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: Rob

  • Like a moth to a flame

    Written by

    Rob

    Missmarymac graciously submitted the following image to our nature and wildlife galleries the other day.  I wish I could provide more information on the tattoo, unfortunately all I have to work with is her name.

    Which is what I’d like to talk about.  BME’s galleries are all user generated, which means we rely on you, the members to send us in images of your modifications.  You’ll notice after every ModBlog post a link to submit pictures.  If you’ve never submitted an image before, there are a number of different boxes you can fill out when uploading your pictures.  The one in particular you should pay attention to is the artist information.  We feature quite few images on ModBlog every week and the question I get asked most often is “who performed that modification”.  Sometimes the answer is right there next to the photo, other times the artists submit the images themselves so it’s easy to guess, if its an IAM member I can check their page to see if they wrote about it, but a lot of the times I don’t have the information to share.

    So next time you go to upload an image, remember to think of your practitioner, I’m sure they would love to credited for their work, especially if it’s being seen all over the world.

    One final thing before I get to the image.  When BMEzine.com switched over to the new gallery format, a new feature was added; The ability to add comments to an image.  So if you see an image you like, feel free to say something about it on the gallery page.  Users are able to see the comments people add about their mods, so go ahead and let them know what you think.  So if you happen to like Missmarymac’s moth tattoo, just add a comment here.

    moth

  • Twinkle, twinkle, little star

    Written by

    Rob

    The blending of multiple forms of modification into a single piece is hardly something that is new.  Heavy blackwork tattoos with scars cut into them, implants under tattoos to make them stand out, the list can go on and on.  Sometimes the results can be drastic, and other times it can be subtle, such as the case with the following photo submitted to us by Steven Cool from Almighty Tattoo in Flint, MI.

    stars

    I think what I like most about this piece is just how well the surface anchors blend in with the stars.  Granted the triangle design does stand out a bit, but as a whole the concept works.

    What I am curious about is to what you think of the blending of styles.  For the most part there are two categories, multiple modifications that compliment each other really well, or pieces like this that are (or at least appear to be) created with the intention of blending the modifications together.  Or is there really a division between the two?  Should we just look at the overall package when it comes to modifications and see the entire body as a single piece, or is it ok to judge each individual mod on its own merits?

    P.S. Apologies for the large watermark, that was how it was submitted to the site.

  • This… is… Scarification!!!

    Written by

    Rob

    There’s just some internet memes that are just too easy to use.  The “This is Sparta!” one, while long dead, still rears its ugly head from time to time, especially when you get a glimpse of something like this scarification piece that IAM: Eroswastika recently cut into one of his clients.

    300

    It’s hard to say if the owner of the scar is a fan of the comic or the film (or perhaps both), but it’s reasonable to assume he is a fan of Miller’s work.

    In case you can’t tell by the photo, the scar is located on his bicep, right above the ditch.  You can get another look at it from a different angle by checking out the skin removal scarification gallery.

  • Hush

    Written by

    Rob

    I try to post a variety of images every day to ModBlog.  And with every image I post, I try my best to make a story around it.  I see a tattoo of Prince’s love symbol, and I think of both the artist and the dedication of his fans.  I see a candid image from a pulling performance, and think of the outer expressions of inner pain.

    Then I see an image like this…

    hush

    …and I’m at a loss for words.

    Which of course got me to thinking, what is it about certain images and action that can take our breath away.  To render even the most expressive of us speechless.  Is it some base instinct that we have, like the fight or flight reactions, that when we are emotionally overwhelmed we react by silencing ourselves?  Or is it a cultural phenomenon, where we’ve been raised in a world where the effects of the Romantic period have permeated our collective consciousness.  The moment where our minds are presented with an overwhelming amount of emotional stimulation causes us to take pause and reflect on the images before we are able to express ourselves and our reactions.

    Now that I’ve had a moment to reflect on the image, I think that it conveys exactly what I was just talking about.  We have this woman looking outwards her lips bound by a black ribbon woven through her piercings.  You see through her eyes that she has something to say, but for the moment she cannot speak.  It is only when the ribbon is removed, can she express herself fully.  So we too, in those moments when everything falls away and we get lost in the image, have our lips bound, not by ribbon, but by our own minds.  We pause, holding everything in until the right moment, when we can remove our own ribbons and are free to speak again.

    I want to thank BMEzine.com member Scissor_Kitty for submitting this image to the piercing galleries.  So while you may not like every image in the galleries, there are certainly enough images in there that can take your breath away, simply through the story the image is telling.

  • His Royal Badness, The Purple One

    Written by

    Rob

    When looking for a video to open this post with I came to understand exactly why I’ve always thought Prince Rogers Nelson is one of the greatest musicians of all time.  There isn’t anything he can’t do.  Although to be fair, I’ve never seen him cook an omelet.  Think about it, this little dude from Minnesota has over the course of his life (so far) has put out 10 platinum albums and over 30 top40 singles, not to mention the hundreds of awards he’s got lining his walls.

    Granted The Artist hasn’t gone without his share of controversy.  In the early 80s it was his song Darling Nikki that prompted Tipper Gore to push for explicit lyrics sticker that everyone who has owned a CD should be familiar with.  Of course nobody can forget when he changed his name to 12px-prince_logosvg1 which caused writers everywhere to go crazy trying to figure out how to spell his new name.  His record label troubles made front pages everywhere, especially after he started appearing in public with the word “SLAVE” written on his face.  There was also the rumors that always circulated about him.  How he would change his clothes 20 times a day, how he has this vault of thousands of songs that are locked away, and of course his “awakening” (his words) which led him to become a Jehovah’s Witness, which Kevin Smith mocked mercilessly during one of his Q&A videos.

    So is it any wonder that his fans are so passionate about him?  The Purple Yoda has consistently produced incredible works of music, and in 2007 performed that Superbowl half-time show in the video that people describe as the best show ever.  While some may only think of him for his pop songs from the 80s and 90s, others for his soul albums, some admire his films, and well, some just love The Bat Dance, many people tend to forget that he is consistently rated one of the top 10 guitarists ever to perform.

    IAM: mook is one such fan of Prince, and recently got a tattoo that shows her love of His Purple Badness.

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    I’ll admit I did giggle a little when I saw it next to the bat symbol.

    But mook here does show her passion for one of her favorite artists.  Music is a powerful thing, it can bring about feelings of love, sadness, anger, and more, simply by listening to it.  If tattoos are meant to be an external representation of our inner feelings, to identify with a particular artist is something that can seem natural to some people.  I can’t count the number of Nine Inch Nails, Misfits, or Tool tattoos I’ve seen over the years, so the band tattoo is hardly a new thing.  Just take a look at the music galleries on BME and you’ll see artists and musicians from all genres represented.

    I suppose the question that could be asked it, what is it about a specific band or artist that can touch your soul to the point that you need to have them become one with your skin?

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