A Quartet of Art-Inspired Tattoos

When I asked Brian how many tattoos he had, back in October when I met him at Borders in Penn Plaza, he kind of shrugged and said "I don't even know". A great answer, in my opinion.

Brian is an interior designer and many of his tattoos are inspired by the art he admires.

Three of the tattoos I photographed are on his right arm. First is this red tattoo:

This, Brian explained, is a piece that pays homage to Dada, or Dadaism, a cultural movement from the early 20th Century that included one segment of the arts. Brian is inspired by this movement from an artistic perspective.

On his upper arm, Brian has this Buddha image, which he says has an Andy Warhol-inspired perspective:

That is on the outer part of the upper arm, on the inner side is this item:

This is a take on the "Egg Chair," a piece of furniture whose style became popular in the forward-looking 1960's. The form above is more like the Scandinavian Ovalia style of egg chair.

And finally, Brian showed me one of his favorite tattoos, just above his waistline:

As mentioned above, Brian is inspired by Dadaism, and one of the figures that became most associated with the movement was the artist Marcel Duchamp. This tattoo is based on his work Fountain, which caused quite a stir in 1917.

These tattoos were inked by Texxx at Flying Monkey Tattoo in Pittsburgh.

Thanks to Brian for sharing these cool tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Brian's Ink Speaks About Art

I met Brian in Barnes & Noble, Union Square, back in August and he shared two tattoos with us. Put your thinking caps on, folks, because Brian, who is a video artist (website here), has very cerebral ink.

First up is this tattoo, on Brian's left biceps:

This tattoo is based on an illustration entitled "Every Night We Are Haunted by a Dream" by the artist Alfred Kubin (1877-1959).

Jede Nacht besucht uns ein Traum (Every Night We are Haunted by a Dream), ca. 1902-03
Pen and ink, brush, wash, and spray on paper
39.1 x 31.8 cm (15 3/8 x 12 1/2 in.)
Albertina, Vienna

Brian explained that this work corresponded very closely to the publication of Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams, and that Kubin's illustration represents "art between the cusp of pre-surrealism/expressionism and surrealism". It speaks to Brian's understanding of the perception of dreams and art.

Brian also had these words inscribed on his inner right forearm:

The words "Créer Dangereusement" are the French title of a 1957 essay by Albert Camus entitled "Create Dangerously". This "essay on realism and artistic creation" likewise spoke to Brian who acknowledged that "all art is a political act". It makes perfect sense, if you think about it, in that no great work of art was ever created by the artist playing it safe. It is those who created dangerously that are remembered as trailblazers and icons in their respective fields.

Brian had both of these tattoos done in Austin, Texas.

Thanks to Brian for sharing his artistic ink with us here on Tattoosday!

Erika Sports Some Amazing Art and Design

Erika is the first person, in over two years of inkspotting, who asked, jokingly, "Were you stalking me?"

News to my readers: I don't stalk people. I may have followed someone a block or two until I've caught up with them, but following someone longer just seems creepy, and I will bail out on a tattoo if I can't catch up to someone.

But what I told Erika in Penn Station made her laugh.

"I was about to approach someone else about their tattoo," I confessed, "but you walked by and yours was much better."

She appreciated my honesty and showed me the tattoo that had so intrigued me:




















She found this artwork online from an artist named Tim Biedron. She was drawn to this piece because it "looked different and deranged". The detail is phenomenal as well. It reminds me a bit of Picasso's iconic mural Guernica. I believe it is based on his 2003 piece "Catch and the Click Beetle":


This tattoo is on her right shoulder and on her left bicep she has this amazing tattoo:


It's based on a work by Shepard Fairey, an artist and graphic designer who is most famous for designing the Obama "HOPE" campaign poster. I believe this is the original source material, part of Fairey's retired "Stencil Collage" collection:


Both tattoos were inked by John Torres in Yonkers.

Thanks to Erika for sharing her amazing tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Mari's Unusual Ink

Every so often, a Tattoosday post goes bust.

Despite amazing potential, the subject is in a hurry and, for whatever reason, I am never able to fully follow-up with the individual and we are left with a skeleton of a post.

This one's not so bad, however. I met Mari in Herald Square. I believe she is a photographer, hailing from Brazil, but now living in New York.

I took two pictures of her tattoos and then emailed some follow-up questions.

I did receive a response, written in Portuguese, that had an attachment that looked suspiciously like a virus.

So, we're going with what we have and perhaps Mari will follow-up and fill in the gaps, or perhaps not.

Mari has this tattoo on her right shin, a piece of art that her friend Wagner Viana aka GORDO designed (see his MySpace page here):


She also has this fascinating tattoo on her left leg, representing the different sizes of photographic paper.


As a photographer, perhaps she finds this useful to her vocation.


See an example of another practical "tat-tool" here.

The work was all inked in Brazil.

Thanks to Mari for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

Sarah Shoulders Her Slavic Heritage

A couple of weeks ago, I had a very productive Wednesday, speaking to five different people about their tattoos.

Sarah is the last of those five that I an posting, and was my favorite of the group that day.

This tattoo was her sixth (she has thirteen or fourteen) and is an homage to her Slavic heritage.

The piece is based on the poster for a 1921 art exposition put on by the Czech Art Nouveau painter Alphonse Mucha at the Brooklyn Museum:


The piece, on her right shoulder was tattooed by Scott Budgen at Lady Luck Ink in Waterford, Michigan.

Thanks to Sarah for sharing this wonderful tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!