issue 36, volume 19
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Issue 36 of Volume 19 of The CNM ChronicleTRANSCRIPT
The CNMChronicleVolume 19 | Issue 36 March 11-17, 2014/cnmchronicle thecnmchronicle.wordpress.comT h e s t u d e n t v o i c e o f C e n t r a l n e w M e x i c o c o m m u n i t y c o l l e g e
Sp e c i a lE d i t i o n
BODY MODIFICATION
Employment with tattoos
Pg. 8
ArtistTattooish
Pg. 5
History of body modification
Pg. 12
Suspension101
Pg. 6
GRAPHICS BY MELISSA SHEPARD
PHOTO PROVIDED BY STEVE TRUITT
2 | The CNM Chronicle March 11-17, 2014
by Tri-H gas station and M&M gas station, she said.
Criminal Justice major Maggie Gonzales was asked by Tannagda to introduce each of the speakers involved in the
celebration and she also managed the Power Point presentations that went with each speaker’s pre-sentation, and she was honored to do so because she believes recognizing
the importance of women is extremely important, Gonzales said.
“It is important because it is about celebrating every woman in the world, every profession they are
in, everything they do, and everything they can do. They need to know that they can fulfill their dreams, and it is inspiring
see WOMEN on page 9
CAMPUS NEWS
PHOTO BY NICK STERN
Students and faculty gathered for International Women’s Day Celebration at the Student Resource Center.
PHOTOS BY JONATHAN BACA
(Left to right) Students Jennifer Skirvin, Emily Snell, and Candice Chavez stand with their art.
By Jonathan BacaCopy Editor
On Friday, March 7, a crowd of students, friends, family and local art lovers crowded into the Freestyle Gallery in downtown Albuquerque for the opening night reception of “@ First Glance,” an art show fea-turing the best works from some of CNM’s art students.
The show will be running until March 19 at the Freestyle Gallery on 1114 Central Avenue SW, and each piece is for sale.
The walls of the gallery were filled with 24 paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures,
each created by a differ-ent student from the Art Career Concerns class, a course that deals with the realities of making a living as an artist, said the Art instructor, Danielle Rae Miller.
“I think it’s really exciting, because most of the students here have not had a gallery show and it’s something that they’ve probably dreamed about. So tonight is the first moment where it’s like the fulfillment of that dream,” Miller said.
The show was one of the main focal points of the Art Career Concerns class, where Miller
moves the focus from the techniques and skills of making art to the skills needed to make it in the competitive world of pro-fessional artists, she said.
“I usually start the class by telling them I don’t feel, for most of us, that it is a choice. It’s just like we have to do it, so you’ve got to figure out how you’re going to make a life like that. Because art does not necessarily sell, so how are you going to make it work?” Miller said.
In the class, which is only offered once a year in the spring, students present Miller with the
best work they have produced in their life. Miller then selects one work from each student for the show, she said.
Then she hands the work off to the students, who break up into dif-ferent committees and begin the work of plan-ning and executing a real gallery show, something that most of them have little or no experience in, she said.
Studio Arts major, Sara Cooney was in charge of promoting the event, writing the press
PHOTOS COURTESY OF DANIELLE RAE MILLER
“@ First Glance” featured art from 24 different students.
see ART on page 9
By Nick SternSenior Reporter
For the first time ever New Mexico has celebrated International Women’s Day, a day that govern-ments and institutions set up around the world to celebrate the achievements of women in society, and CNM had the privilege to host the celebration, part-time Political Science Instructor for CHSS, Fatima Tannagda said.
Tannagda organized the event which was held in the Richard Barr Boardroom on Thursday, March 6 in the Student Resource Center, so that students and faculty alike could celebrate the con-tribution of women in the community and all over the world, in addition to talking about women’s issues, she said.
“It is going to be the first time we celebrate International Women’s Day in New Mexico and CNM is celebrating it, and our focus is to talk about the issues of our women,” Tannagda said.
The celebration was organized to include five different female speakers from around the commu-nity with different back-grounds, she said.
The first topic was the success and challenges of female students at CNM, which was led by Ann Lyn Hall, the Executive Director of CNM Connect, Tannagda said.
Lieutenant Claire McCarthy from the Bernalillo County Sheriff ’s Department spoke about women’s contribution to the New Mexico Police Force and how valuable it is, she said.
Health challenges of women in New Mexico, the socioeconomic roles of Native American women in the Zuni com-munity, and the political contribution of women in Latin America were all topics that were spoken about by the many speak-ers that helped host the International Women’s Day Celebration, and it was of great benefit to all the people who were pres-ent, Tannagda said.
“It benefits people in so many ways in the sense that women contribute a lot to communities from raising children to eco-nomic development and political contribution. So by celebrating that, I think we are recognizing what women have contributed to every society and also looking at the challenges that women face, what are the current challenges and what future challenges might be,” Tannagda said.
Tannagda said that it was tough to organize the celebration because International Women’s Day is unrecognized by local and national government within the United States and it was ultimately up to her and other women involved to do it themselves.
Despite being unrec-ognized and unsupported by the state, Tannagda was able to round up a number of businesses from around the community that were willing to generously donate food and refresh-ments which ended up being more than enough for everyone that showed up and these businesses that helped were restaurants like Sahara, Quarter’s, Dion’s, Big Chow, and even refreshments provided
At First GlanceStudent art show draws a crowd
Schoolcelebrates
International Women’s Day for first time
March 11-17, 2014 The CNM Chronicle | 3EDITORIALTo submit items for Campus Bulletins, please email news item with a maximum of 150 words to: [email protected] or call 224-4755.
student organizations cnm
ECOS Accepting New Members
The Executive Council of Students is accepting new members.ECOS meets every Friday at 4 p.m. in ST 12-A.For more information,email [email protected].
Veterans For Educational Success Student Club
Bringing together Veterans in an effort to assist each other in being successful in college.Come join us at the meetings for coffee, chat and ideas to benefit Veteran studentsand find volunteer opportunities in the local community. Where: Rio Rancho Campus. Meetings: Bi-weekly every second Friday at 1 p.m. and forth Friday 9 a.m. If interested email advisor at [email protected] for specific dates and times.
Join physics league
The CNM Physics League is a chartered student organization with a goal of supporting physics students. We meet every Saturday in JS 303 at Main Campus for a study session from 10 AM to 2 PM with the CNM Math League. We also hold an official meeting once a month, location TBA. Please contact our president, Jenny Smith, at [email protected] or our secretary, Joseph Denison, at [email protected] for more information
Chemistry Study Sessions Available:
Weekly study session for any chemistry subject. Meet people and get homework done at the same time! The study group always has free coffee and snacks.Contact: Tim Torres (President)Phone: 928-699-9834Email: [email protected]
Free Bus and Parking Passes
Current students qualify for a free general parking pass and AbqRide bus pass. The passes can be obtained at the Main campus Student Activities Office. Name, schedule, and student ID number are required. For a general parking pass vehicle and drivers license information must be provided. To register the online parking system for the free general parking sticker log-in to myCNM and follow links from the “transportation” section.
