Celebrating body modification culture since 1994.
Written by
I swear, when I first saw this cutting by Jonathan Martinez (while doing a guest spot at La Dolores Tattoo in Madrid, Spain), I could not bay leaf I’d never seen one like it before! Right? Because it’s a leaf, and it looks like a bay leaf, an— hey, guys? Guys, where are you all going? Aw, nuts.
See more in “Misc. Cuttings“ (Scarification)
Written by
We’ve featured this particular beefcake before, and I mistakenly identified him as having been carved out of granite by Jesus. This was false, and I apologize for this mischaracterization. In fact, he was installed at the bottom of the sea over 60,000 years ago, by aliens, and occasionally surfaces to assert his dominance over killer whales and giant squid and underwater volcanoes and the like. He is literally standing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in this picture, on top of a shark that had been alive since the Cretaceous period, which he killed just by looking at it. When asked for comment, he kindly shooed us away, as his mouth was full of Loch Ness Monster meat and he didn’t want to be rude.
See more in “Tribal and Blackwork Tattoos“ (Tattoos)
Written by
In case of emergency good times, this tattoo can be used as an affirmation device.
(Tattoo by Ryan Nutini at Skin of a Different Color in Aurora, Illinois.)
See more in “Miscellaneous Tattoos“ (Tattoos)
Written by
Did anyone else look at this cutting by John Durante out of Laughing Buddha in Seattle, Washington, and think, “Hey, Tom Brady‘s getting some permanent eyeblack! Nice!” No? Nobody? Not even a li— fine, I’ll show myself out.
Written by
It’s almost impossible to post work coming out the Swastika Freakshop without some readers getting up in arms about their use of swastika iconography, an argument that typically devolves into one side claiming that the symbol is offensive and should be abolished, with the other naming historical precedents of the swastika being used as a sign of peace, and that this current usage is indeed a means of reclaiming a valuable piece of history from the tyranny of the Nazis.
Truthfully, both sides have valid points. To some, regardless of the swastika’s pre-WWII history, it has been forever tarnished by its abuse at the hands of the Nazis, and it may be unrealistic to expect people to study and accept an image that, to them, has only ever symbolized a very particular and ugly moment in human history. At the same time, reclamation of the swastika is a valid and noble project, and one that, should it be successful, would have only positive results. Sometimes, though, it seems that some on the reclamation side are maybe not as patient as they should be with those people who oppose the swastika’s use, which is understandable to an extent; when one spends so much time working toward a specific goal, to have one’s work disparaged just by dint of its existence can be extremely demoralizing. But patience, in this instance, may be the difference between educating someone and turning them off for good.
We’re not going to reach any verdicts here today, but if there’s one thing we can all agree on, I think it’s that Marc’s Super Mario-themed tattoo on Rauschkind fucking rules. Two more shots, after the jump.
