BME: Body Modification Ezine

A tattooed person suspends from hooks, laying flat, one leg higher than the other. Their head is back, and they seem to be smiling, dark hair dangling like an anime character.

Celebrating body modification culture since 1994.

Author: Jen Savage

  • Passion & Ink

    Written by

    Jen Savage

    You may have noticed a lack of posts today. Rob was off dealing with some personal things today so he wasn’t able to do any posts. I hope this sort of makes up for the quiet.

    couple

    This photo was submitted by the photographer, CHRISMDAY. I don’t know if this is a real couple or just something they did for a photoshoot but the passion sure looks real! I love the contrast between her colourful sleeve and his black and grey tattoos. I don’t have any information about the artists who did the ink otherwise I’d share.

    Rob should be back with us tomorrow.

  • They say it’s your birthday

    Written by

    Jen Savage

    It’s Rachel‘s birthday! Aside from running BME and being a ridiculously awesome boss, she’s also been a great friend for many years. She’s been there for me when I’ve needed it and is one of the most generous people I know. So, have a great day Rachel and relax for once! And don’t fire me for this post!

    Photo by Sophia Tsipidis

    Photo by Sophia Tsipidis

  • New Kings Avenue Tattoo Shop

    Written by

    Jen Savage

    The following press release found me and I’m passing it on to you.  If you’re lucky enough to live in the area or maybe you’re taking a trip to New York City, this is definitely a shop you’ll want to check out.

    Check out some of the work by Mike Rubendall and Grez and the press release that follows after the jump. Be sure to check out their shop’s site for work by all of the shop’s artists. You won’t be sorry.

    Mike Rubendall

    Mike Rubendall

    Mike Rubendall

    Mike Rubendall

    Grez

    Grez

    KINGS AVENUE TATTOO SHOP OPENS ON BOWERY

    Travel far back enough in time and the high-end boutiques and martini bars of the Bowery disappear. Decades before there was a CBGBs – much less a John Varvatos boutique in its former footprint – the Bowery was America’s most notorious “skid row.” Crime flourished in the alleyways, derelicts lay dying in the gutters and sailors on shore-leave stopped by the neighborhood for assorted vice and a tattoo before shipping off to sea.

    While that era is long gone (and few lament its passing), one thing worth celebrating has returned to the Bowery: tattooing.

    On April 1st, KINGS AVENUE NYC opened its doors at 188 Bowery to a reveal a beautiful, open-loft floor plan to the public. Framed paintings decorate the walls and with its black glass chandeliers and oriental carpets, KINGS AVENUE NYC doesn’t look the rough-and-tumble shops of the old Bowery – nor is it the place to get a crude anchor quickly scratched into your forearm. This is a pristine gallery space where fine-art is being created on skin seven days a week.

    Sharing a name with the flagship location in Massapequa, Long Island, KINGS AVENUE NYC was founded by tattooist and international award-winner, MIKE RUBENDALL, with his associate, GREZ, a well-respected tattooist in his own right. While people have traveled from all over the world to visit their Long Island location for everything from a full-scale Japanese body-suit to a modestly-sized, classic nod to Americana flash, RUBENDALL explains that they opted to open a second shop on Bowery, “for the simple fact of wanting to be a part of the energy, life, and creativity that Manhattan possesses.”

    KINGS AVENUE NYC will also feature the work of resident artists MATT BECKERICH, JUSTIN WEATHERHOLTZ, BRIAN PAUL, SHAUN NEL, KEVIN LEBLANC and SARAH SCHOR – a talented collective that has adorned the bodies of notables like actress EVAN RACHEL WOOD, hip-hop empresario DAMON DASH and rocker PETE WENTZ of FALL OUT BOY. The public can also expect to see guest appearances from renowned  artists like CHRIS O’DONNELL, TIM HENDRICKS and Denmark’s HENNING JORGENSON as well as “celebrity” tattooists such as CHRIS NUÑEZ (Miami Ink) and KAT VON D (L.A. Ink). Artists will be present to accept unscheduled “walk-in” clients, but due to their individual waiting lists, clients are encouraged to contact the artists at KINGS AVENUE NYC in advance.