Planning to Attend Graduation Ceremony? Don’t Forget to Submit a Grad Application.
If you are planning to participate in the Spring 2014 Graduation Ceremony on Saturday, May 3, 2014 at Tingley Coliseum, don’t forget that you must submit a graduation application for your degree or certificate by Friday, March 28, 2014 by 5 p.m.To contact an academic advisor call 224-4321To contact the Student Activities Office, that organizes the Graduation Ceremony, call 224-3238.For more information about the Graduation Ceremony go to cnm.edu/depts/graduation/dates.html.
CNM changes prerequisites for Phlebotomy and Medical Laboratory Technician programs
As of fall 2014, CNM will change entry requirements for the Phlebotomy (PHLB) Certificate and the Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT) Associate of Applied Science degree programs. Students should plan accordingly.PHLB questions?Contact Paul Fornell at 224-4128 or [email protected] MLT questions?24-4000 Ext. 52158 or [email protected]
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INNOVATION STARTUP SEEKS MULTI-TALENT CREATIVES:
IT/web, engineering, legal, accounting, marketing, art/design, research, writing, production. Part-time to ramp up. Send long cover letter, short resume to [email protected]
SUNCARE SPRAY TAN AND SKIN CARE SALONHiring Seasonal Cleaners... Looking for motivated and hard working individuals for part time work. Please do not call, bring in resume or come in to apply. Ask for Cassie or Milissa. 5555 Montgomery Blvd. or 9370 Coors Blvd.
WORK FROM HOME IN TRAVEL INDUSTRYhttp://jadeinalbuquerque.lifestartsat21.com/[email protected]
LOOKING FOR A GREAT COMPANY TO WORK FOR?
If you have taken the CNM electronics soldering course and have good skills in this area, we would like to talk to you. We are looking for full time Production Operators at Sennheiser, the premier manufacturer of high quality microphones and headphones used by the world’s
greatest artists, studios and DJs. We have outstanding benefits and a great work environment. If you are interested in applying please send us your resume at [email protected] or mail to: Human Resources, 5321 Wilshire Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM 87113
Ever wonder about ghost towns in historic New Mexico?
Mary Mortensen Diecker, author and historian, has written 1,000 stories about New Mexico in three books. Her talk will focus on ghost towns in the state - how lived and died, flourished and faded – and on the state’s haunted hamlets.Wednesday, March 12, 20142:30 p.m.-4 p.m.Montoya Campus, Room H-126Free and open to the publicFor more information call 224-5524 or email [email protected]
Community Meeting for International District Community Garden.
March 15st @ 11 AM. Lunch will be provided! Come to discuss our plans for the beginning of the year and tell us your ideas. 1410 Wellesley Dr SE. Questions call Stef @ 918-0376
CNM Blood Drive
The Student Activities Office is hosting a blood drive on Friday, March 14 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Main Campus. The blood mobile unit will be in the loading zone between the Student Services Center and the Max Salazar Building. Donations will help save lives!
Contact Brandon Seber at 224-4000 Ext. 51575 or [email protected]
Ghibli-Jikan art exhibit
Art inspired by the works of Studio Ghibli (Spirted Away, Totoro).March 10-March 14 2014Metropolis Comic Art Gallery1102 Mountain Road NW, Suite 202Free to all ages of the public
NEWSOPINIONBulletinsMarch 11-17, 2014 The CNM Chronicle | 3
618 Central Ave SW 120 Central Ave SWBuy advance tickets @ holdmyticket.com Buy advance tickets @ holdmyticket.com
Local Music Events
4 | The CNM Chronicle March 11-17, 2014EDITORIAL
By The Chronicle Editorial Board
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ChronicleThe CNM
Suncat Chit ChatBy Carol Woodland
Staff Reporter
Do people judge your body modification? If you don’t have one, do you judge people by their body mods?
PHOTOS BY CAROL WOODLAND
Brienna Prudencio, Nursing major“Yeah, that's why
I don't have anything below my elbows. It
changes the way people see me, they don't see
me how I really am.”
Justin Nolen, History major
“I think that tattoos that are able to be covered easily are
fine, but if you're going in to any professional environment at all, get-ting a tattoo on your face or neck is basically going 'Yeah, don't hire me
because I can't make good decisions.’If you're going to get tattoos make
them tasteful and able to be covered.”
Lucky Armijo, Special Education major“I think the only way I've ever been judged or treated differently is in a positive light because of my tat-toos. The kids that I work with at the elementary school love the tat-toos, especially the Aquaman one.”
Alexander Gonzalez, Cosmetology major“Maybe a little, but I'm always smiling.”
Tattoos and body modifications are making a steady climb from the fringe, outlaw statement to a socially acceptable creative expression, and it is about time.
According to the Pew Research Center, around 45 million Americans have at least one tattoo, and in the age group between 18 and 40, roughly 40 percent have been permanently inked.
It is becoming clear that this is not a trend or a passing fad, and all signs are showing that the number of people deciding to modify their bodies will only increase.
In past decades, tattoos were reserved for freewheel-ing sailors, hardened criminals and outlaw bikers, but today, soccer moms get butterf lies on their ankles and youth pastors have “Jesus Rocks” permanently stamped across their chests. These human canvases are everywhere, and a tattoo is no longer the rebel statement it once was.
During the recent tattoo industry boom, modern tat-tooists have taken the old sparrows and anchors and made them into a bona-fide art form, and people everywhere are lining up and spending record amounts of money to get these works of art inscribed on their bodies one pinprick at a time.
The modern age has made tattoos, piercings and other modifications as clean and safe as a trip to the dentist, and as employers are getting used to the change, there are fewer and fewer reasons not to get inked today.
Our society has always celebrated diversity and indi-viduality, and tattoos and body modifications are the new form of self-expression.
Hopefully in the next few decades, anyone with full sleeves or a pierced septum could be a doctor, a lawyer or even the President in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
The vanishing taboo of tattoos
EDITORIAL CARTOON BY NICK STERN
GRAPHIC COURTESY OF TATTOOJOCKEY.COM
March 11-17, 2014 The CNM Chronicle | 5FEATURE
World
Renowned Artist
Tattooish
By Rene ThompsonEditor in Chief
Tattoo Artist, Ismael Schuurbiers, also known as “Tattooish” has traveled the world over, and has won countless awards at tattoo conventions throughout the globe, but said there is always something that brings him back to Albuquerque, which is to learn from the beautiful and rich culture we have here in New Mexico.
“Albuquerque is a nice and beautiful place and has a lot of history here as well, so when I come here, I not only go for the tattooing, the studio, or even the friends, but it’s also something else — to learn,” he said.
