summer, all and winter) in Japan. Te seasonsshould be expressed in tattoo art also. Real

Japanese tattoo artists express each season onthe skin. However, the untrained tattooistsdont know traditional thoughts on Japaneseart.Te untrained tattooists draw a snake andcherry blossoms, but this is a wrong way intradition. When cherry trees begin to bloom inMarch in Japan, the snake still hibenates underthe ground. Te snake and cherry blossom can-not be seen in the same period. Other words,it doesnt make sense i a snake and cherry

blossom are drawn together in the same piece.

combination Shishi (lion) with botan (peonies)and ryu (dragon) with kiku. Tose images areparticular sets or Japanese traditional designs.

I am very happy with my job and love it.As long as I can move my hands, I will keep

tattooing. I thank my master very much. Without his teachings, I could not have been a tat-tooist. I will never orget the gratitude towardsthe master orever.

prtrait f Kazu oguri


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INKLING OF CONCERNchemicalsintattooinksfacescrutinyBrett Israel

22 ORIGINK


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Photograph by Emily Watson


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about more serious, long-term risks such as skin cancer. As tattoo shopsturn chic, inks allure has spread into the mainstream. An estimated 45million people in the United States, including more than one-third opeople in their late 20s, have at least one tattoo. One o the chemicalsound in black tattoo inks benzo(a)pyrene is a potent carcinogen

that causes skin cancer in animal tests. Dermatologists have publishedreports in medical journals on rare, perhaps coincidental cases wheremelanomas and other malignant tumors are ound in tattoos. Couldthese chemicals increase the risk o skin cancer in people with tattoos?

Its possible and denitely warrants additional investigation by the FDA,anzi said.

Recently, the FDA launched new studies to investigate long-termsaety o the inks, including what happens when they break down in thebody or interact with light. Research already has shown that tattoo inkscan migrate into peoples lymph nodes. For now, long-term health risksrom tattoo inks remain murky.

Te short answer is we dont know i the chemicals in tattoo inksrepresent a health hazard, said Joseph Braun, an environmental epide-miologist at Harvard University in Boston, who was is not involved in

the new studies. Scientists reported that their discovery that chemicaldibutyl phthalate, a common plasticizer, along with other substances,are ound in black tattoo inks. In the study o 14 commercially availableinks, they ound low levels o dibutyl phthalate in all o them.

attoo ink trouble is nothing new. Te inks, injected into skin withsmall needles, have caused rashes, inection and inammation. But nowscientists say the inks contain chemicals that could have long-termefects.Te substances ound in the inks might be partially responsibleor adverse skin reactions to tattoos, wrote the dermatologists romGermanys University o Regensburg. For phthalates, which can mimicestrogen or disrupt testosterone, exposure o etuses and inants is the

The End is Near Tattoo Shop, located in

Brooklyn, NY

24 ORIGINK

he End Is Near tattoo parlor in South Park Slope could passor one o the neighborhoods upscale boutiques. Local artworkcovers the light blue walls. Ornate body jewelry lls a glass

showcase. A stufed badger greets visitors. Teres just one thing thatgives the parlor away the unmistakable electric hum o a tattoo needle.

Were not the seedy underground that used to be, said rischa, theshops one-named manager, whose air skin, revealed by a black tank top,is almost completely painted with ink. As tattoo shops turn chic, inksallure has spread into the mainstream. Despite the well-known risks oinection, allergies and scarring, an estimated 45 million people in theU.S. including 36 percent o adults in their late 20s have at least one

tattoo, according to estimates by the FDA and a Harris Interactive Poll.

NEwFOuNd ChEmICaLs RaIsE uNaNswEREd

quEstIONs abOut mORE sERIOus, LONG

tERm RIsKs LIKE CaNCER

Although sleazy scratcher shops with unskilled artists and dubious

saety records are becoming a thing o the past, scientists are growingconcerned about whats going into tattooed skin, not just how it gotthere. New research has turned up troubling ndings about toxic chemi-cals in tattoo inks, including some phthalates, metals, and hydrocarbonsthat are carcinogens and endocrine disruptors. Te inks have causedallergic rashes, chronic skin reactions, inection and inammation rom

sun exposure, said Ms. Elizabeth anzi, co-director o the WashingtonInstitute o Dermatologic Laser Surgery in Washington, D.C.

