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.

Tag: Branding

  • Life, liberty, and the pursuit of modification

    Written by

    Rob

    The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. It is it’s natural manure.

    –Thomas Jefferson

    Now, when it comes to quotes from the founding fathers, there’s always room for interpretation.  Context is always key, which is something that tends to be forgotten in today’s political climate.  One thing is definite, the line about “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”, was a notion that at its core is a positive one.  Now people can debate until they’re blue in the face about how those ideals should be met, and what the original intentions behind them were, but if you were to just take the statement on its own, it certainly is applicable to the modified community.  For the most part, all any of us want is to be able to express ourselves in any way we see fit.  It just so happens that it involves modifying the physical body, as opposed to making a statement in a letter or painting a picture.

    Recently Brian performed this blended scarification and branding piece on one of his clients.  With the choice of the word liberty as the focus of the piece, the owner is showing off just how she is able to exercise her free will, and take control of her own body in a way she sees fit.

    liberty

    As to whether the owner got this scar/brand with the famous words in mind, only she will ever know.  As observers we can just sit back and interpret it however we see fit, which is exactly what the philosophy of liberty allows us to do.

    You can get a closer look at this piece in the Brian Decker gallery, and if you’re so inclined, feel free to leave a comment on the photo.  If you’re logged into your BME account you can add a comment to any image in the galleries.

  • Wind blows, fire burns, rain falls…

    Written by

    Rob

    There are times when a film comes about that can have a profound effect on the viewers.  Sometimes it could simply be a single scene, for others the story itself carries the most weight.  Whatever the reasons, when a person has fallen in love with a film, they’ll often do something to recognize these feelings.  For the vast majority of people, simply buying a copy of a film, or viewing it multiple times is enough.  Yet for others, simply owning a film isn’t enough.  Which is why we see so many film inspired modifications.  From tattoos to scars, film symbolism is fairly prevalent within the modified community.  So it should come as no surprise that someone went out to get a small branding that reminds them of their favorite film.

    5th element

    If you don’t recognize the symbols, they’re from the film The 5th Element.  Each square represents one of the four classical elements: earth, water, fire, and air (wind).  When combined with the 5th Element, they summon Captain Planet.  Or is it save the world from destruction?  I get the two confused.

    If you want to see who the arm belongs to, as well as some pictures of the branding taking place, just keep on reading, or head on over to the branding galleries.

    branding

    So do you have a favorite movie?  Are your feelings strong enough towards that film that you would get a modification that would remind you of the film?

  • Is THIS the smile of a homicidal maniac?

    Written by

    Sean Philips

    I would think not. I am sure modblog readers, as well as the readers of many other blogs as well as viewers of the George Lopez show remember Jesse from the recent media circus surrounding his arrest.

    However, this is modblog, so focus on the body mods for a bit.

    It’s no wonder he’s smiling, look how absolutely amazingly the “Trojan War Helmet” ECU (electro cautery unit) branding has healed up. The scalp is NOT an easy spot to get to scar, trust me I have tried. Yet these brands by Steve Haworth just look astonishing and really add a new dimension to his already impressive collection of body mods.

    screen-shot-2010-08-17-at-21951-pm

  • Two by two, hands of blue

    Written by

    Rob

    Well, maybe not two blue hands, but this branding piece by Quentin at Kalima Emporium in the UK, definitely has a blue tinge to it.

    It’s interesting to see how the color from the tattoo ink is affected by the branding, really making the flower pop.

    bluehand1

    You can see more branding and scarification by artists from Kalima Emporium in their gallery.

    If you have an image you’d like to share with ModBlog, send me an e-mail with the image or a link to it.

  • “it smells like a turd covered in burnt hair!”

    Written by

    Sean Philips

    I had to steal the title for this post directly from xomateos’s diary entry about the procedure. How could I possibly come up with a better title than that?

    Anyhow, xomateo originally had these scars cut/removed by the talented John Joyce. A year later he had his lovely koala go back over the scars with a cautery pen to retouch the scar and hopefully kill off the follicles that regrew. This was her first time using a cautery pen and it looks like she did a damn fine job!

    Apparently they plan to make these scars a yearly tradition. I suggested next year they try cold branding, because if it doesn’t kill the follicles it will likely make them grow in white and that is cool all in and of itself! So we shall see what 2011 and on brings for Mateo’s head!

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    For a few more shots of the procedure and finished result, keep on keeping on.

