Hasta La Ideas

Exploring the world of blackwork tattoos, a style dedicated to the singular use of black ink, the new book “Black Tattoo Art: Modern Expressions Of The Tribal” by tattoo zealot and expert Marisa Kakoulas traces the art’s origins and scope.

Never before written about in English, blackwork tattoos have their roots in indigenous designs, but today include a broad spectrum of styles—from simple to ornate, the book makes for a fascinating study of the incredible imagination and talent that the form inspires.

“Black Tattoo Art” delves into a history of tribal tattooing with interviews and insight provided by the “Godfather of tribal tattooing” Leo Zulueta as well as Peter Schachner—aka Lard Yao—a master of hand-poked Thai tattooing who learned the technique (and got the name) from the Thai prison where he was an inmate. Following that, each chapter is devoted to a different style, covering Neotribal, Dotwork, Traditional Revival, Thai/Buddhist and Art Brut and including 35 artists.

Based on street art but designed to harmonize with the body, Art Brut is a style popular in France and Belgium, made famous by artists traditionally working outside of the fine art world. A wildly interesting style, Art Brut—or raw art—is curated for the first time since its emergence in Kakoulas’ “Black Tattoo Art.”

The book will be available 10 September 2009 from Edition Reuss and you can pre-order from Amazon, but CH is giving away one copy to a lucky reader. To enter simply go to the bottom of the page, click on Contact and select “Black Tattoo Art Book Giveaway” from the drop-down menu. Tell us your favorite tattoo artist and we’ll pick at random from entries received before 11:59 pm EST on 11 September 2009.

For those in the NYC area, see details about the launch below.

Black Tattoo Art Launch
1o September 2009, 7-10:30pm
129 Roebling Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
map
tel. +1 718 218 6532