A new study published in July suggests that phthalates and otherchemical ingredients may be responsible or those problems. Moreconcerning, these newound chemicals raise unanswered questions


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45 MILLION AMERICANS HAvE TATTOOS

major concern. In inant boys, prenatal exposure to dibutyl phthalate hasbeen linked to eminization o the reproductive tract. In men, phthalateexposure has been linked to sperm deects and altered thyroid hormones.

But phthalates in tattoo inks may not carry the same risk. Phthal-ates are cleared rom the body within hours, and unlike many phthalateexposures, those rom tattooing will not be continuous, said ShannaSwan, a reproductive epidemiologist at the Mount Sinai School oMedicine in New York who studied the efects o phthalates on inant

boys. Phthalates applied to the skin in a lotion were absorbed and

Tey said the PAHs could stay lielong in skin and may afectskin integrity, which could lead to skin aging and cancer. Scientists aredebating the possible tattoo-cancer link, based so ar on a handul omalignant skin tumors ound in tattoos and reported in some medicalliterature.Even though cases o malignancies such as melanoma, basalcell carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas and keratoacanthomas havebeen reported or the past 40 years, it remains unclear what role tattoosplay in their pathogenesis, wrote scientists rom Frances University oMontpellier in a 2008 study, Skin Cancers Arising in attoos: Coinci-dental or Not?

mOst OF thEsE pahs aRE CaRCINOGENIC

aNd may addItIONaLLy GENERatE dELEtE-

RIOus sINGLEt OxyGEN INsIdE thE dERmIs

whENsKIN Is ExpOsEd tO uva

Dr. Wolgang Bumler, a dermatology proessor at the Universityo Regensburg who was involved in the phthalate and PAH studies, saidthat substances such as phthalates and also PAHs should increase thehealth risk or chronic health issues like cancer. But the extent is un-

known, Bumler said, because epidemiological studies are missing.Epidemiological studies wont be easy. In theory, scientists could tracka large number o tattooed people and see whether they developed prob-lems such as skin cancer near their tattoos. But thats impractical, saidGeofrey Kabat, an epidemiologist at the Albert Einstein College oMedicine in the Bronx, N.Y. Tats because getting a tattoo still is con-sidered a risky behavior, and ollowing a group o people who may haverisk-taking behaviors smoking or riding motorcycles would com-

promise a study. Tis would also make an epidemiologic study a oolserrand, Kabat said. Te FDA has the power to regulate tattoo inksand any added colorings under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic

Act. But the agency has never exed its regulatory power, citing lack oevidence o saety concerns and other public healthpriorities. Because the dyes and inks used in tattoos

have not been approved by FDA, we do not know thespecic composition o what these inks and dyes maycontain, an FDA spokesperson told EnvironmentalHealth News. Tereore, we are unable to evaluateor chronic health concerns, such as cancer. EricBlevens, who has nearly a dozen tattoos, includingthis one o his pit bull Kweli, has never had skin

suNLIGht bREaKs INK dOwN INtO COLORLEss COmpONENts

OF uNKNOwN tOxICIty, pOtENtIaLLy puttING pEOpLE at RIsK

0 tattoos

1 tattoo

2 tattoos

3 tattoos

4 tattoos

5+ tattoos

24%

22%

18%

18%

11%

7%

CONTROVERSIAL

SPRING 2012 25

metabolized in a 2007 study, and the same thing is likely to happen withthe phthalates in tattoo inks, Swan said. While this is a potential sourceo high exposure, it might not last very long and may not present a riskto health, Braun added. Nevertheless, Swan said pregnant and nursingwomen should minimize any exposure to phthalates. In addition tophthalates, heavy metals such as lead, which can harm the reproductiveand nervous systems, also were ound in a study o seventeen diferentblack inks rom ve manuacturers. Colored inks oten contain lead,cadmium, chromium, nickel, titanium and other heavy metals that couldtrigger allergies or diseases, scientists say. Some pigments are industrialgrade colors that are suitable or printers ink or automobile paint,according to FDA. Black tattoo inks, oten made o soot, also containproducts o combustion called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAHs),according to a 2010 study by German scientists. In addion to phthalates,heavy metals such as lead, which can harm the reproductive and nervoussystems, were ound in a study o black inks. Te PAHs in the inks

