Crystal Morey: Horibenny (Part I)
By Crystal Morey
Horibenny is one of my favorite monsters. Odder than bacon with legs, he oozes with creative zealotry and possesses an indiscriminate passion for life that is contagious. Benny is one of the first round-eyes to be given and to complete a formal tattoo apprenticeship here in Japan, and by this I mean, he cooked, fetched and lived for his sempai for over four years… A far cry from the ‘two week a year drop in to study and pay money’ apprenticeship awarded to many gaijin deshi these days.
Benny is an accomplished painter, his tattoo work is delicate yet powerful, it often embodies the Japanese tenet that less is more, and his earnest demeanor only lends to his accomplishments as an artists. Ever the student, Ben works his ass of on a daily basis to learn more and push himself further and I’ve had the pleasure of watching him make significant artistic advancements over the past few years. He is not unlike one of those wind-up toys you point and they take off pointedly in one direction… only Ben’s nose is pointed at the moon and with his passion it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he got there… (more…)
Victor Farinelli: Best Ink Season II (Episode 7)
By Victor Farinelli
This is not gonna be a long post because, frankly, this show is just becoming sad… Just sad. I thought this show would give me some great ammunition to vent the fury in my head. But alas, no. I have to take that out on my last place Brewers who, as I write this, beat the first place Cards. So I can’t even take it out on them. Fuck! I guess there are always the Astros… (more…)
Victor Farinelli: Best Ink Season II (Episode 6)
By Victor Farinelli
Let me start by reminding y’all that the views expressed in these here ramblings are my own and do not represent the views of TAM. With that out of the way, I wanted to touch on some action going on at the TAM Facebook page. There have been some posts that have criticized TAM for allowing me to even acknowledge that Best Ink, and other tattoo shows, even exist…
One: See the first sentence. Two: Face it folks; ever since MTV’s The Real World (maybe even The Dating Game), TV has become one “reality” show after another. COPS, Survivor, Idol, Top Chef; the list goes on and on. Tattoo shows are no different. I don’t think they are going to go away anytime soon, either. Look at how many seasons American Chopper has been on. Those goofballs still get huge ratings. True “outlaw bikers” probably hate that show, just like many passionate tattoo artists hate tattoo shows… (more…)
Victor Farinelli: Best Ink Season II (Episode 5)
By Victor Farinelli
Howdy folks. It’s me again here to bring you yet another exciting and death-defying episode of Best Ink Season II. This episode demonstrates to me that I am absolutely no judge of what a decent tattoo should be. I thought that most of the work that came out of this episode was pretty good. However, walking heart-attack Joe Capobianco hated most of them. I never had good taste… (more…)
Victor Farinelli: Best Ink Season II (Episode 4)
By Victor Farinelli
My fellow cynic “johndotcom” asked me the other day if this show is painful to watch. Yes it is. It makes me wish for the zombie apocalypse. I think it has to do with the real egotistical ass-hats that are on this show, including the host, Pete Wentz. I guess that is why they were picked in the first place. Some of the douchingtons are so egotistical that they don’t even realize that they are fucking up someone’s life with a shitty tattoo. Well, I guess that is why the laser removal industry is so big now… (more…)
Victor Farinelli: Best Ink Season II (Episode 3)
By Victor Farinelli
Hello Folks. This is your resident dickhead back again to bring you a recap of this week’s episode from one of the most asinine shows on TV. Week three of Best Ink is pretty much like week two. For the flash challenge, the guest judges were Vanessa and Angela Simmons, founders of Pastry Brand fashionable footwear and apparel. The Simmons are daughters of Rev. Run from Run-DMC and nieces of Russell Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam records. The flash challenge was all about branding. So now tattoo artists have to brand themselves? What the fuck is that all about? Oh, I forgot, the last challenge was all about branding too. Kids; don’t do tattoos at home. But if you’re going to, use my Easy Glow Tattoo Pigment and custom “Brickhouse” coil tattoo machine… (more…)
Victor Farinelli: Best Ink Season II (Episode 2)
By Victor Farinelli
Hello, my name is Victor, and I am an asshole (Hi,Victor). I am officially in asshole relapse mode. I don’t know what has come over me. Everytime I try not to be an asshole, the compulsion takes over. So, I have accepted my assholism and will embrace it. Today is a new day. I feel like a butterfly emerging from the cocoon. I am going to spread my wings and fly! *grin*
*single tear* *sunbeam and rainbows* (more…)
Victor Farinelli: Best Ink Season II (Episode 1)
