Final list of images for ongoing tattoo work...

[moominmuppet]

Previous bodyart posts, for context

I still need to talk this over with Chris; I'll probably email him a link to this post, actually. The images as scanned aren't great quality, but I wanted a way to see them all in about the same size, and they give you a general idea, at least. There's a set of three where I've roughly cut and pasted the head of one piece on the body of the other, and included the two complete source images, to give a general idea of where I'm going, and there are several pieces at the end that are very much in the "maybe" category.

Source Images


Definitely Floating Figure by Gaston Lachaise http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Gaston_lachaise_floating_figure.JPG 1932 France
Definitely Seated Narayit figure (merger of two) http://www.barakatgallery.com/Store/Index.cfm/FuseAction/ItemDetails/UserID/0/TopMenuID/5/requesttimeout/500/ItemID/7187.htm Pre-Columbian Mexico
Definitely Seated Narayit figure (merger of two) http://www.barakatgallery.com/Store/Index.cfm/FuseAction/ItemDetails/UserID/0/TopMenuID/5/requesttimeout/500/ItemID/6633.htm Pre-Columbian Mexico
Definitely Lakshmi http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow/image/54741836 ?? India
Definitely Fanti Fertility Doll http://www.novica.com/itemdetail/index.cfm?pid=119945 Modern Ghana
Definitely Standing Woman by Zhang Yaxi http://www.zhangyaxi.com.cn/en/sculpture_portfolio/Standing%20Woman/ Modern China
Definitely Leaping Woman http://www.goddess-gift.co.uk/images/products/sculpture/leapingwoman/leaping_03.jpg Modern United States
Definitely Inuit Figure in Ivory 19th Century Alaska, US

Hopefully Egyptian kneeling woman with large thighs not online Pre-3,000 bce Egypt
Hopefully Communion II by Joanna Mallin-Davies Modern Wales
Hopefully Indian Baubo 200 bce Uttar Pradesh, India
Hopefully Baubo touching her vulva http://www.beyond-the-pale.org.uk/zxBauboBeset.htm unknown Greece
Hopefully Austerfield Sheela-Na-Gig http://www.sheelanagig.org/SheelaAusterfield.htm 12th Century England

Maybe Standing Woman by Gaston Lachaise http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Standing_woman.jpg 1932 France
Maybe Seated fat nude http://www.werner-forman-archive.com/timelines.htm 6000-3000 bce Sumeria/Anatolia
Maybe Cloaked Sheela-Na-Gig from Sainte-Radegonde in Poitiers http://www.beyond-the-pale.org.uk/sheela2.htm ??
Maybe Venus of Lespugue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_of_Lespugue 20,000 bce France

These are the pieces that are already on; not part of the slideshow, but visible in the tattoo links in the bodyart posts referenced above:
On Venus of Laussel 20,000 bce France
On Venus of Galgenberg 30,000 bce Austria
On Sea Mother ?? Northwest US
On Double-Goddess 25,000 bce France
On Torso in Elk Bone 4,500 bce Yugoslavia
On Epigrathian Curled Woman 8,000 bce Romania

Too bad it'd be such a hassle to scan in all the other stuff I found; I have a binder overflowing with images that I had to eliminate, or weren't right for this piece, but were gorgeous and fascinating in their own right.


I'd be curious to hear people's perspectives on using work by living artists, and what level of permission I should ethically gain before using images of their pieces in my personal tattoo work. Also, opinions in general welcome; it's really unlikely I'll be able to work in every piece, for stylistic and space reasons (although we have a lot of skin to work with; from my midback down over my butt and around my thigh). Making that more difficult, a large part of what I'm celebrating is variety across times and cultures, which means not picking all the pieces that are most stylistically similar to each other. I've stuck with sculpture to give some commonality to the pieces, but it's only thanks to what Chris can do that we can manage to make them work in one piece, so his input will have a lot to do with final decisions, too.

Comments

[bart-calendar.livejournal.com]

I think that once you transfer them to a new medium you've essentially created a new piece of art and are therefore on fine ethical ground.

I.e. your skin is not stone or canvas.

[marnanel.livejournal.com]

I don't think I can agree that merely changing the medium is necessarily creating new work. If what you said was true, I could paint a watercolour and hang it in a gallery, and you could come along and ethically take a photograph of it and then sell prints without paying me a penny. (IANAL, but I believe this is also the position the law takes.)

I can't paint, but I know that if I wrote a poem and I later found it on tattooed on someone's back, I'd prefer it if they'd made at least a good faith effort to find me and ask first.