include benzo(a)pyrene, which was identied in an EnvironmentalProtection Agency toxicity report as among the most potent and welldocumented skin carcinogens. It is so potent that it is routinely used inanimal tests to grow tumors. Also, it has been linked to skin cancer inshale oil workers, and the EPA has classied it as a probable human

carcinogen. Te FDA and scientists say colored inks oten contain lead,cadmium, chromium, nickel, titanium and other heavy metals. Some are

industrial grade colors suitable or printers ink or automobile paint.Black tattoo inks oten are made o soot so they contain known carcin-ogens called PAHs. attooing with black inks entails an injection osubstantial amounts o phenol and PAHs into skin. Most o thesePAHs are carcinogenic and may additionally generate deleterioussinglet oxygen inside the dermis when skin is exposed to UVA (e.g.

solar radiation), wrote the study authors.


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problems except a slight reaction to one color ink. Now, the FDA is

getting more and more curious about the ingredients. In 2003 and 2004,the FDA received its largest cluster o complaints, more than 150, rompeople on the giving and receiving end o tattoos. Since that time theFDA has begun more research on tattoo inks to answer undamentalquestions, according to the FDA spokesperson. One major questioninvestigated by the FDA is where does the ink go when the tattoo adesover time or rom sun exposure? Preliminary results show that a com-

mon pigment in yellow tattoo inks, Pigment Yellow 74, may be brokendown by the bodys enzymes, according to the FDA.

bECausE thE dyEs aNd INKs usEd IN

tattOOs havE NOt bEEN appROvEd by Fda,

wE dO NOt KNOw thE spECIFIC COmpOsItION

OF what thEsE INKs aNd dyEs may CONtaIN

Sunlight also breaks it down into colorless components o unknowntoxicity. Also, when skin cells containing ink are killed by sunlight orlaser light, the ink breakdown products could spread throughout thebody. Previous studies have shown that tattoo inks move into peoples

lymph nodes, but whether the migration o tattoo ink has healthconsequences or not is still unknown, according to a 2009 FDA con-sumer update. Lymph nodes are part o the bodys system or lteringout disease causing organisms Te FDA said as new inormation as-sessed, the agency considers whether additional actions are necessaryto protect public health. Because o the chemicals involved, Caliorniarequires all tattoo shops to warn customers. A state law, known as Prop65, requires warnings whenever people are exposed to chemicals linkedto cancer, birth de-ects or other reproductive harm. Te warning is

WHAT IS IN YOUR INK?

included in the release orms that people sign beore getting tattooed

in Caliornia. Te lack o FDA regulation and the Caliornia warningshavent slowed the tattoo business, where respected artists comm andbetween $125 and $200 per hour. Artists today build relationships withdedicated clients, who rarely ask about long term risks.

I dont have any clients that ask me that, said tattoo artist JorellElie o Te Honorable Society in West Hollywood, CA. I dont reallytattoo as many one-time clients anymore so most o my clients are ully

aware o any i any risks that go into getting tattoos. One o Eliesclients, Eric Blevens, o Brooklyn, has nearly a dozen tattoos. His latest,done by Elie, is a tribute to his pit bull, named Kweli, and covers mosto the let side o his torso. During a recent vacation, Blevens said Elieconstantly bugged him about keeping his tattoos shielded rom the sun,which could cause the art to ade. Trough his relationship with Elie,any saety concerns he may have had in the past have aded.I genuinelytrust him,Blevens said. He shows a lot o concern and care or his

work.Caliornia requires all tattoo shops to warn customers that theyare being exposed to chemicals linked to cancer. Te lack o FDA regu-lations and the Caliornia warnings havent slowed the tattoo business,where respected artists command between $125 and $200 per hour.

