“Skin” Documentary Examines Tattoos as High Art

Directed by Ryan Hope, Skin is a dark, stylish examination of tattoo culture as high art, and a film that tests the boundaries of art and the human body.

Featuring contributions from Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons and Raymond Pettibon, the film is a beautiful visual essay from the frontiers of contemporary British art.

Skin was made in association with Garage Magazine to mark the launch issue, and was made possible by the generosity of Christie’s, the world’s leading art business, and W Hotels.

View more of Ryan Hope’s work: ryan-hope.com / stamplondon.com/music-videos/ryanhope

Photoshop Contest Inks up Celebrities and Models

Worth1000 recently held a contest for photoshop users that encouraged them to ‘tattoo’ celebrities and models. The project was entitled “Body Shop” and many entries were amazing (and some were horrid). So if you ever wondered what Jessica Alba or Giselle would look like with full bodysuits – here is your chance.

View the Gallery Here

Australian Hotels and Restaurants Ban Patrons with Tattoos

From Rouse Hill in Sydney’s northwest to wealthy Double Bay in the east, signs are being erected warning patrons they will not be allowed in unless they cover up. The “no tattoo” policies followed NSW Police looking to ban tattoos from the force.

While some pubs and restaurants have formal bans on tattoos, many others have informal policies.

Andrew Stanway, owner of dining spot and watering hole Mrs Sippy in Double Bay, made no apologies for the sign on his door: “All body art is to be covered and not visible to the naked eye.”

Mr Stanway said the policy was to keep out “riff-raff”. ”With some tattoos, people can be of a lesser persuasion, if you like,” Mr Stanway said. ”We don’t want the riff-raff, we don’t want the crap. I’ve watched too many places get ruined because of that. I’ve worked too hard for that.”

Mr Stanway said he had no problem with small, discreet tattoos and did not mind if his policy discouraged young people from dining there. ”If you want to come in, you’ve got to be respectful to my business by being respectfully dressed,” he said.

A sign at the Australian Hotel and Brewery in Rouse Hill reads: “NO Visable (sic) Tattoo’s (sic).”

The two-year-old pub only enforces the policy on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and also bans “gangs or gang clothing”.

Matt Morris, a 26-year-old spray painter from Windsor, was rejected at Christmas over his three-quarter “sleeve” of tattoos on his left arm.

“They wouldn’t let me in the door. But then we came here for my friend’s party (on another occasion) and I put a long-sleeved shirt on and there were staff and other people here with tattoos. I asked the bloke (on the door) about the tattoo policy and they said it just depends on if they don’t like the look of you. So I just rolled up my sleeves,” he said.

General manager Marcello Colosimo said the tattoo ban applied to the hotel’s staff as well as patrons.

“We have a dress policy that comes into effect after 9pm on Thursday, Friday, Saturday nights which includes: no hats, no thongs, no shorts, no offensive or highly visible tattoos, no singlets. This applies to staff as well,” he said. “At all other times, these are all welcome.”

Coogee Bay Hotel last year had a sign on the doors saying: “Entry is not permitted to anyone when wearing visible tattoos.” But the sign has since been removed and when contacted by The Sunday Telegraph, a spokeswoman denied there was a no-tattoo policy.

Australian Hotels Association chief executive Paul Nicolaou said licensees were within their rights to deny entry to anyone as long as they do not breach anti-discrimination laws.

This article was copied in it’s entirety from The Australian

Stylist Uses Tattoos to Disguise Men’s Baldness

Going bald upsets men more than bankruptcy or bachelorhood. But now there’s a cure set to save them money and heartache – by tattooing ‘hair’ on. For about £2,000 any man can look like they have a full head of hair.

HIS (Hair-Ink-Skin) Hair has launched an innovative new technique to disguise baldness – using a unique form of tattoos. And it has become so popular that bookings have soared by 20 per cent in the past 12 months.

Celebrity Hairdresser, Adee Phelan, who officially opened the company’s newest clinic in Manchester, is one of dozens of customers to have had the new procedure, known as MHT (micro hair technique) scalp pigmentation.

It gives the appearance of a short, cropped ‘buzz’ hair – cut by applying different shades of specifically blended pigments to the scalp to replicate the size, shape and density of micro hairs.

Read the article in it’s entirety at The Daily Mail UK

Tattoo Devices one of the most smuggled Contraband in Prison

Figures released from a corrections facility show that there were more than 4,000 incidents of contraband seizure over the past year, with weapons, drugs and tattoo equipment high on the list. Of the 4,076 contraband seizures from 2010 to 2011, tattoo equipment made up 861 of those.

Prison officers were increasingly being lured by gang members with access to large amounts of cash, says New Zealand criminologist Greg Newbolt.

“There are always prison officers prepared to compromise themselves. Once a screw [prison officer] is compromised, you can keep on doing it.”

Tattoo devices could be made out of electric razors and biro pens, Newbold said. Often inmates would tattoo either the prisons they had been to or the gang they belonged to in order to gain respect or instil fear in fellow prisoners.

Center of Disease Control suggest you “Get Tattooed by Professionals”

It’s amazing that this is News and not just common knowledge. But I guess if you don’t say it in print you could be blamed for not saying anything. So here it is directly from the CDC:

“A new report has found that increasing trend of tattoos could levitate the risk of Hepatitis C infection in those who get tattoos. It is being said that those receive tattoos from their families or friends are risking themselves for Hepatitis C largely.

A team of analysts from the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a study in which numerous studies of the past were taken into account. The analysis led the researchers to conclude that people who are keen to get tattoos and receive them from amateurs have a high risk of getting the infection.

Tattoos applied by amateurs could cause Hepatitis C infection as it is transmitted via contact with infected blood. And it does not risk people who get tattoos from professionals, thereby recommending that one should only get tattoos from a professional and not a friend.

The report has revealed that nearly 18,000 new blood-borne liver infections Hepatitis C occur every year in the US and amongst these, most of the infections are found in people who are injected heroin and similar drugs with infected needles or syringes. While in professional tattoo parlours, syringes, tattoo needles and razors are thrown after one time use, which protects the person getting tattoo from infection, told Dr. Rania A. Tohme, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC.

It has also been revealed by the report that medications are available for the chronic hepatitis C though. These may lead to severe side effects later such as nausea, headache and sleep problems. Thus, Tohme said, “Tattoos and piercings can transmit hepatitis C and other infections if performed under non-sterile conditions. People should not have tattoos or piercings done by friends or by people who are not trained professionals”.”

Artist Profile – Jime Litwalk

In an effort to have our readers get to know some of the artists we love The Hope Blog is starting a new section profiling artists that are shaping the industry in a positive way. The first in this series is Las Vegas artist Jime Litwalk.

Jime Litwalk is a Detroit native who starting hanging out at tattoo shops in his early teen. Now tattooing for 16 years, he now spends his days tattooing in bright and sunny Las Vegas, NV. Jime is known for his cartoony style and the vibrant colors in his work. He has his own collection of Easy Glow Tattoo Pigment, a line of shirts with Steadfast Brand, and 4 full color sketchbooks with Presto Art.
Website: www.JimeLitwalk.com
Where you can find him: Massive Tattoo in Las Vegas, NV
Best known for: Bright Colors. Cartoony Style with an edge.