Schuurbies is from Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, in the Caribbean where he has been a culi-nary chef and published writer, in addition to tattoo-ing for the last decade per-fecting photo black and grey, and color realism tattoos at his shop Tattooish Tattoo Studio, but said he hopes to keep changing and evolving his style into a more surreal-istic type of artwork.
“In the beginning of my career, when I was a self-taught artist, I was obligated to study many different styles, from trib-alism, Polynesian art, to
lettering and every-thing else, because I didn’t have a teacher or mentor, so I think that pretty much shaped my style to where I can choose how and what I want my work to be por-trayed as, which is more surrealistic,” he said.
Schuurbies specializes in portraits, wildlife and horror and gives every client a customized piece of art; has earned a reputation for personal and unique tattoos, always honoring a client’s
ideas and then building the tattoo design around it, as well as making his own flash art, he said.
Being able to study many different styles, Schuurbies said gave him the ability to shape the way he is able to create art now, and that most realistic art-ists are only attracted to the realistic, not knowing that the abstract is also a big part of creating realistic looking tattoos.
Schuurbies said he has studied many differ-ent artists, but is inspired the most by Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Salvador Dali.
“I can definitely say that my work is going more
toward Dali now, but having some of the visions of Da Vinci and feminin-ity of Michelangelo’s work; I morph that together a lot in my pieces,” he said.
Schuurbies com-pared his culinary career
to tattooing explaining that cooking is an art form
by itself, but it is nothing like creating a painting, tattoo or drawing, and it is more of a handy type art where a chef is putting things together where they already exist, while the type of art-work he is creating now is making original elements to go together to create some-thing new, so he said it can be a little more complex.
Schuurbies said there is so much more to tattoo-ing then just putting ink on someone’s skin and that there is a lot of psychology involved in tattooing as well.
“If a person comes in and wants a specific tattoo done, you have to be able to visual-
ize what it is they want prior to even starting a sketch, so your mind is trying to create that for people every day. Tell me which other art form has that? It’s just a beautiful thing. I think the main thing for me is the urge to create, and for me tattooing art is like a virus, whenever I tattoo a person I transfer that to them. There is a connection with that person every time I give a tattoo, and I feel blessed that people allow me to give them my art that will last them a lifetime,” he said.
Schuurbies said he has been to many countries such as areas of Eastern and
Western Europe, Canada, South America, and through-out the states tattooing at multiple conventions most months out of the year.
He said the best place so far that he has been to is Germany because of the cul-ture, and also because that is where he learned it is best to know as little about a cul-ture as possible coming in, so that one can appreciate each place and be able to absorb and learn how people do things differently.
“I’ve been to so many countries and we’re still visit-ing a lot more; it’s constantly a learning process, and that is why I could never stop travel-ing because my mind has edu-cated itself to constantly be learning from different cul-tures and people every day, and when I don’t have that I don’t feel good, so I need that— to be able to adapt to different environments, because it takes me out of my comfort zone and pushes me to learn more,” he said.
Schuurbies said that people study and master
subjects because they love what they are doing, and that people should not care about what society’s expectations are, but to love what one does.
“No matter what you study in life, as long as the passion is there, you’re going to enjoy what you’re doing and you will be successful and happy in life because you’re doing what you appre-ciate,” he said.
Schuurbies said he likes Albuquerque because he always sees improve-ment in the artists and friends he works with when doing guest spots at Sachs Body Modification
in Nob Hill a couple times out of the year.
“One of my favorite things about Albuquerque is definitely the people, it feels like every time I’m here I feel at home, and I always see improvement in the art-ists and that’s motivating to me to see how they are taking they’re time to perfect their work, and to be a part of that evolution. It’s better to be a part of that, than to be at a studio that is already established, and every time I come into town and I see my friends; it’s like when you have families all over the world and you want to come and visit, so tattooing is not necessarily the only reason why I come here,” he said.
On a side note about the chile in New Mexico, Schuurbies said “I was a culinary chef, so it is really hard to choose between red or green, but I would have to say both are really good.”
Schuurbies said it takes a long time to become an estab-lished artist in the industry, but once an artist does, they can be free to create what they want, which he feels very blessed to be able to do in such a quickly growing and expanding trade.
Another part about traveling and tattooing that Schuurbies said he loves, he is able to meet legendary
artists such as Jack Rudy, Freddy Negrete, Brian Everett and Mark Mahoney that made tattooing a movement, made it mainstream, and started the tattoo revolution, because tattooing is still such a young industry, which to him is the most beautiful part, because he can have an advantage to be able to share and learn from these ground-breaking artists.
“How do you define your-self as a good artist, because it’s not only what you create, but who you are as a person and the legacy that you leave behind. So it’s not only the art, but how people will see you when you’re gone, and how to be a master artist and leave a relatable influence for generations of artists to learn from you as well. It’s pretty amazing for people in our generation of the tat-tooing industry, and I think in 20 years from now tattoo-ing will be recognized as the ultimate art form, because we’re taking tattooing to a totally different level, and we’re truly creating fine art on people’s skin,” he said.
To see when Tattooish will be in Albuquerque, to make an appointment, or to see more of his tattoos, go to tattooish.com, facebook.com/SfumatoStudios, or instagram.com /Tattooish.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ISMAEL SCHUURBIES Tattooish with performer Enigma.
Photo realism tattoos from Tattooish.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ISMAEL SCHUURBIERSSurrealistic chrysanthemum on Editor-in-Chief, Rene Thompson
“Art is everywhere; it’s up to you how you want to present it.”
Ismael Schuurbies (Tattooish)
PHOTO BY JAMES GRIEGO
6 | The CNM Chronicle March 11-17, 2014 FEATURE
By Rene ThompsonEditor in Chief
Body Suspension is a practice that dates back thousands of years in cultures throughout the world in areas such as India, the Middle East, and North America.
In India these prac-tices had been performed as far back as 5,000 years ago, and according to skin-artists.com are still practiced today in Hindu religion, as well as in some Native American rituals.
Suspension has been called a number of things by many cultures, such as the Oh-kee-pa (or Okipa) by the Mandan Native American tribe as depicted in the 1970 film “A Man Called Horse,” and is also part of the Sundance ritual performed by some of the Sioux Native American tribe.
The Hindu festival rituals of Thaipusam and Chidi Mari in India use forms of suspension and
piercing, still celebrated every year, mostly by Savite Hindus, according to skin-artists.com.
Suspension has also had a sort of cultural adaptation in the modern western world, and is now being performed by a growing sub-culture of piercing and body modifi-cation enthusiasts all over since the 1980s.
Suspension is also used in different ways now, including perfor-mance art with shows such as those done by piercer, Steve Truitt of Ascension Body Modification at 3600 Central Ave SE, who has performed countless sus-pension shows, and who also got to work with Jane’s Addiction on their tours in 2011 and in 2013, where he had people hanging off hooks from the rafters at concert venues throughout the world, he said.