Even people with more simple tastes dont seem concerned about thesaety o tattoo inks. Melissa aylor, a 30-year-old mom and banker in

Warner Robins, Ga., said she hasnt worried much about her ink. Shegot a small buttery tattoo, on her let hip when she was 19 and hasnthad any problems.

I did a little bit o research because I wanted to go to a good,reputable place, not some hole-in-the-wall, aylor said. Tat kind oresearch is exactly what Jordan Bayley, manager o Fly Rite Studios inBrooklyn, recommends. Every artist is diferent, and cities and stateshave diferent regulations since the act o tattooingis regulated at thestate and local level.Te dangers o putting tattoo needles to your skin

IRON OXIDECARBON

LOGWOOD

OCHRECINNEBAR

CADMIUM RED

DISAZODIARYLIDE

CADMIUM SELENOSULFIDE

CADMIUM YELLOW

CHROME YELLOW

CHROMIUM OXIDE

CU PHTHALOCYANINE

COBALT BLUEAZURE BLUE

MANGANESE VIOLET

TITANIUM OXIDE

ZINC OXIDE

BARIUM SULFATELEAD WHITE

BLAC

K

BROWN

RED

ORANGE

YELL

OW

GREEN

BLUE

PURPLE

WHITE

26 ORIGINK


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CaLIFORNIa REquIREs aLL tattOO shOps tO

waRN CustOmERs that thEy aRE bEING

ExpOsEd tO ChEmICaLs LINKEd tO CaNCER.

have been widely publicized and been taken seriously by tattoo artists.

Disposable needles are the norm. Suraces are sterilized with hospital-grade cleaners. Most customers, however, are more concerned with howthe tattoo will look years down the road. People dont come in worriedabout health concerns,said Mario Delgado, the owner o Moth andDagger attoo Studio in San Francisco, Caliornia. People just want agood tatoo. It seems there are an awul lot o really bad tattoos thesedays. We live in an inked up world o bad tribal designs, rusty-looking

barbed wire, crooked writing and ar too many butteries and roses.Every spring breaking 21-year-old wants one or an ankle or shoulderblade, and celebs sport some o the worst ofenders, rom Mike ysoto Amy Winehouse. I once saw a large shirtless man at a theme parksporting a scaredy cat design sliding precariously down his spine. Fewo those who steel their nerves or the artist s chair probably think aboutthe risks. (Obviously there is some risk o disease inection rom uncleanneedles and equipment, so make sure you are seeing a knowledgeablepro-vider, and not your uncles riend in an alley). As the BradentonHerald (Florida) points out, state and local authorities do oversee thepractice o tattooing and inspect the conditions o shops, so sterileconditions are required. However, the paper notes that in the past no

one has been checking up on the saety o the actual ink and pigmentsused in tattoos. In 2003 and 2004, the FDA received its largest cluster o

complaints, more than 150, rom people on the giving and receiving endo tattoos. Since that time the FDA has begun more research on tattooinks to answer undamental questions, according to the FDA spokesper-son. One major question investigated by the FDA is where does the ink

go when the tattoo ades over time or rom sun exposure? Preliminaryresults show that a common pigment in yellow tattoo inks, Pigment

Yellow 74, may beBecause the dyes and inks used in tattoos have notbeen approved by FDA, we do not know the specic composition o

what these inks and dyes may contain broken down by the bodysenzymes, according to the FDA.

Sunlight also breaks it down into colorless components o unknowntoxicity. Also, when skin cells containing ink are killed by sunlight orlaser light, the ink breakdown products could spread throughout thebody. Previous studies have shown that tattoo inks move into peopleslymph nodes, but whether the migration o tattoo ink has health con-sequences or not is still unknown, according to a 2009 FDA consumerupdate. Lymph nodes are part o the bodys system or ltering outdisease causing organisms Te FDA said as new inormation assessed,the agency considers whether additional actions are necessary to protectpublic health. Because o the chemicals involved, Caliornia requires alltattoo shops to warn customers. A state law, known as Prop 65, requireswarnings whenever people are exposed to chemicals linked to cancer,

Mario Delgado applies ink to a tatto

o an octupus or vien Tang at Mot

and Dagger

CONTROVERSIAL

SPRING 2012 27


24/36

Jsh Evans has been a client f JrdanBayley fr the ast 4 years and has

exerienced n issues

28 ORIGINK


25/36

birth deects or other reproductive harm. Te warning is included in therelease orms that people sign beore getting tattooed in Caliornia. Te

lack o FDA regulation and the Caliornia warnings havent slowed thetattoo business, where respected artists command between $125 and$200 per hour. Artists today build relationships with dedicated clients,who rarely ask about the long term risks o tattoo inks.

