Over the past century tattoo culture has emerged from the underground and hit the mainstream. From body art’s early association with sailors, convicts and side-show acts to the current adoption of tattoo culture among celebrities, via the tattoo renaissance of the 1970s, this book reveals the entire history.

Combining a wealth of visual material from across the many cultures and sub-cultures associated with tattoos, including fashion, music and art, with examples of some of the most exquisite tattoos ever inked, the book shows more than 400 photographs, many published for the first time.

This visual history forms a unique examination of the tattoo as a form of personal expression and will appeal to anyone with an interest in body art and social history, and to anyone planning a tattoo.

About the Author:

David McComb has edited a variety of books devoted to the body art scene and was one of the first writers to recognize that tattoo culture was rocketing into the mainstream. He is the editor of alternative culture magazine Bizarre.

Lively and informative, The World Atlas of Tattoo is a superbly illustrated and compelling reference book that, through examining the meeting point between tattoo artists and their personal understanding of their environment, presents a well-informed and nuanced account of what has become a widespread art practice.

Organized geographically, each section is introduced by a short historical overview of the types of tattooing traditionally practised in that area of the world, enabling the reader to trace historical threads in the careers of some of the profiled tattooers, as well as marvel at how other artists have managed to create novel forms of tattooing that transcend any previous context.

The book also tracks the movement of styles from their indigenous settings to diasporic communities, where they have often been transformed into creative, multicultural, hybrid designs.

Written by an international team of scholars, historians and journalists, this comprehensive atlas will enlighten and excite anyone who is passionate about tattoo art in its many forms worldwide.

Wearable art. An exploration of tattoos past and present

Whether you’re thinking of getting a tattoo or just want to see to what lengths others have gone in decorating their bodies, this is the book to check out. This edition of 1000 Tattoos explores the history of the art worldwide via designs and photos — from 19th-century engravings to tribal body art, from circus ladies of the ‘20s to classic biker designs — giving a fascinating insight into the art of tattooing.

The editors:

Art historian Burkhard Riemschneider runs an art gallery in Berlin and has published several monographs on contemporary artists.

For years, Henk Schiffmacher has been recognised as one of the stars of the tattoo scene. His Amsterdam studio attracts countless tattoo pilgrims, and he also runs the Amsterdam Tattoo Museum, which exhibits material from Schiffmacher’s own vast historical and contemporary collection.

About the series:

Bibliotheca Universalis — Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe at an unbeatable, democratic price!

Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible, open-minded publishing. Bibliotheca Universalis brings together more than 100 of our all-time favourite titles in a neat new format so you can curate your own affordable library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia.

Bookworm’s delight — never bore, always excite!

The evolution of tattoo art in America is spread before you in 265 impressive original tattoo flash sheets and insightful text written by a tattoo artist who has designed on his own since 1960. Military, religious, figural, animal, and nature themes are displayed among the many hundred designs. Changes in tattoo art over the years is shown as well as the trend today to return to earlier designs. Individual artists are listed, along with others who altered designs. This book will be an endless source of inspiration, for those who are passionate about tattoo art.

Explore the art of Rodrigo Melo's Japanese style tattoos through more than 150 lush studio photographs of bodysuits, rib pieces, back pieces, and sleeves featuring traditional themes and imagery. See peonies, koi, tigers, dragons, and characters from Buddhist mythology presented in authentic form and color but with some modern techniques and stylings, like the use of "angry black" to increase contrast. In addition to the body art pieces, this contemporary study of traditional Japanese tattoo styles includes hundreds of images of Melo's flash paintings, a body suit in progress, and new aesthetics for Japanese style tattoo art. This book is a must have for tattoo enthusiasts, art and tattoo students, and anyone interested in learning about tattoo culture and history.

Between these pages are images of the original acetate rubbings from Charlie Wagner's turn of the 20th-century tattoo shop, The Black Eye Barbershop, in the Bowery at Chatham Square in New York.

This is the only known art that has survived from this shop, where Samuel J. O'Reilley's modern-day electric tattoo machine was born and patented. The imagery of this classic flash preserves the origins of American tattoos when tattoo art was transferred to the client from these templates via an acetate stencil. Everything was done by hand until O'Reilley's electrified tattoo machine changed history.

This rich heritage of folk art has more than 900 individual pieces of flash that provide commentary on the shop's clientele and reveal some of the social, economic, and political ideas of the time. Including nautical themes, Asian imagery, flowers, boxers, circus characters, and plenty of girls, this is an exciting collection of early American flash and a necessary book for the tattoo artist, aficionado, and student.