Truitt said he has been piercing profession-ally since 1995 and is a member of the Association of Professional Piercers, and not only pierces and
suspends people, but also performs an array of other body modifications at his studio, where he has been perfecting his art with sus-pension since 2000.
“I couldn’t even guess at how many people I’ve hung over the years. We have done hundreds of shows, and thousands of private suspensions, and been to many suspension related events all over the world,” he said.
Truitt said that people get suspended for all sorts of different reasons, and that there is no one reason why people get themselves suspended; some do it for spiritual reasons, as a rite of passage, others just for the thrill of it or to test one’s limits.
“It’s a personal thing for everyone who does it,” he said.
According to skin-artists.com suspension has two main ways of
“rigging” people to sterile hooks, which are either dynamic or static.
“Dynamic rigging uses ropes, or something
similar, and one long piece is used to connect the sus-pender to the apparatus. In static rigging, each hook is attached to the apparatus separately and is usually rigged to a tree, ceiling, or scaffolding, using pulleys or a winch.”
Truitt said that modern suspension is very different from the suspension rituals other cultures have done for thousands of years.
“Some (people) are into the cultural aspect, some are into perfor-mance or artistic state-ment,” he said.
Truitt said that he no longer gets himself suspended unless it is for a big show or movie, and now mostly does shows with his girlfriend, Marlo Marquise, who is a model and professional performer of suspension.
“I love suspending other people though, especially someone doing it for their first time. I enjoy doing something
for people that helps them feel good about themselves,” Truitt said.
When asked about how he reacts to people that are close-minded to extreme body modification, Truitt said that everyone is dif-ferent and “to each their own,” in addition he said he would not waste time trying to explain some-thing like suspension to someone who was very close-minded and against it in the first place.
“I also wouldn’t waste my time dealing with people who discriminate against anyone because of their appearance or any other reason,” he said.
Truitt said that he has been to many countries doing suspension shows, and that everyone has dif-ferent protocols and ways they do things in various places, but overall sus-pension is pretty similar world-wide, he said.
“I love traveling, so I feel very lucky to get to do
something I love and to travel around doing it,” Truitt said.
Truitt said when he went back on tour with Jane’s Addiction in 2013 on the “Rockstar Uproar Tour” he suspended local people at shows wanting the experience through-out the country.
“Working with them has been one of the most fun experiences of my life. Dave Navarro loves suspension and wanted this to happen, so we could work with sus-pension teams all over the world and bring this amazing art form to all kinds of people,” he said.
For more informa-tion on suspension, go to ascensionsuspension.com, ascensionbody-mod.com or bme.com.
Body Suspension: A Cultural Adaptation
ChestA chest suspension, sometimes incorrectly referred to as an “O-Kee-Pa”, is a suspension in which hook(s) are placed in the chest. Typically two hooks are used for this type of suspension. This is named after the Okipa ceremony of the Mandan people.ComaA coma suspension is where hooks are placed in the chest, torso and legs, usually in two rows, so that the suspender is lying face up. The name of this position comes from the similar imagery in the movie Coma.KneeA knee suspension is a suspension in which the hooks are placed in both knees. There is no standard for hook placement on this suspension, as it depends almost solely on the anatomy of the suspender.SuicideA suicide suspension is a suspension in which hooks are placed in the upper back, so that the suspender is hanging upright. This type of suspen-sion is named suicide due to its similarity in appearance to someone who has been hanged.ResurrectionA resurrection suspension is a suspension in which the suspended person is held up by hooks, usually in two rows on the stomach.CrucifixA crucifix suspension is where hooks are placed in the arms, so that the suspender appears to be hanging on a cross, with his or her arms held out to the side.SupermanA superman suspension is where hooks are placed in the back and legs, usually in two rows. This type of suspension is named superman because of a similar appearance to Superman flying.
Information provided by skin-artist.com
Suspension positions
PHOTO PROVIDED BY STEVE TRUITTSteve Truitt poses with a suspended girl.
Savite Hindu man suspends in a yearly Indian ritual.PHOTO COURTESY OF NEWS.BME.COM
March 11-17, 2014 The CNM Chronicle | 7STUDENT NEWS
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY ERIC CHRISTO MARTINEZ
Tattoo artist and painter Eric Christo Martinez honed his skills behind bars.
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY DORIAN GRAY
Dorian Gray has completed more than 2,000 tattoos during her career.
The Passion of ChristoConvict’s art changes his conviction
By Jonathan BacaCopy Editor
From Albuquerque’s mean streets, to a six-by-nine foot cell in a federal prison, to the walls of the Albuquerque Museum, the life of local artist and former student Eric Christo Martinez has been one of inspiration and conviction.
After honing his artistic skills and craft behind bars, Martinez has emerged as a suc-cessful painter and tattoo artist, and now he is working to give back to the community, teach-ing kids and convicts that art can be a powerful release from the harsh realities of life.
Martinez struggled with crime and drug addiction from an early age, and at the age of 22 he was convicted of a drug crime and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, he said.
In prison, he quickly dis-covered that he had a talent for drawing and he begin making paños, a classic form of prison art consisting of intricate drawings done on handker-chiefs, he said.
“It was a pastime, but also something I really started developing a love
and a passion for. So I just kept drawing and draw-ing and it grew and grew,” Martinez said.
Then he was put into solitary confinement for six months, and he discov-ered that drawing was a powerful means of escape, spending countless hours practicing and honing his craft, he said.
Eventually, people began to notice how good his art was, and started asking if he would give them tattoos, he said.
Tattooing in jail is a unique skill, and Martinez quickly learned the tech-niques, building his first tattoo machines out of motors taken out of radios and sharpened guitar strings, and making his own ink from soot and baby oil, he said.
“I started out with fine line black-and-grey prison style, a style that has a lot of history. It was born behind bars, and it spilled out onto the streets and is really popular now, and it revolutionized tattoo art,” Martinez said.
Martinez was eventu-ally moved to a prison in Pennsylvania, where he was
introduced to fine art and painting by another inmate, Hendrick Gil, who began men-toring him and teaching him the craft of painting, he said.
He also began devouring every book on art that he could get his hands on, learning the history and techniques of past masters from all different styles, he said.
“I do a little bit of every-thing, all styles. Whatever challenges me or takes me to a new place, it’s all about the art and growing as an artist, so I love new challenges and styles,” Martinez said.
Soon painting became Martinez’s main outlet, and he decided that he wanted to try his hand at becoming a pro-fessional artist when he was released, he said.
He was set free in 2010, and by then he had created an entire series of paintings titled
“Conviction,” based on his time in prison, he said.
He got a few paintings into his first gallery show, and one of them, a self-portrait titled “The Passion of Christo,” was purchased and eventually displayed at the Albuquerque Museum, he said.
Since then, Martinez has made a successful career as a tattoo artist and painter, tat-tooing full time at Factory Edge in Coronado Mall, and he is currently working on designs for a new clothing line, he said.
