I might have to get this book. Leo Zulueta and the other interviews sound great!
Edition Reuss recently released Black Tattoo Art: Modern Expressions of the Tribal, a photographic homage to a particular genre of skin art. The book is curated by Marisa Kakoulas (lawyer, writer, circus lady, and blogger.) Above and after the jump, Boing Boing’s exclusive peek at some of the hundreds of striking, full-page images you'll find inside.
The 536-page hardcover includes work by tattoo artists from Borneo, Argentina, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Europe and North America. The book weighs nearly ten pounds, and the binding is stitched with silver embossing. It's fat, heavy, and gorgeous.
“There has never before been a book on this style of tattooing in English,” Marisa told Boing Boing over email. “The style is called “blackwork,” where the artists are limited to one color and so they have to stretch their imagination in terms of design elements to create original works, rather than having a palette of colors and shading techniques to chose from as in other styles of tattooing.”
Some of the photos we selected to share on Boing Boing also include the use of a single additional color.
Black Tattoo Art examines how indigenous tattooing has evolved over the years, beginning with a history section, then each of the styles that originate in tribal arts.
Lots more photos from the book after the jump. NSFW-ish warning: one of them is a human hiney.
continue reading @ Black Tattoo Art: Modern Expressions of the Tribal Boing Boing.
