Name/Title
Decorated skin : a world survey of body artEntry/Object ID
GN418.G77Description
Since earliest times, humans have decorated their skin in endless ways and for fascinating reasons. Laden with cultural messages and imbued with aesthetic experience, body decoration is the ultimate form of self-expression in which the artists create for themselves a "second skin" as a testimony to the society in which they live, as a mirror of their own individuality, and as a reflection of the supernatural. This unrivaled collection of striking photographs traces more than ten thousand years of cultural history -- from the body painting of stone-age peoples to the self-inflicted piercing of punks and the enduring image of the carnival clown in modern industrial society -- illustrating an art form that is finding new relevance in the world of today. To set the plates in context, a distinguished team of art historians, ethnologists, and archaeologists has provided enlightening commentaries that document the development of an extraordinary spectrum of body painting, tattooing, and scarring techniques.Collection
Carol Westfall CollectionLexicon
Search Terms
body art, body marking, tattooingBook Details
Author
Karl GròˆningPublisher
Thames & HudsonDate Published
2002Call No.
GN418.G77ISBN
500283281, 9780500283288Notes
Length: 256