[bart-calendar.livejournal.com]

If I wrote a poem and it turned up tattooed on someone's back I'd be so flattered I'd want to pay them.

Unless it was a stalker ex-girlfriend.

[marnanel.livejournal.com]

You might have those feelings about your work, but I can't see how you can assume that every artist would. In fact, I can tell you I've had my poetry turn up on several websites unattributed and unasked-for, and it gets tiresome after a while.

[moominmuppet.livejournal.com]

*nod* I think that's the approach I'm going to take. There are only four pieces it really applies to (Fanti Fertility Doll, Communion II, Standing Woman by Shang Yaxi, and Leaping Woman), and I'm most curious about what'll happen with Fanti Fertility Doll, and with Leaping Woman, both of which are small-scale artists making multiple copies, I believe. Might end up needing to buy my own copies, in which case I think I've also purchased permission to put them on me.

[marnanel.livejournal.com]

I'd still ask explicit permission. I don't think (since you asked for our opinions on the ethics) that you automatically have permission to make copies of a piece of art simply by buying it, even by buying the original. The artist may well be flattered, of course.

(IANAL again: And legally there are very few cases where it's true that you can make your own copies of a piece of copyrighted art-- it's even been batted up and down for a while whether it's legal to rip your CDs, though I think that one's been settled that you can. In that case, of course, you're making a copy that nobody but you will see anyway. One of the explicit exceptions in federal law is that you can take a photo of a building without infringing the copyright on the architect's design!)

[moominmuppet.livejournal.com]

*nod* Makes sense.

[calebbullen.livejournal.com]

I think you should definitely contact living artists to the extent its possible. I would explain what you intend to do and ask their permission in such a way as to put the responsibility on them to stop it not on you to obtain written permission.

If they never get back to you, you can still go on ahead but if they really don't want you to use their work, they can opt out easily.

I suspect that most wouldn't have a problem with it and may even be interested in seeing photos of the overall piece but I know when people ask if they can use my stuff in their shows, I always appreciate being asked.

[lunatickle.livejournal.com]

I agree with Caleb, that's a good solution. so you made more than a casual effort, but so you don't get tied up in waiting for written permission.

I do think you're unlikely to get sued or anything, and the artist would probably never find out in the first place. But I agree that it's a good art-appreciative citizen thing to do. And it gives the piece good karma. When you etch something deep and ancient on your body, you want the figure next to it to carry good karma :)

[moominmuppet.livejournal.com]

*nod* I think that's the approach I'm going to take. There are only four pieces it really applies to (Fanti Fertility Doll, Communion II, Standing Woman by Shang Yaxi, and Leaping Woman), and I'm most curious about what'll happen with Fanti Fertility Doll, and with Leaping Woman, both of which are small-scale artists making multiple copies, I believe. Might end up needing to buy my own copies, in which case I think I've also purchased permission to put them on me.

[tasharowan.livejournal.com]

I would make at least a token effort to contact the artist. A couple I've seen are so possessive as to ask to be paid before you get the tattoo.

[moominmuppet.livejournal.com]

*nod* I think that's the approach I'm going to take. There are only four pieces it really applies to (Fanti Fertility Doll, Communion II, Standing Woman by Shang Yaxi, and Leaping Woman), and I'm most curious about what'll happen with Fanti Fertility Doll, and with Leaping Woman, both of which are small-scale artists making multiple copies, I believe. Might end up needing to buy my own copies, in which case I think I've also purchased permission to put them on me.

[lunatickle.livejournal.com]

It seems like the pieces you chose for Definites are a very wide survey of location, culture, and historical period. I bet that was purposeful, no? It makes sense, that seems to be in tune with the work you already have on your body.

It's totally self-serving, but I love the two fat ladies together, it's got a lovely voluputous sweetness to it. Or maybe it just makes me think warmly of you.

(smootch!)

I love it that you are doing this!

[moominmuppet.livejournal.com]

It seems like the pieces you chose for Definites are a very wide survey of location, culture, and historical period. I bet that was purposeful, no?

*nod* Exactly. Although there are some cultures that don't do representations of the human form, I've tried to get as broad a cross-section of cultures, time periods, and body shapes as I could, although it's still got rather more of a european focus than I'd ideally want.

It's totally self-serving, but I love the two fat ladies together, it's got a lovely voluputous sweetness to it. Or maybe it just makes me think warmly of you.

Aw! Yeah, I really love that one, too. Although it's a different piece that reminds me of you in terms of overall bodyshape. Can you guess which one?