    Sure, the Bowery has gotten a make-over in the past few years, but now it can also get a beautiful tattoo.

    ~
    Located at 188 Bowery at the corner of Spring Street, KINGS AVENUE NYC is open from 12pm-9pm on Monday through Saturday and 1pm until 7pm on Sunday. The shop can be reached by telephone at (212) 431-5464 or online at www.kingsavenuetattoo.com.

    ~
    The KINGS AVE NYC logo, web- and print-ready images of the shop and samples of the artists’ work is available for download at www.briangrosz.com/kingsave

  • Pop rocks and soda pop!

    Written by

    Jen Savage

    Once upon a time,  I was working in a bookstore and one of my coworkers saw my own tragus piercing and proceeded to inform me that the piercing was incredibly dangerous because there is a nerve there and if they pierce it, it will paralyze your face.  “No, there isn’t,” I said dryly, trying to extract myself from her eager jabbering.  She continued to explain that this was dangerous and then did something that I really, really hate.  She reached out and put her grubby finger on my piercing while asking, “Doesn’t that hurt?”  I actually flinched and likely responded by telling her that yes, it hurt terribly and I was in constant pain, followed by a roll of my eyes.

    What’s the purpose of this trip down memory lane?  Urban legends, myths and misconceptions.  We’ve all heard them, I’m sure.  The dreaded nerve that will paralyze your entire face.  Piercing your tongue will cause you to lose all your sensation of taste.  If you have a tattoo over your spine you can’t get an epidural.  Some of them are funny, some of them are ridiculous but the point is, people believe them and that can have consequences.

    BME has always tried to serve not only as a documentation of body modification but as a platform for education.  Here’s where you come in readers.  Tell me about what urban legends, myths and misconceptions you have heard regarding body modification and if you have the knowledge, feel free to also debunk the myth with solid facts.  The information we all come up with is going to be included in the new Misconceptions FAQ on the BME Wiki.

    So let’s have them!  And just so you don’t think I don’t love you, here’s a gratuitous photo of a beautiful woman pulled from the moderation queue.

    meizy

    Meizy’s piercings were done by Mike French and Spider.  Her stone trinity spirals are by Oracle.

  • Unbreakable

    Written by

    Jen Savage

    Welcome back friends! A huge thank you to Rachel and Mike who worked long hours to get BME, ModBlog, IAM and the rest up and running again. It’s good to be back! I thought this tattoo was fitting. No artist was credited but it was submitted by xsabx. The lettering looks like it might be a bit shaky but sometimes it’s just the photo, especially on fresh and healing tattoos and once they’re healed it looks just fine.

    bme

    I hope you all enjoyed your weekend (or long weekend for those of you in the US). I’m always curious about why people choose old school motifs for tattoos. Well, I guess I’m curious about all of them but I always wonder what draws people to the old school stuff. So ModBloggers, if it’s not too personal, what motivated you to get the style of ink you’ve got?

  • Santa likes suspensions too!

    Written by

    Jen Savage

    Bet you didn’t know Santa was down with suspensions?

    santa

    I’m not sure if the group at this event is called Escape Suspension but the photos all carry that title. It took me a minute to notice the lights in “Santa’s” nipples! I think I was focused on the beard… I guess if that’s Santa in the first picture then maybe we’ve got one of his elves suspending in this next one?

    elf1

    I don’t know about you but I think this looks like one fun event! I wish I could have been there.

    Alright folks, enjoy yourselves this weekend and be safe. I’ll be back with a book review sometime very soon and Sean promises some great stuff in the new year so keep your eyes on ModBlog and enjoy the last few days of 2010!

  • The sum of all parts

    Written by

    Jen Savage

    When I first started posting on ModBlog, one of the first things I did, was a short interview with Gregory. Greg and I were not friends way back when. In fact, I think it’s safe to say we disliked each other quite a bit. Life is funny though and it has a way of turning things around and you end up finding out that person you really didn’t like is not so bad after all.

    img_9315

    Recently, I happened to see the new work that Greg is turning out and I thought it was time to catch up with one of IAM’s more controversial and outspoken members and find out what was new.

    dscf1949

    Click to keep reading…

    Life doesn’t always deal us the hand we’re looking for. Suffering a serious motorcycle accident and then battling cancer might cause another person to fold and give up. Not Greg. But nothing is ever quite as it seems and, opening himself up and showing me a more vulnerable side, Greg confessed to me that for nearly three years after his accident, he was a drug addict, addicted to pain medication, and it wasn’t until he was diagnosed with cancer that he quit the drugs.