Martinez said he has also been involved in outreach work for prisoners and kids in the juvenile justice system, showing them that art, culture and creativity can be a way out of a life of crime, drug abuse and prison.
“Being able to give back and share the art and my
experiences, especially with the youth, is important to me because I lost my brother, and me and a lot of friends; we’ve been through a lot, so if I can inspire and plant some seeds, it means a lot to me,” Martinez said.
For more information on the art of Eric Christo Martinez, visit ericchristoart.zenfolio.com.
By Nick SternSenior Reporter
Computer Sciences major Dorian Gray is a professional tattoo artist who works at Ace’s Tattoo and Body Piercing located at 2737 San Mateo NE, she said.
She has been a profes-sional tattoo artist for three years and believes it is one of the most rewarding experi-ences she has ever gotten out of life, Gray said.
“I absolutely love my job because it is really creative, I get to meet thousands of new people, and I get to cover the world in beautiful art,” she said.
The style of art she is best at and loves to do the most is Japanese, which she would do all day if her clients would let her, she said.
The name Dorian Gray comes from a joke that some-one made about her never aging, and is a reference to Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” about a man who never ages while a portrait of himself ages more and more, she said.
Gray already has her Bachelor’s degree in illustra-tion that she got from the Northern Illinois University and she is currently attend-ing CNM courses in order to knock out all of the
coursework that she can before transferring to UNM in the fall semester of 2014, she said.
CNM has helped her in both her pursuit of a Master’s in Computer Science and also helped her with her career in tattoos, she said.
Gray said her time at the Montoya campus has been sur-prisingly very educational and she has been taking math and a couple programming classes, which have helped her learn how to create databases, and as far as tattooing goes, the people that she has met around the campus community have been very cool and interested
in what she does which has inspired her to keep up her hard work.
“I think CNM is a really great school. I went to a com-munity college outside of Chicago where I am from and I thought the educational qual-ity was pretty bad, but CNM is actually really good and I was really surprised and happy. The math classes are actually really great,” Gray said.
After Gray graduated with her first bachelor’s degree she said she moved to Japan for three years where she apprenticed and started to study the way that tattooing is done there. Then she went to Melbourne, Australia where
she also did a year-long appren-ticeship in tattooing which was hard work and required some serious dedication and tough-ening up.
Gray said she is respon-sible for doing everything and anything that needed to get done around the shop like cleaning, getting other artists food, scrubbing everything, and when the artists eventu-ally had free time, they would teach her how to tattoo.
“It is pretty hard work and is kind of like boot camp where everyone is hazing you and it really toughens you up, but it is really good training and you do all your medical certifications too,” she said.
Gray said that with her apprenticeship and her three years of professional tattooing, she has probably done around 2,000 different tattoos and she believes it is an honor and priv-ilege to help so many people along the transformative pro-cess that is tattooing, she said.
Ace’s Tattoo and Body Piercing is open from Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays are also available by appointment and the shop can be contacted via email at [email protected] or by phone at 872-8287, Gray said.
From overseas to AlbuquerqueDorian’s shades of Gray GRAPHIC BY ANGELICA
MANZANARES
8 | The CNM Chronicle March 11-17, 2014STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
PHOTO BY ANGELA LE QUIEU
Lindsey Taylor-Wise talks to customers as she works at Il Vicino’s tap room.
By Angela Le QuieuStaff Reporter
Tattoos and other body modifications, Lindsey Taylor-Wise, Fine Arts major, said that for her and some other stu-dents they are able to find work with their ink and piercings.
She works for Il Vicino tap room and said that her body modifications have never been an issue for her.
“I haven’t been told to cover up or take any of the piercings out, they seem to enjoy my color-ful hair too, which is nice,” Taylor-Wise said.
Fine Arts major, Alicia Garrett has not had an issue with her tattoo, but instead said that one of them may have influenced an employer to hire her over other candidates.
Garrett said that her tattoo of a band logo gave her interviewer a connection to her personally that might not have been there otherwise.
“I think maybe with tat-toos, when you’re interview-ing don’t hide them, because it may be a conversation starter to help them learn a little more about you on a personal level that may make
them want to work with you more,” Garrett said.
In 2012 Albuquerque had over 50 tattoo parlors accord-ing to “Are tattoos becom-ing more socially acceptable in the workplace?” an article in UNM’s CJ 475 News, and the article also named New Mexico as one of the most accepting states for tattoos in the work place.
Taylor-Wise said she has had experience in several aspects of the restaurant indus-try and her ability to sport her body modifications has, in the past, depended on where she was working and what her job
was at the time.“I feel like it just
depends on the owners and the management, depending on if they have tattoos or if they are open minded people,” Taylor-Wise said.
Although the tattoos and body modification may affect her employ-ment in the future she said that her choice in a career in art should allow her to not only sport her tattoos but to get new ones as well.
Both Taylor-Wise and Garrett have visible tattoos and stretched ears, and both also work in places where they are visible to the public.
“If I’m applying some-where, I want to make sure that I can be myself and put it out there, if I have and inter-view I try not to hide stuff,” Taylor-Wise said. “Tattoos No Longer a Kiss Of Death in the Workplace,” an article from Forbes magazine highlighted a UNM professor, Bruce Potts, who has a facial tattoos and other body modifications and had not affected his employ-ment with the university.
Forbes also said that 14 percent employment aged Americans have tattoos and that policies on tattoos vary from industry to industry and workplace to work place.
At CNM the official Employee hand book con-tains no language pertain-ing to tattoos or piercings, but does say that wearing inappropriate clothing may be grounds for disciplinary action or termination.
Director of Communications & Media Relations Brad Moore said that CNM does not have a specific policy regarding tattoos.
“The standard for tattoos in the workplace at CNM depends on the work environ-ment,” Moore said.
Supervisors can use their own discretion to deem what is appropriate for a specific workplace or a specific job position, Moore said.
Tattooist and shop owner Leo Gonzales said some of the shift in attitude about tattoos is because of the popularity of shows about the indus-try making it mainstream and more acceptable.
“Depending on where you live and what your job is having/being heavily tat-tooed isn’t as big of a deal these days as it was even ten years ago, and I think that has a lot to do with tat-toos being portrayed in the media as much as they are these days,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales said that this acceptance may have opened up the job market to people with tattoos, but that it is a double edged sword, mean-ing it has also taken away the mystery of tattoos, which used to not be socially acceptable.
Fellow tattooist Mathew Pippin said that the trend of television shows that highlight tattoos has not changed the overall taboo of body modifi-cation as a whole.
“That has always been a thing and that will always be a thing regardless of how many cool TV shows there are, there will always be that stigma,” Pippin said.
Taylor-Wise said that Albuquerque is a good town for people with body modifi-cations to work, because it is
college and the large amount of people have tattoos.
With so many people in town that are tattooed it has become less of an excuse for an employer not to hire a person who is well qualified and has the needed experience for a position, Taylor-wise said.