Few o those who steel their nerves or the artist s chair probablythink about the risks. (Obviously there is some risk o disease inec-tion rom unclean needles and equipment, so make sure you are seeinga knowledgeable provider, and not your uncles riend in an alley). Asthe Bradenton Herald (Florida) points out, state and local authoritiesdo oversee the practice o tattooing and inspect the conditions o shops,so sterile conditions are required. However, the paper notes that in thepast no one has been checking up on the saety o the actual ink and

pigments used in tattoos.In a world riddled with toxic toys, Salmonellatomatoes and other scares, how much thought should we give to body

art? Although inks can technically be regulated as cosmetics by theFood and Drug Administration (FDA), its no surprise that the agencyhas ignored them, given chronic stang shortages. Still, the Heraldreports that in December, chemists at the National Center or oxico-

logical Research in Arkansas began investigating inks to determine theircomposition, how they react in the body and how sae they are.

Sunlight also breaks it down into colorless components o unknowntoxicity. Also, when skin cells containing ink are killed by sunlight orlaser light, the ink breakdown products could spread throughout thebody. Previous studies have shown that tattoo inks move into peopleslymph nodes, but whether the migration o tattoo ink has health con-sequences or not is still unknown, according to a 2009 FDA consumerupdate. Lymph nodes are part o the bodys system or ltering outdisease causing organisms Te FDA said as new inormation assessed,the agency considers whether additional actions are necessary to protectpublic health. Because o the chemicals involved, Caliornia requires alltattoo shops to warn customers. A state law, known as Prop 65, requireswarnings whenever people are exposed to chemicals linked to cancer,birth deects or other reproductive harm. Te warning is included in therelease orms that people sign beore getting tattooed in Caliornia. Te

lack o FDA regulation and the Caliornia warnings havent slowed thetattoo business, where respected artists command between $125 and$200 per hour. Artists today build relationships with dedicated clients,who rarely ask about the long term risks o tattoo inks.

tattOOs aRE my passION.

I dONt REGREt a sINGLE

ONE, EvEN IF thE INKs

aRE daNGEROus.

CONTROVERSIAL

SPRING 2012 29


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controversy

and the

new zealand mokoInternational Influences and Appropriation of the Maori Tattoo

Rachel Sawaya

ORIGINK42


27/36


28/36

28 ORIGINK

Aboriginal New

Zealander sporting

traditional Maori.


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One o the visible and spiritual aspectso Maori culture is the moko, or

traditional tattoo. Tis very beautiulartwork has enjoyed a renaissance in recentyears, with both Maori and non-Maori peoplereceiving it on their skin, as well as using it asinspiration in other artistic trades.

raditional methods and purposes are otenlost or ignored in these modern interpretations,which leads to great controversy. Te moko isa sacred part o Maori tradition. It could onlybe given by certain men, who had considerableprestige and training, and the act o giving themoko to a person was surrounded by tapu (a

state similar to holiness or sacredness, or theorbidden) Tere were many rules governing

the act, including that the recipient could nottalk to others who were not receiving the moko,and could not eat with his or her hands duringthe process. attooing the moko was a long andpainul process, particularly as the marks werenot made with a needle, but with a chisel whichlet a grove in the skin.

as late as the 1970s, SOME did not consider

tattooing with needles the real thing.