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    I bought my very first cautery pen from BME Shop several years ago. They don’t sell them anymore, but they do sell a TON of other rad stuff for the body mod aficionado or DIY modder. Rachel has extended the 30% off sale at BME shop  until April 6th! It is good for everything but anesthetics, scalpels and dermal punches and all you have to do to take advantage of this is use the coupon code “worldtour” when ordering!

  • When mathematicians and modifications meet.

    Written by

    Sean Philips

    This scarification piece on Svenna (who apparently  hates raccoons) is of Euler’s Identity, a mathematical equation known for it’s “mathematical beauty“. I read the wiki entry on it (twice) and I still have no clue what it means. In fact, I get a headache just thinking about it. Nonetheless, while I have minimal appreciation for mathematical beauty, I definitely can appreciate modified beauty and this scar is an excellent example of that.

    rjd5ioca

    This scar was done by modblog regular Brian Decker. He did the fill in with a hyfrecator as opposed to the more commonly used flesh removal technique. As you can see through the progressive pictures, the piece healed amazingly even. As an added bonus, according to Brian the hyfrecator method is also far quicker.

    Brian is considering doing some work at the Philly Tattoo Convention, so if you are interested, hit him up on his IAM page or at purebodyarts.com.

  • From The Vault: My first exposure to flesh removal scarification

    Written by

    Sean Philips

    Hello Modbloggers, Sean Philips here (IAM: LexTalonis). As one of the new guest contributors to Modblog, one thing I want to do is a regular “From The Vault” feature. Modblog has featured the latest and greatest in mods since it’s inception a few years ago, but there are tons of amazing, classic pictures just growing stagnant in the farthest back pages of BME that really show where we as a community came from, and in some cases, where we could still go.

    For my first entry I want to go back to the early 21st century, a time when scarification as an art form was developing rapidly. On Modblog we feature AMAZING scarification pieces that rival tattoos for the amount of detail that they contain, but this super detailed scarification is a very recent addition to the body mod world.

    In fact, it wasn’t that long ago that the concept of flesh removal to create an artistic scar wasn’t even common. This piece was my, and several other practitioner’s first exposure to flesh removal. The removal was done by Toro, one of the pioneers of flesh removal scarification. The branding was done by Blair, who is arguably the greatest strike brander in the world.

    James Raimar got this huge and amazing piece while myself and others watched in awe over a live video feed. Myself and several others returned home and immediately started  trying out this new technique ourselves and look where scarification has gone! The techniques have improved and the aftercare has VASTLY improved, but it is important to remember where our art came from and this piece was a big part of the modern history of scarification.

    Healed Toro/Blair Scarification Piece

    Want  a few more pics and some full frontal male nudity?

    Here it is one month after being done.

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    …and where there is nudity, Shawn Porter is sure to be near by!

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  • This one gets tricky

    Written by

    Rachel

    I really like this branding. I’m not sure why it’s so appealing to me but it’s incredibly striking. grundstuck‘s seemingly perfect circles were carefully electrocauterized by Quentin at Kalima in Worthing, UK.

    iam004353891

    Or maybe I just like boys in cute glasses.

    See more in “Scarification By Kalima“ (Scarification)

  • It was a bear.. I swear.

    Written by

    Rachel

    Dave wrote me the other day to let me know he’d redone his facial scars. Apparently they didn’t work as he’d wanted the first time. Quinten from Kalima Body Piercing Studio in Worthing, England “burnt him a little deeper for a better scar.” He also included a photo of him and John “fooling around” after the branding was complete. I hope to see these healed and I hope they work out this time. I can’t imagine it’s a procedure you want to do a third time. Practice makes perfect, I suppose.

    subit673009

    More pictures after the jump.

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  • Too Sexy To Eat

    Written by

    Jordan Ginsberg


    Well hey, look at this jaunty little missus! Among the various indignities I faced growing up in Canada, being deprived of Nickelodeon left me cold on countless cultural references, so I had no idea until just this second that this is, in fact, Wanda from The Fairly OddParents, which Wikipedia tells me is a highly popular show. (It also claims that many Nickelodeon are aired in Canada on other stations, but this seems like far-left propaganda.) At any rate! This electrocautery branding was done by Chavito at Nyaya in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. Will this branding also teach children valuable lessons about being careful what you wish for and the most effective ways to replace your dim-bulb parents with supernatural creatures? Probably, yes.

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