    This isn’t a sad story though because, as Greg tells me, “With my melon finally getting its shit together and me moving out of East Van and all of its negative vibe I am once again the Greg of old.” Like any rebirth, beauty rises from the ashes and Greg’s work is just that, beauty.

    dscf1945

    Wondering about his inspiration, I asked Greg to explain how he came up with these new designs:

    The new stuff came about while I was looking at this woman wearing glasses and the frames she had on. They have what is called a torx screw holding most of it all together. Then out of nowhere I said that would be cool looking finger ring. Lucky me who just happens to use Solidworks, I went into my shop the next day and started to fuck around. It took me a few days of looking but I found a company in the great white north that manufactured the torx screws. Once I nailed that down I got started messing around on my lathe and mill. These rings were all just up inside my messed up melon and I just did what I thought I saw. But now that I have had a chance to see them and touch with my one good grubby hand I see what I want to do next. The two finger ring was just for shits and giggles and I of course want to change that up to but this time I will use torx screws and something else which I can not tell you about or I would be forced to kill you…

    dscf2129

    What’s up Greg’s sleeve remains a mystery but he did share some of what he’ll be doing in the future. Next fall Greg will be taking that mighty leap back into the murky waters of education as a full time student at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. There will be no stopping him then! If you want to keep tabs on Greg (or maybe order a ring for someone or for yourself), you can visit his website: http://www.gregorycullum.com

    dscf1962

    One of the reasons I wanted to interview Greg back then and why I’m posting this now is because while we deservedly give a lot of focus to the practitioners of body modification, we often don’t stop to find out about the rest of us. I’m not talking about long dramatized stories about what a tattoo means to you so you can get some air time on TV, but who we really are and what we’re really up to.

    img_9354 img_9336
    img_9340

    I did promise you I’d be serious this Friday and I like to keep my word. There is a lot of negative energy thrown out there in the world. I’m a little tired of it personally. So let’s take a minute and focus on the positives of triumph over adversity and creating beauty in the wake of something ugly. Have a happy and safe weekend folks.

  • A better place to be

    Written by

    Jen Savage

    This photo really caught my eye. It looks like it could easily be a glossy advertisement for Jack Daniels in some fancy magazine. Diegosalomao (who submitted this) appears to be in a club that only the coolest folks go to and he’s sipping on some JD while looking super hot with his gorgeous sleeves. What was I saying again? Oh right, you’re welcome ladies (and some of you men).

    7281fed0

    He didn’t mention who did the tattoo work so we’re stuck just admiring the picture. Life is rough isn’t it?

  • WWNPHD?

    Written by

    Jen Savage

    Sometimes, when I’m moderating photos for BME, I’ll happen upon something that makes me laugh, right out loud.  This is one of those times.

    wwnphd

    This is a work in progress, sent in by Jamie Santos of Scarab Body Arts. In case you don’t know who the tattoo is (really?), it’s none other than Neil Patrick Harris. The red skin around the tattoo tells us this was taken fresh after a sitting. I’m looking forward to seeing the completed piece.

    Well kids, have a happy, fun and safe weekend and when you’re out there living it up, don’t forget to ask yourself, “What Would Neil Patrick Harris Do?”

    See more portrait tattoos on BME

  • I don’t think that’s where that goes!

    Written by

    Jen Savage

    Enemy sent in this photo of himself.  From what I gather, the piercings were all completely self done.  His lobes are at 7/8 and his septum is at 7/16.  I wanted to post the photo because high nostrils don’t come in very often.  I want to say this is still a fairly uncommon piercing but given where I live, I’m not sure if that’s accurate or simply my perception.   What about you, ModBloggers?  Would you say this is uncommon or do you see high nostrils with some frequency where you live?

    I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that he doesn’t normally wear what appears to be a piece of pipe a sharpie in his septum and that this was just for the photo.

    727cb8d03

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