It was considered part o the ritual, and ademonstration o the recipients mana (spiritual

strength or courage) that he or she not displayany discomort while their skin was beingbroken. Te design o each moko was unique,and although much o the symbolism is lostnow; it would usually display tribe and status othe wearer. It might also tell o battle wounds,or ancestors or in the womans case, her rightto marry, or her job, such as midwie. It told othe plain act that the wearer had been giventhe right to wear moko, something that wasnot granted to everyone, and that the wearer

had survived the giving o it, also ar rom acertainty. Controversy began with introducing

European methods o tattooing. Needles inparticular became more popular and eventuallyovertook the traditional chisel. Te moko madewith needles could be o a ner design, as wellas healing aster and cleaner.

However, in Michael Kings book Moko:Maori attooing in the 20th Century, heexplains that some amilies, as late as 1970,did not consider tattooing with needles thereal thing. An even greater con-troversy, withimplications reaching into the modern era,concerns the historical trade in Maori heads,mokomokai. Oten when someone with mokodied, the head would be preserved by the tribe.

It would be dried and kept as a tribute to themana o the previous owner. European museumsand private collectors o colonial times wantedthese heads and would pay high prices or them,leading them to a grisly trade o heads or guns.

Te heads were oten o slaves that had notbeen tattooed in lie, but were given ull mokoater death to increase their price, or peoplekilled in raids purposely engineered to collectheads. Many o these heads are still in museumsin oreign countries and recently there has beena movement to return the heads to their des-cendants. Many moko mokai have been alreadybrought home as a result o this, but many are

still overseas. Tere is debate over the validity o

giving moko to non-Maori. Several celebrities

have had Maori designs tattooed on themselvesrecently, notably Robbie Williams and BenHarper. In the case o Williams, although histattoo was made by a Maori artist, it was notmeant to be meaningul in the traditional sense.Pita Sharples, a known Maori cultural authority,objected to the design, claiming that it was theintellectual property o his tribe.

Some praise this sort of international

attention as a means of showcasing Maori

art to the world. Others condemn it for

devaluing the sacred nature of moko.

Tere were cases o Europeans being givenmoko (or having moko orced upon them) evenbeore the decline o moko tradition. JohnRutherord, or example, was a sailor who wascaptured by a tribe and orcibly tattooed. Sothe controversy today lies not with the idea o

non-Maori being tattooed, but with non-Maoripeople appropriating the traditional designs without understanding them, or giving them properrespect. Tis has also been demonstrated on thecatwalk, with several cases in the last ten yearso moko art used as a theme in designer coll-ections, such as Jean Paul Gaultiers collection

THE DESIGN OF EACH MOKO WAS

UNIQUE, ALTHOUgh MUCH OF THE

SYMBOLISM IS LOST NOW

INNOVATIONAL

SPRING 2012 45


30/36

on this age,: Illustratinf the traditinal mk

tatting rcess

on the sing age:A Mari man wearing his

earned mk rudly.

46 ORIGINK

there is no rea

continuity in the craft

only decreasing valu


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in 2007. Aesthetically, the bottom is a verysensual area to look at. raditionally, it links theback design to the designs on the backs o thelegs. Te spirals accentuate the roundness othe buttocks, enhancing the body. A moko onthe ace is the ultimate statement o ones id-entity as a Maori. Te head is believed to be themost sacred part o the body. o wear the mokoon the ace is to bear an undeniable declaration

o who you are. Women wear moko on the acetoo. Moko is a name or Maori tattoo and theculture that surrounds it.

This, along with global appropriation oflocal designs, has led to debate over the

purpose and respect due to modern

interpretations of ta moko.

It is the skin art orm o the Maori. attoo isthe English translation o the ahitian wordtatu. attoo is the tradition o marking the skinwith ink and needles, whereas moko is the prac-tice o scarring and marking the skin to reectthe whakapapa (genealogy) o the Maori wearer.

Moko can be seen as a cultural armation. Allsymbols have meaning, usually a tribal link that

tells the background and stories o the wearer.Moko is a visual language that connects thewearer to their whakapapa. Needles are orcedinto the skin to insert ink into the puncture, soits inevitable that it does hurt, although somepeople have a higher tolerance or pain.

Most designs have a traditional base, butthere have been many changes to what wastraditionally used. New moko traditions arebeing created to sit alongside the old. Te breako a century or more means that there is littleor no real continuity in the crat, and practitio-ners today must go on with merely ragmented,unreliable knowledge.