“I think it’s changed a lot and it’s continuing to change, because I feel like the people who are getting tattooed are only going to get more tat-tooed; then the next genera-tion is going to be so used to it and everybody’s going to have tattoos and it won’t be such a big deal anymore, it’s just going to be an acceptable way to express yourself,” Taylor-Wise said.
COURTESY OF FACEBOOK.COM
UNM Professor, Bruce Potts with facial tattoos.
By Rene ThompsonEditor in Chief
Psychology major and tattoo supply company owner of “Boneyard Ink,” Daniel Gonzales said he has a very specific philosophy when it comes to helping heal people and wants to enact that into his ultimate goal, which is to make or be a part of a special kind of substance abuse treat-ment center, he said.
Gonzales said that he hopes to support people through helping them gain some spirituality, as well as through proper diet, exercise, education and getting people back their roots.
“I have a culinary degree and I was a cook in Seattle, so I feel like good food is an important part of our healing process too, and when people are trying to detox off drugs or things like that, they are eating food that have a lot of chemicals, and I would like to get into a treatment center that is based around having organic farm to table foods, because I think connecting with the earth is important too. It’s kind of like getting back to our roots,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales not only goes to school full time and still runs
his tattoo supply business, but has also played bass for the last eight years in a local Metal band called Blinddryve, and has five children, he said.
“I have five kids, two are in soccer, the other is in voice and acting classes, then I have the two little ones, and this semester I’m taking five classes, so it’s a lot of work, but I’ve always wanted to help people,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales said he had his own problems with substance abuse in his past and said he has learned so much since then that he wants to help others on their roads to recovery and a better wellbeing.
“I feel like I have some positive stuff to offer, I have life experience in that field and I want to go into counseling or therapy,” he said.
Gonzales said that his pas-sion for helping people comes from his sister, who has a con-dition called Rett Syndrome and has the brain capacity of an 18 year-old baby, so she has stayed at ARCA who provides services for individuals with developmental disabilities for the past 20 years, and where Gonzales and his family go to see her regularly.
Gonzales said his sister inspires and helps him to stay motivated to succeed in his goal of helping others.
“The doctors said people with her condition usually don’t live past 30 and she’s 46 now, so she’s one of the oldest living people with her condi-tion,” he said.
Gonzales said he opened his tattoo supply business in 2008 while
working in the shipping department at The Zone, where they began to get art-ists who needed supplies.
Gonzales said artists would wonder why there was not a local source at the time that delivered supplies, because there was and still is a major demand, since Albuquerque has an abun-dance of shops and artists.
“I could see that there was a demand for it (tattoo supplies), because art-ists would say ‘it would be nice if there was someone who was local who could deliver supplies and then we wouldn’t have to get supplies online,’ so I’ve officially had the business for six years now,” he said.
His band Blinddryve, in their eight years, has played the Journal Pavilion, the South by Southwest Show, and has opened for Sevendust and Lucuna Coil, he said.
“I would say it’s definitely metal; it’s cross between Iron Maiden, Pantera, and maybe Kill-Switch Engage, and a touch of Queensryche,” he said.
For more information on Blinddryve shows go to blind-dryve.com or holdmyticket.com for advance show tickets.
G o n z a l e s said he really wants to go to Highlands University at the school of social work, because they have such a great program.
He said they also have a jump starter pro-gram that helps students get a Master’s degree in three years.
He also hopes to make a pro-gram that not only instills his philoso-phy but also sets up people with proper work skills to be able to succeed beyond treatment, to less likely keep repeating the cycle of being a multiple drug offender.
“I think that people who use are just sick, and some-times they were never taught that stuff, a lot of time people want to judge others, but some-times these people were never taught to take care of them-selves, or how to find to their own paths, and maybe they can get skills or certifications
to have a better chance at being sober when they have a leg up. It could be 10 or 20 years from now, but my goal is to really help people beyond their immediate treatments and help to give them the skills to have a better life,” he said.
Tattoo supply company owner and student has big plans to help others
Students say body mods don’t affect their work
PHOTO COURTESY OF DANIEL GONZALES
Daniel Gonzales with his band Blinddryve.
PHOTO BY RENE THOMPSON
Daniel Gonzales, owner of Boneyard Ink tattoo supply.
March 11-17, 2014 The CNM Chronicle | 9CONTINUEDWOMEN Continued from Page 2
ART Continued from Page 2
Now accepting applications for:
Start your career with
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release, and contacting media outlets, and said that the skills she learned in the process will definitely help her in her dream of becom-ing a comic book artist.
“We’ve learned how to be confident in selling
yourself, building com-munity and relationships with other artists, organi-zation, and really getting into the mindset that my art can really be a lifestyle and I can make a living,” Cooney said.
In the process of put-ting on the show, students had to learn the logistics
of the art business, like getting their work matted and framed, professionally photographed, and making promotional materials like business cards, Miller said.
Students were forced to solve real-world prob-lems on the spot, learning how to hang up the pieces on the gallery walls, where
to put them, and the reali-ties of working with a gal-lery space, like lighting and organization, she said.
“They learn how to have a show, and then they actually put one on. It’s a great learning experience for them,” Miller said.
Aside from the real-world knowledge students
get from putting the show on, Miller said that the opening is valuable for another reason exposing the students to Albuquerque’s larger art community, and also exposing that commu-nity to CNM’s art program.
“We’re producing some really amazing graduates,
I think the students are stellar, the faculty is great. I think what we’re doing is actually really amaz-ing, and I think this is an opportunity to go out into the community and show it off,” Miller said.
for me because it is cool to hear all kinds of other sto-ries from different women that are entirely different people,” she said.
Director of the Trio Department and Chapter
President of CNM’s American Association for Women in Community Colleges Magda Martinez-Baca also helped Tannagda organize the Women’s Day celebration and believes this year’s celebration was a huge stepping stone for CNM, because it is the first
time the college has ever celebrated International Women’s Day and she thinks it is the start of a new and important tradi-tion here in New Mexico, Martinez-Baca said.
“We will be celebrat-ing again. I think with CHSS taking the lead with
the Dean’s support and with faculty and employ-ees it will happen and our partnerships within the community will grow,” she said.
The celebration was a very good reminder of how important women
are internationally but also a reminder of what can be done to make the world a better place in the terms of equality, because women with children are statistically the poor-est people and with more
recognition among New Mexico and the country as a whole, people can come together and work to make life better for all people, especially women and children, Martinez-Baca said.
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Send resume to Rene Thompson at [email protected]
10 | The CNM Chronicle March 11-17, 2014COMMUNITY
Celebrate Your Achievement at the CNM Spring Graduation Ceremony!
Begin your celebration today!Complete a Graduation Application Packet online through myCNM by 5:00 p.m. Friday, March 28, 2014.
cnm.edu/gradceremony
Celebrate Your Achievement at the CNM Spring Graduation Ceremony!