By Victor Farinelli
Hello friends and neighbors! It’s me again, here to give you the scoop on this shitstorm called Best Ink. First off, during the show, these little pop-up windows come up giving “industry slang.” One was “Skin- Tattoo Client.” What the fuck. The only time I have heard a customer called skin is never. Great. Now all these white trash wannabe scratchers are going to be calling their customers and clients “skins.” (Screen fades into dream sequence like a ‘70′s sitcom…) (more…)
Victor Farinelli: Best Ink Season II Prologue
By Victor Farinelli So… I was sitting with remote control in hand, watching reruns of Cops, surfing the Internet, and thinking about how depressed I have been ever since Ink Master Season 2 ended. There has been nothing to fill my gawking freak show void left by Ink Master, since it ended. I tried watching Black Ink Crew, but it just didn’t catch my attention. It reminded me too much of all the scratcher shops in Austin. There was no real point behind it either… (more…)
Gomineko Books: Adam Kitamoto’s Myths, Gods & Legends
Courtesy of Gomineko Books: Gomineko Books is proud to announce our newest publication, Adam Kitamoto’s Myths, Gods & Legends. This is a brilliant collection of Kitamoto’s illustrations and tattoo work, highlighting his keen eye for Japanese nuances and aesthetic… (more…)
Dave Waugh: Work in Progress Session V (By Hunter Spanks)
By Hunter Spanks
It’s June 27, 2012 and we are finally back in Georgetown. Lizzy is back in the saddle for session five on her back with Dave Waugh.
It has been almost a year since session four and truth be told I still have not submitted part four to TAM yet (it is up now). So I have hopes that I will get both of these to them pretty quick (that didn’t happen). The banter with Dave is great. We talk about a recent trip to Niagara Falls and being grilled by the border patrol on the way back in and Lizzy and I making up stories about us meeting on Christian Singles or that she was a porn star and that I met her on her site. It is now 1:36 p.m. and the buzzing of the machine starts and session five is underway… (more…)
Carl Zimmer: Science Tattoo Emporium (Crystallography in High Heels)
Carl Zimmer is a blogger and writer for both The New York Times and Discover Magazine, which also hosts his blog, The Loom. Zimmer writes on a wide range of scientific topics. He is the author of 12 books, the most recent of which is Science Ink: Tattoos of the Science Obsessed. When Zimmer asked on his blog how many scientists out there had tattoos, he was inundated with photo submissions and commentary, which he has collected into the neat book you can see and order below. It’s our pleasure to share some of them… (more…)
Dawn Cooke: Jesse Stark Fundraiser
By Dawn Cooke
Let me tell you a little story about Jesse Stark. Jesse starting tattooing as a young man and like most of us had to struggle to learn the craft of tattooing. Jesse worked in Detroit for a while. When I say he worked in Detroit I mean in the city not the suburbs. He was shot at one too many times there and he left to work in the safer community of Ann Arbor… (more…)
Paul Booth’s Last Rites Gallery Presents: Yoko d’Holbachie
Last Rites Gallery: What is your earliest memory of picking up a paintbrush? Tell us a little more about it.
Yoko d’Holbachie: I attended a painting class run by an American couple when I was 3 years old. I drew monsters, ghosts and snails with a shell full of eye balls often.
Last Rites Gallery: What does In the Dark mean and why did you choose it for your exhibition at Last Rites Gallery?
Yoko d’Holbachie: I loved the gallery’s space coronation for the dark art, when I visited the Last Rites Gallery. It inspired me for new painting idea that the beautifully glowing critters in the gloom. What I wanted to paint for this exhibition is actually the gleam in the dark, not the dark.
Last Rites Gallery: Please tell us a little bit more on why you paid tribute to contemporary and classical mythologies in some of your pieces? (Ayida Weddo, Hatmehit, Gorgon?)
Yoko d’Holbachie: My critters in my painting had been living inside of me. They have no name. I borrow the stories from various kind of mythologies, when I give a birth to my critters and the story suits to them. Those goddesses I like are not just having super power but also evil, angelic, humanistic, and a mother…
Paul Booth’s Last Rites Gallery Presents: Alexandra Manukyan (VIDEO)
Last Rites Gallery’s NEW Video Interview Series brings you into the conversation with the best artists of dark surrealism…
Marcus Kuhn: The Gypsy Gentleman Episode VI (VIDEO)
The Gypsy Gentleman Episode 6: Paris. Marcus Kuhn presents the sixth edition of his new tattoo and travel video series. This new adventure features interviews with Laura Satana and Tin-Tin as they travel deep into the catacombs of France to dig up some skull reference… To support this project for future episodes please visit the Gypsy Gentleman website and donate: http://gypsygentleman.com/.
