(trïb' e•lek' tik)
Some good all-around body art books
Today I'm selecting 3 books which provide a pretty good overview of body art, with interesting text and pictures.
"Return of the Tribal: A Celebration of Body Adornment" by Rufus C. Camphausen. This book covers a range of body art, from painting, to scarification, to piercing, both traditional and modern. Although the text does not go into great detail, what there is, is thoughtful, and there are some really great photos here.
"Pagan Fleshworks: The Alchemy of Body Modificaton" by Maureen Mercury (photos by Steve Haworth). This book's strength is the text. Mercury approaches body art from a philosophical viewpoint, and draws connections with paganism, alchemy, and healing. She provides one of the clearest discussions of Cartesian influence on our bodies that I've read. Very interesting to anyone who wishes to delve into the deeper meanings of piercings and other bodymods.
"Decorated Skin: A World Survey of Body Art" by Karl Groning is a big book, photo-centric, with lots of interesting pictures not found elsewhere. I especially like the body painting section. Lots of African photos, so if you have "Africa Adorned" you probably won't need this. (Unless you're totally obsessed--like me!)
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| 100_0600.jpg | 996.93 KB |
| 100_0602.jpg | 788.19 KB |
- Cloud's blog
- Login or register to post comments
Featured Body Jewelry
Joined: 20 Feb 2008
Member #: 573
Status: Offline
Cloud, thank you for the
Posted on October 14, 2008, 8:29 amCloud, thank you for the great list of books. I think I will order the Pagan Flesh Works. I have always felt these rituals of self adornment are stemming from some very basic...perhaps even primal need/desire to evolve in our human quest in a way that others are unable to. I feel that can only explain why the deep sense satisfaction we recieve upon completion of the 'act'ie. piercing, tattoo etc feels so 'right' and wonder why we didn't do this sooner. I just think there is more to all all of this than just endorhines. Where does the personal drive come from? prinzalbert
Madam @ the Old Holes Home
Joined: 19 Feb 2008
Member #: 513
Status: Online
It's interesting. I believe
Posted on November 21, 2008, 7:25 pmIt's interesting. I believe that there are some people who are almost compelledto pierce and ritualize the body this way. It's from these people that the art and passion advances. Many piercers, especially old skool ones, are these people, and it sounds like you may be, too.
I really don't count myself in their member, though. I just like piercings.
im in ur forumz . . . harshin ur noobz
http://piercedconsumer.com