Begin your celebration today!Complete a Graduation Application Packet online through myCNM by 5:00 p.m. Friday, March 28, 2014.
cnm.edu/gradceremony
CNM Spring 2014 Graduation Ceremony Saturday, May 3, 2014 at 12:00 p.m. Central New Mexico Community College
Public Invitation for Third Party CommentCentral New Mexico Community College is seeking comments from the public about the College in preparation for its periodic evaluation by its regional accrediting agency. The College will host a visit May 7-9, 2014 with a team representing the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association. Central New Mexico Community College has been accredited by the Commission since 1978. The team will review the institution’s ongoing ability to meet the Commission’s Criteria for Accreditation.
The public is invited to submit comments regarding the college:Third Party Comment on Central New Mexico Community College
The Higher Learning Commission230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500
Chicago, IL 60604-1411
The public may also submit comments on the Commission’s Web site at www.ncahlc.org.
Comments must address substantive matters related to the quality of the institution or its academic programs. Comments must be in writing.
All comments must be received by April 7, 2014.
Wings for L.I.F.E. promotes responsible tattooingBy Nick Stern
Senior Reporter
Wings For L.I.F.E. is a faith-based international
program that is focused on “transforming lives to break the generational cycle of incarceration” and also hosts weekly educa-
tional programs called Wings For L.I.F.E, which stands for life skills imparted to
families through education, and has planned to host an
e d u c a -t i o n a l m e e t -i n g a b o u t t a t -toos on
Mond ay, March 10
at Second P resby ter ia n
Church at 812 Edith Blvd NE,
Executive Director and founder Ann
Edenfield Sweet said.The purpose
of the meeting is not to tell people whether or not to get a tattoo but rather to edu-cate by bringing in profession-als in the field, and in Monday’s
case the speaker that was scheduled to share during the meeting is
Dawn Maestes who is the co-owner of Lazarus Laser Tattoo Removal and to talk about the pros and cons of getting inked including the dangers, long-lasting impact, and the diffi-culties involved with getting a tattoo removed, Sweet said.
“We bring in experts who help everyone under-stand what all is involved in getting and removing tattoos. We educate and then people make their own decisions. Our role is to bring up and talk about difficult issues, then it is up to each person as to what they do with that information,” Sweet said.
During the meetings that Wings For L.I.F.E. pro-vides, guests in attendance are given literature that they can read and use to follow along with speakers and their subject matter for the meet-ing and in this case guests are given literature on the top 10 things to consider about a tattoo, Sweet said.
The literature encour-ages people to make sure they have put a lot of thought into a tattoo and to consider that a tattoo is a commitment even if it is no longer considered to be permanent, because even though the ink can be removed it involves a long process that is not cheap, Sweet said.
The literature also encourages people to carefully
consider what locations on the body they should get a tattoo on because even though the stigma associated with tat-toos has almost disappeared, employers may overlook all the benefits an applicant can bring to the workforce simply because of their bias toward people with tattoos, she said.
Dawn Maestes also said that she encourages people to make sure they choose the right artist whose style best suits what kind of design they are considering and to also not be too afraid to ask any ques-tions they might have about the work area like how clean it is, how they sterilize equip-ment, client reviews, and any-thing that might help make getting a tattoo be as comfort-able as possible.
“Once you know what style and design appeals to you, search for an artist who spe-cializes in what you are looking for: script, portraits, realism. Do not be afraid to ask ques-tions. Do your homework,” she said.
An important thing to also consider is that a tattoo might not end up being per-manent because people change with time and sometimes what was cool one day might feel like a mistake years down the road, Maestes said.
The national guideline for tattoo removal is between
five and 15 treatments with an average of 12 treatments, which can mean that the entire removal process can take six months or even two years to complete, she said.
New Mexico Corrections has recog-nized the huge impact and positive changes among inmates and even prison staff after parties thrown in an inmate’s h o n o r and has invited t h e Wi n g s to throw up to four par-ties a year for each and every prison in New Mexico, and also wants educational pro-grams like the weekly ones done by L.I.F.E. to be held within the prisons as well, she said.
“It is a three hour format and the Corrections Department has seen such posi-tive changes with inmates and their fami-lies and also staff because the staff h a s become very involved and very supportive and many
have even volunteered to come into work the day of the party,” Sweet said.
GRAPHICS BY ANGELICA MANZANARES
March 11-17, 2014 The CNM Chronicle | 11ADVERTISMENT
12 | The CNM Chronicle March 11-17, 2014
By Angela Le QuieuStaff Reporter
After years of work, tat-tooist Leo Gonzales opened Stay Gold on the corner of Yale Boulevard and Gold Street in 2004, and his ethi-cal and artistic approach has made his business one that is based on word of mouth and repeat customers.
Gonzales said that he is an oil painter which was his original career goal, but after a friend suggested that they get tattoo equipment he decided to try it as a new medium of artwork, he said.
“It just grabbed a hold of me, and I just became possessed by it, and I always thought that I would be a painter, and that tat-tooing would be my hobby, and it turned out to be the opposite, that painting has
become more of a hobby,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales has been tattooing for 21 years and it was not until 14 years ago in 2000, that he felt he had put in his dues working for other people and said he was comfort-able enough to open his own shop.
Gonzales’ style is sur-realistic horror and fantasy tattoos, and he has an array of artwork for sale at his shop.
Because Gonzales has been working in the Albuquerque area for his entire tattooing career he is a well know tattoo artist and books appointments several months out, Pippin said.
Gonzales has definite ideas about the ethics of tattooing people, which he said is a canvas that moves, bleeds, and breathes.
“When I first started tat-tooing I took a kind of a moral stance that I wasn’t going to tattoo anybody until I had tat-tooed myself and earned my chops,” he said.
Although Gonzales did not go through a formal apprenticeship, and it took him 10 times as long to understand tattooing, the path he took was the best way for him, Gonzales said.
After he had practiced tattooing on his own legs he began to work on friends, and after a while he took jobs from people who requested them from him, he said.
It has only been in the past two years that Gonzales has felt that he could bring in his painting skills and tech-niques to the work he is doing with tattoos, he said.
“That was hard at the beginning, because I had
such a background with painting I thought that I could bring what I knew about painting into tattoo-ing and I was completely mistaken, it’s completely different,” Gonzales said.
The oil paintings that he has done can be seen the Pop Gallery in Santa Fe as well as at Stay Gold, although he said he does not like to go through galleries because of the high percentage they take from the sale of art work.
Gonzales attributes his love of art to his mother who was a freelance illustrator for
Los Alamos Labs and began to teach him how to draw at a very early age, he said.
“We thought that we were going to have to move out of the neighborhood and it turns out that this building came up for rent and it was right across the street from where we were at and we were like ‘oh we get to stay in the neighborhood’ and we were just bouncing names off each other,” Gonzales said.
The name came from his previous partner Danno Sanchez, and it references a poem by Robert Frost called
“Nothing Gold Can Stay” which is related to the rough transitional time that they were going through, plus the new location was on Gold Street, Gonzales said.
