gougetheeyes

I start to tap out after 3 hrs now. No stamina left!

Oaktown, Robin and Jake -- all meritorious pieces!! Good stuff.

High-five! Congratulations LSTers.

He did a great eagle on Perez's chest -- maybe you can get him to post a picture.

Bailey tattooed me in 2007 or 2008 when he was over at Hold Fast. He did a small ship in a bottle on my arm near the elbow and by all rights coulda told me to fuck off since it was kind of a weird/tiny spot. He was nice though and I've been itching to get back for something about 20x bigger! Hopefully this summer.

That photo is incredible.

HAHAHA Did I uh.. get off topic?

Also Shawn, thank you a ton for sharing these. Really incredible. And looking forward to the others!

Caught this in LA when I was there in September, pretty awesome. Ed was there and spoke a little bit and I got to meet him after -- also pretty awesome! Then I wrote him a letter when I got home and I think I scared him

Obviously the cool new things in 2011. Back to the discussion.. I really like the idea of making the tattoo alive yourself. Well said. But I wanted to come back to the idea that tattoos of an image having a "set visual meaning" -- because in the same way, so do, for example, polynesian designs. X, y and z could very easily and concretely mean "sea, turtle and warrior" to the culture in which it originated. It reminds me of what's happening with a lot of other symbols lately, of the esoteric variety. People slapping on numbers or planetary symbols or images associated with different sects or secret societies. Designs which are deeply routed in belief systems or schools of thought that are often very difficult to understand. So. More questions up for discussion. Do you think incorporating the use of tribal designs into new designs (or using straight traditional tribal designs) is a.) at all similar to that? And b.) as we create this new visual vocabulary, what do you think our responsibilities are, as far as both the tattooer and wearer are concerned?

Interesting point -- one I hadn't thought of and one I certainly wouldn't argue. And it seems to go hand-in-hand with the idea of expanding on or interpreting the "tattoo lexicon" in a new way. I like when you said, "I give the tattooing life," because with as much as people are searching for meaning in their lives in one way or another, it seems very few are taking the time to look inward. Do you think the designs immediately spark something internal in us, as part of a collective unconscious, or do you think people just automatically associate them with something primal and primitive and therefore more significant?

Nice! Emailed an internet buddy in Ireland and he already knew and had designs on getting tattooed. Hope all goes well man!

xhooliganx, this is great! Is this by you?? Can't wait to watch these videos at home tonight. I seem to remember from interviews with a lot of the New York guys (from McCabe's New York City Tattoo) that they seemed pretty dismissive of Jack Dracula.. maybe because he was more of a circus performer than a hard-and-fast tattooer?

Petri, great topic with a lot to think about. That's a really good Cliff Raven quote, too! It's strange, too, because I've been thinking a little bit about blackwork tattooing lately as I've been reading up on plains Indians (this is a really fantastic book on the Blackfeet, by the way if anyone has any interest) and learning about some basic things, especially how artwork reflected their beliefs and what was important in their lives.. seeing some old photos of the men and women, and gathering little tidbits about the importance of tattoos across different groups. Which also ties in to the sun dance that the Blackfeet participated in, incorporating some serious piercing… Anyway. I think this topic is pretty huge but I'll try keep it short. In my opinion, with tattoos, we're all struggling to apply ten million things to our bodies, most of which we’ll never fully understand. Aside from our struggle to reconcile our own mind and spirit with our physical world, we obviously latch on to art that we can identify with, be it music, tattoos, or the argument could even be made for clothing. And so much of it is ingrained in our culture and subconscious, it's tough to step outside those parameters, tattoo or otherwise. I do love blackwork tattoos and I do appreciate what those (growing) few have done and are doing by exploring different styles of the artwork. I do think it suits a lot of people but I think there's a certain... not problem, but maybe an uncertainty, when it comes to co-opting various styles and designs from other cultures. It's powerful and striking and instantly more "meaningful" or "exotic" than traditional western tattoos, but sometimes what happens is just a bunch of borrowing from other cultures. Now -- there's not necessarily anything wrong with it and, in fact, there's something very American -- and very human -- about that. We consume and incorporate and for the most part it's to understand and gain knowledge. And in that way, we create a new tattoo language, which is really exciting and maybe even necessary. All of this is to say, I’ve had a real, growing interest in blackwork/native tattooing as I’ve gotten older. And I think it’s because I’ve made myself think about things a bit more, try to understand the whys of tattooing and expression; whys that probably won’t ever be fully answered. I think folks that exploded the possibilities for our modern times, like Leo Zulueta, and those that are building on that foundation, like Thomas Hooper, have the right idea. When I mentioned “co-opting” and “borrowing” I didn’t mean it in the negative, I think that’s just our nature because we’re all trying to understand something we can’t put our finger on. Who knows – maybe as I get older I’ll get really into black-only tattoos. I identify a lot with both Celtic and American Indian designs but maybe that’s my own subconscious connecting slivers of my ancestry to my geography to my own search for meaning. I’m glad for the renewed interest in tribal tattoos, I just keep my fingers crossed people will treat it with respect.

Hahaa they were both black and gray and more two dimensional. Don't know what that's about.

Saw two newly-tattooed people over the weekend with variations of the honeycomb pattern, individual of one another. Cause, you know.. bees.

Stubbing my toe(s). Do it once a week and usually end up knocking things over. And cursing up a storm.

Also: Roseanne and I Love Lucy. UNASHAMED.

Fuck yeah to all of these, especially SVU! Only one I was never into was Twin Peaks, but everyone seems to love it and I recently re-got Netflix. I'll add Oz and Dexter, and second Seinfeld, Curb, Sopranos and Deadwood. New guilty pleasure is Modern Family and I also started watching Sons of Anarchy. Goddamn TV..

This ruled! I went to the gun store while in Vegas the first time and shot up an A.C. Slater-looking target with a 9mm.

Dude, cmon those stars represent my cousin's girlfriend's struggle with strength. And also honor.

You going? Might be able to make tomorrow night.

Heard that Higgs was performing at Zebulon in Williamsburg, Bk last night.. But on the website it looks like it's actually tonight?? Anyone go/going/know anything?

HA! Yes to everything on here. Someone should start the lady head wearing a dead lady as a hat trend. See what happens..

Do it -- what's the worst that could happen?