A womans moko is worn on the chin, aswell as occasionally appearing on the orehead,

upper lip, nostrils, and throat. Sometimes acialmoko is unairly seen as intimidating, regardlesso the wearers intentions, but this can dependon the countenance o the wearer. Te lines o amoko accentuate the lines o the ace so empha-sise the expressions. Tey say that imitation isthe sincerest orm o attery. In many cases,this is true. Imitation is important in many cul-tures. Children learn by imitating their parents.

eens seek acceptance rom their peers byimitating ashion trends, choices in music andeven linguistic phrases. Even adults will otenimitate their mentors to show their respectand admiration. But there are situations whenimitation is actually an insult, not attery. aMoko is one o those situations. a Moko isthe tapu (sacred) orm o amily and personalidentication among those o Maori whakapapa(genealogy). Genealogy is so important to theMaori people that they know their amily his-tory back 2000 years. Moko is the process ocarving (cutting deep grooves) and coloring a

amily history story telling pattern into the skino a Maori descendant. It is not limited to acialtattoos, as many mistakenly assume, although itcertainly can include partial or ull acial patterns.

It is not surprising that members o othercivilizations have come to admire the beauty o

a Moko. Some have even gone to the extent ocopying tattoo patterns and language phraseol-ogy taken rom Maori tanga (Maori culture).

Tis is a very serious mistake, and one that hasmembers o the Maori culture very upset. Mosto us are amiliar with the horrors o identitythet. Someone lits your wallet, and the nextthing you know theyre parading around with

your name, your credit card and your reputation.But maybe the thie was just imitating youbecause they liked you so much! Aahh......notso attering now, is it?

Copying a Maoris a Moko is nothing lessthan identity thet. Its disgraceul and itsimmoral. Te only diference is that the Maorireally dont have any recourse against anyonewho is thoughtless enough to rape them otheir individuality. a Moko is as unique to thewearer as your own ngerprints. How wouldyou eel i someone stole those rom you? Katis a Maori who shares her views on a Mokoimitation. Pakeha (whites) are distinctly known

or not asking, and or assuming that how theysee the world is how others do so also...Teybastardize our spirituality and culture and claimit as theirs...Non-Maori wearing it as a orm obody art are generally considered wannabees,akes and rauds that show not only a disrespector our culture, but lie about their own. (Howcan you respect your own amily when you wearthe traditional amily signature o strangers?)

Even i non-Maori do it in a respectul ashion(according to what their non-Maori values

ORIGINK48

dictate is respectul), this is still rude. Tere isnot, in other words, any sense o being okayor non-Maori to wear Maori a Moko.I

you are dead set on getting a tattoo that isashioned in the style o a Moko, considerinstead kirituhi. Kirituhi is a orm o patternart that looks like a Moko, but deliberatelydoes not make any reerence to Maori symbol-ism. Kirituhi literally means skin art and thepatterns are designed to meet the demands onon-Maori wishing to have similar tattoos.

Tere are many orms o splendor in theworld that we admire rom a distance. It is not

necessary to kill an animal and display it inyour home to enjoy its beauty. Flowers are bestappreciated when let alone, rather than pickedand allowed to wither and die in a vase. Andthe sanctity o Maori culture, along with their

a Moko, is honored most when respected,not imitated.


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INNOVATIONAL

What once was a ery

spiritual and sacred

ceremony or Maori

people has become

a common happening

among young people

today. Traditional tools

hae been replaced

by modern needles

while all meaning has

been replaced.

Original photo o Maori

tribespeople participat-ing in a traditional

moko ceremony.

SPRING 2012 49


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Tatts with Integrety | www.origink.cm


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SPRING 2012 35

TRENDS


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ORIGSPRING 2012

A DIFFERENTTYPE OF BADGE

Danzig Baldayev decodes

the systematic inkings of

Russian Inmates

Inkling of Concern

Chemicals in Tattoo Inks Face Scrutiny

Controversy and the New

Zealand MokoInternational Infuences and theAppropriation o the Maori Tattoo

Documents

ORIGINK Spring 2012