Many people attribute the name to a line from the movie “The Outsiders” in which one of the characters says “Stay gold Ponyboy” but that line is referencing the poem as well, Gonzales said.
“We were staying in the neighborhood and we thought Stay Gold, we are staying golden and it was a perfect fit,” Gonzales said.
FEATURE
PHOTO COURTESY OF NEXUSILLUMINATI.BLOGSPOT.COM
The recent discovery of this skull from Mexico lead many to question what made so many cultures to preform head binding in children.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF FACEBOOK.COM
Tattooist and oil painter, Leo Gonzales with his work on skin and canvas.
By Carol WoodlandStaff Reporter
Body modification today is more popular than ever, and according to a Pew Research Poll in 2010, 23 percent of Americans have a tattoo.
Sarah Egelman, pro-fessor of Religious Studies, explained that tattoos go all the way back to the Iceman, with a 5,200 year old mummy found with tattoos of dots and small x’s on his knee.
“People think of it as sort of this new trend or whatever, but it’s a really, really, really ancient tradition. In fact, the oldest preserved human, the Iceman, was tattooed,” Egelman said.
She said it is thought that tattoos may have been applied to alleviate pain, as archaeo-logical records showed age related degeneration on the bones of the Iceman’s knee.
Egelman said tattoos were popular in ancient Egypt, but for the Egyptians, tattoos were only worn by women and likely served as protec-tion during pregnancy and childbirth.
According to “Tattoos, the Ancient and Mysterious History” at smithstonian.com, Egyptian tattoos were made up of a geometric pat-tern of dots and lines possibly intended to mimic a beaded net, that were applied to the abdomen and thighs of women, and were found on mummies as well.
Tattoos have been per-formed in ancient China, Japan, Peru, Chile, Europe, North America and North Africa, and tattoos have even been found on mummies in Greenland and Siberia, and while differ-ent cultures had their own
methods and purposes for tat-tooing, they all likely involved a slow and painful procedure, according to the smithstonian.com article.
Egelman said across the Mediterranean tattooing was also practiced by Romans.
“I do know that some Romans tattooed them-selves religiously as sort of a protection, kind of like amulets,” she said.
After the Roman Empire’s conversion to Christianity, tattoos remained popular despite a biblical law prohibiting any sort of mark-ing upon the body, and that biblical law against tattoos comes from Leviticus, a part of the Bible, which contains laws about dietary restric-tions and even garment mate-rial restrictions, which most Christians no longer follow, Egelman said.
“Christianity really took off in other parts of the Mediterranean world where tattooing was more accept-able and that prohibition doesn’t stand,” Egelman said.
While Judaism and Islam did follow the biblical prohibi-tion, Egelman said that within some sects of Islam there is a history, of temporary henna tattooing for weddings or other celebrations, which is found in other cultures around the world as well.
“I think it’s been more popular around the world for cultural and religious reasons, and medical rea-sons in ancient history than people recognize,” Egelman said.
Margo DeMello, Professor of Anthropology said the simplest way to make a tattoo by hand was to use a sharpened thorn, bone, stick
or rock dipped into pigment and poked into the skin.
“Another method is to cut the skin with a sharpened implement and then rub the pigment into the wound,” DeMello said.
In Polynesian culture, their method is to use a carved comb made of shell and dipped in ink, then pounded into the skin using a mallet, she said.
“In Japan, tattoos were (and are) made with a long bamboo device with needles attached to the end; the nee-dles are pushed into the body. In the Arctic, the people there literally sew tattoos into the skin using a needle and thread dipped in ink,” DeMello said.
According to japandaily-press.com tattoos were used as punishment during the Edo period from the 1600s to 1800s, and are still taboo because people with even minor tattoos are discrimi-nated against and turned away from some businesses in Japan.
She said today’s tattoos are done in a much more ster-ile and safe environment than before, although some tradi-tional techniques are still used.
DeMello said one type of tattooing called “Yantra” which is done by hand in Southeast Asia, remains ever popular despite being a very painful process.
Yantra tattoos are said to be able to protect the wearer from evil and danger because of the mixture of ingredients in the ink and that the monks who apply the tattoos say a special prayer, she said.
“I don’t know what the people in Southeast Asia think of western tattooing, but I do know that lots of people there wear western tattoos,” DeMello said.
DeMello has been studying and writing about tattooing for many years and published a book called
“Bodies of Inscription: A Cultural History of the Tattoo Community” in 2000.
“Tattooing has become main-stream in the United States since 2000. It was already well on the rise when my book was published, and it continues to get more and more normative in this cul-ture,” DeMello said.
One reason DeMello thinks tattoos are so popular in Albuquerque is because of a link to ancient Rome through Albuquerque’s large Latino population.
“In addition, tattoo-ing has a very, very long history in Christianity. It goes back to the very early Christians who lived in ancient Rome, and who wore tattoos to show their Christian faith. So a lot of Latinos wear Christian tattoos in particular to demonstrate their faith,” DeMello said.
For young people, get-ting a tattoo could be con-sidered a rite of passage, DeMello said.
“In traditional cultures around the world that is how it has commonly been—one receives one’s first tattoo upon reaching sexual maturity or adulthood in many cultures, and in some cultures, without a tattoo you are not marriage-able,” DeMello said.
Jessica Craig, Professor of Anthropology said the Ancient Mayans widely prac-ticed body modification.
She said they used a pro-cess of shaping the head of their babies called “artificial cranial deformation,” or head
binding which started not long after birth.
“We suspect that the Maya would do this by tightly binding babies/toddlers to cradle boards. Interestingly, while it was more common among the upper classes, we do see evidence for the prac-tice among the lower classes as well,” Craig said.
She went on to explain that while different classes of people had their heads shaped, the shape itself was based on social class, which would create an easily visible social identification of which class someone belonged.
Donna Rosh, Professor of Anthropology said that cranial deformation was also practiced by some Southeastern and Northwest American tribes and the desired result was to produce a slanted, elongated forehead.
However, for these tribes, cranial deformation was reserved for those with a certain social status.
“Only families with high status practiced it,” said Rosh.
According to “Modern Induced Skull Deformity in Adults” by William Gump, induced skull deformity is still performed now with a method for adults, which is used to “reach differ-ent levels of conscience” or accessing different parts of the brain and is believed to be why Mayans used this method of modification.
Craig said that Mayans also practiced dental modifi-cation and had several meth-ods for modifying their teeth, such as filing them into very sharp points or to drill a small hole in the center of a tooth and inlay it with pieces of jade.
“Certainly the use the jade was associated with social class, as this was the gold of the ancient Maya, so only someone with a degree of wealth could afford this pro-cedure,” Craig said.
For the Ancient Maya body modification offered people the opportunity to create a distinct social identity for themselves, very much like today, Craig said.
The colorful history of body modification
Tattoos that Stay Gold