Send PayPal Donations by cut-and-pasting this link and then clicking the “donate” icon above: justgoodtattoos@yahoo.com
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Carl Zimmer: Science Tattoo Emporium (Love of Logic)
Carl Zimmer is a blogger and writer for both The New York Times and Discover Magazine, which also hosts his blog, The Loom. Zimmer writes on a wide range of scientific topics. He is the author of 12 books, the most recent of which is Science Ink: Tattoos of the Science Obsessed. When Zimmer asked on his blog how many scientists out there had tattoos, he was inundated with photo submissions and commentary, which he has collected into the neat book you can see and order below. It’s our pleasure to share some of them… (more…)
Dawn Cooke: 15 Great Artists’ Pictures From Instagram
By Dawn Cooke
So I screen-shotted some of my favorite pictures from Intagram to share. My intention is to share some great work and give the artists every bit of the credit! I’m doing it to showcase what I consider to be some really great work. I hope you will all agree. One thing I want to make clear is that I am not trying to promote the idea of “stealing.” All artists are inspired by other artists. There’s a difference between being inspired and flat-out stealing. I think it’s important to know the difference. Most images in tattooing have been taken from other sources. It’s always good to know the source if you can, and try to be inspired by art outside of tattooing… and also by life and nature… (more…)
Sailor Jerry’s Birthday Celebration in Chicago and New York on January 14th
Courtesy of Sailor Jerry: On Monday January 14, we’re marking the 102nd birthday of Norman ‘Sailor Jerry’ Collins by giving 102 people Sailor Jerry anchor tattoos. An anchor tattoo is something special. A symbol of what grounds you. Sailor Jerry’s anchor flash displays the hallmarks that made him a legend. Bold lines. Refined forms. And a single-minded attention to detail. Look closely, he even incorporated his initials “SJ” into the design… (more…)
Paul Booth’s Last Rites Gallery Presents: Chris Haas (VIDEO)
Last Rites Gallery’s NEW Video Interview Series brings you into the conversation with the best artists of dark surrealism…
Thom deVita Appearance and Pop-Up Gallery at Kings Ave Tattoo
In honor of Tattoo Age’s Thom deVita episode, VICE is holding an art show and sale at Mike Rubendall’s Kings Ave Tattoo shop in NYC from January 11th-13th. Thom’s one of a kind creative rubbings from tattoo stencils, art boxes, signed books, and more will be available for purchase. The legendary artist himself will also be present to talk about his art and Scott Harrison will be tattooing Saturday and Sunday… (more…)
Carl Zimmer: Science Tattoo Emporium (A Fossil Emblem)
Carl Zimmer is a blogger and writer for both The New York Times and Discover Magazine, which also hosts his blog, The Loom. Zimmer writes on a wide range of scientific topics. He is the author of 12 books, the most recent of which is Science Ink: Tattoos of the Science Obsessed. When Zimmer asked on his blog how many scientists out there had tattoos, he was inundated with photo submissions and commentary, which he has collected into the neat book you can see and order below. It’s our pleasure to share some of them… (more…)
Myke Chambers: Westward Expansion
By Myke Chambers
If you’re familiar with 19th century American history then you should know a little about the westward expansion of the Euro-American and the ensuing American Indian wars leading to the near extinction of all Native American culture.
Now I’m not going to go into all the horrific atrocities committed by the Euro-American against the American Indians, all the countless promises broken and massacres of women and children. Please understand I’m in no way saying the mass genocide and all the horrors done to the Native American in the past and in the present in any way compares. That wasn’t the purpose of this at all. I myself am part Cherokee. What is happening with tattooing is obviously nowhere near as horrific as what happened to the native tribes. No, I have another purpose for bringing this bit of history up. You may be asking yourself where the hell is he going with this and what the hell does American history have to do with tattooing… Bear with me, and while you do look for history repeating itself… though not on such a horrific scale… (more…)
Paul Booth’s Last Rites Gallery Presents: Sarah Joncas (VIDEO)
Last Rites Gallery’s NEW Video Interview Series brings you into the conversation with the best artists of dark surrealism…
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