Since the dawn of time, people have painted and embellished their skin in a variety of forms, techniques and styles. Today the centuries old art of tattooing has developed into an exciting, creative and powerful mode of self-expression. Not just a skin-deep body decoration, tattoos have become very much a part of popular sub-culture, infiltrating the worlds of fashion, art, music and television. 'Tattoo Magic' explores this extraordinary and antique form of body art and showcases a rigorous selection of the best tattoo designs from all over the world. Bursting with unique photos and illustrations of tattoo art from butterflies, flowers, 50's pin ups and black and white portraits to religious iconography, tribal markings and intricate oriental motifs, Tattoo Magic boasts a superlative array of world class tattoo designs created using a wide range of techniques. The result is a book which is the ultimate reflection of the global tattoo scene and a rich source of inspiration for designers, artists looking for new ideas, trends and images in contemporary body art design.

These electrifying portraits by acclaimed photographer Alex MacNaughton prove in the most eloquent way that tattoos are more than skin deep.

The centuries-old art of tattooing has become one of the modern world’s most exciting modes of self-expression. Fascinated by the ways body art reflects an individual’s personality, MacNaughton set out to find people whose ornate tattoos tell a story. The result is a wonderfully dynamic collection of portraits that uniquely celebrates the art of tattooing. Each individual is introduced through a full-body, full-page photograph, showcasing the fashion and style which complement the body art. MacNaughton presents gorgeously detailed images of the tattoos themselves, accompanied by personal reflections on the subjects’ choice of tattoos, the stories behind them, and the tattoo artists they admire most. The result is a beautiful, sensitive, and exciting exploration of the world of body art, from one of the most successful photographers of urban life.

This groundbreaking book gets up close and personal to show how two urban styles have melded together.

Graffiti and tattoos are now firmly entrenched as mainstream art forms. Over the past few decades, these raw products of street culture have converged in a unique visual aesthetic definitively documented for the first time in this compelling and inspirational book. Famed graffiti tattoo artist Kaves and tattoo documentarian Billy Burke introduce, one by one, the masters of graffiti tattoo art, their personal stories, and their diverse handiwork. Each chapter contains an in-depth profile, a personal statement, and fascinating photos of studios and clients. Readers will learn about the “skin graffiti” process, view brilliant “flash” drawings (design sketches for patrons to choose from), and come away with a new understanding of and appreciation for an art form that transforms the human body into the ultimate canvas for self-expression.

Tectum's illustrated Bible series gets another welcome addition with this new volume fully dedicated to tattoos. We - men and women - have always tried to enhance our looks: just like jewellery, clothes, accessories, makeA ]up and haircuts, tattoos have been present since time immemorial. Today, tattooing is recognized as a socially acceptable and legitimate art form that attracts men and women of all walks of life. This book contains no text but more than 400 modern and historic images of tattoos and tattooed people from all layers of society and all parts of the world, throughout time. As such, it can both be used for inspiration as well as reference and entertainment.

With One Million Tattoos: Designs to Create and Colour you can print out unique combinations of original tattoo designs from the CD-ROM to colour and incorporate into your own artwork, or adapt and create your own designs to take to a tattooist. Over a million combinations are possible! There are classic Sailor Jerry-style banners, anchors, hearts, and birds, along with popular tribal designs, motifs and animals, that can be mixed-and-matched. The book explains how to colour the tattoos using professional techniques and how to insert them into existing art, while also acting as a visual catalogue of the tattoo designs that are on the disc.

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Неотъемлемой частью боди-арта является татуировка. Это древнее искусство, пользующееся огромной популярностью в наши дни. Она служит разным целям: одни с ее помощью украшают себя, другие считают, что, сделав татуировку, станут более взрослыми, третьи используют ее как защитный амулет или талисман, четвертые делают ее в память о важных событиях, произошедших в жизни, и любимых людях. Мастер по татуировке должен не только в совершенстве владеть техникой нанесения рисунка на тело, но и быть хорошим художником. Эта книга - лучший справочник для татуировщика. В ней описаны различные техники нанесения изображения на кожу, а также приведены самые популярные рисунки и символы, использующиеся в современной татуировке.

It’s no secret that tattoos have become a commonly accepted and popular form of self-expression; people young and old wear sleeves of ink, or little designs that peek out from the top of a waistband or the collar of a shirt. Over the past few years, however, a sub-genre of tattoos has emerged: Arabic tattoos.

Although Islam prohibits tattooing, Arabic Tattoos documents the reasons why people from the United States and Europe get these tattoos, ranging from names converted from Latin alphabets to Arabic, to bold words like “infidel” emblazoned on US soldiers returning to Iraq.

Jon Udelson, the book’s compiler, writes, “These tattoos signify more than the words and designs they showcase upon a person’s skin. They are representative of the this crucial point in modern time where cultural awareness, acceptance, and, unfortunately, fear, are salient aspects of global culture.”

Along with the photographs of these tattoos and the stories from their recipients, designers and inkers, essays from tattoo expert Clayton Patterson and Egyptian artist Hamdi Attia provide a thoughtful context for these tattoos.

The purpose of Arabic Tattoos is to illuminate questions like To whom does a language belong? and in doing so add to an ever expanding public discourse that involves philosophy, religion, politics and art, arriving at a higher understanding of this multi-cultural world in which we live.