Gang and criminal subcultures are always fascinating, especially when the criminal culture comes from Russia — home to the second highest prison population per capita in the world (naturally, USA is #1! #1! #1!). We previously covered the first Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedia awhile back, and unsurprisingly it has remained one of our most popular […]
30
Aug
Two more volumes on the Russian criminal subculture
1
Aug
Documenting creative skin art in a post-mainstream culture
The upcoming book Forever: The New Tattoo edited by R. Klanten and F. Schulze documents tattoos that are still breaking new ground in a culture where the artform has gone mainstream. Any walk through Silverlake or Brooklyn (nevermind Nashville, Austin, Portland, San Francisco, etc etc) will quickly dispel the myth of the tattoo as symbol of […]
30
Jul
David Corden of Ritual Art Tattoo shop in London, UK
David Corden is one of the UK’s leading realism tattoo artists. While his work may not have the social impact or exotic skullduggery of, say, Russian Prison Tattoos, his impressive pin-ups and portraits demonstrate talent with a very keen attention to detail, smooth color transitions and striking resemblance to the source image. All of which […]
19
May
Feds got nothing on "Make Your Franklin"'s art infused $100 bills
Make Your Franklin is a community art project inviting artists to change up the $100 bill. The design aesthetic of the contributors comes alive with entries that are witty, subversive and at times downright bold. Whether he’s inked with Native American tattoos, covered up by a gas mask surrounded by nuclear silos, redone as a […]
21
Jul
NOWNESS visits the tattoo sensei's studio in Yokohama
Master Japanese tattoo artist Horiyoshi III (born Yoshihito Nakano) first became stunned by the artistry of tattoos after running into a fully inked Yakuza at a bathhouse as a boy. After seeing the gangster’s shocking full body suit, Horiyoshi III was inspired to learn the craft himself, and at the age of 25 earned a […]
9
Feb
A brief look into the Russian criminal subculture
The nation of Russia has undergone dramatic transformations in the past decade, and those metamorphoses have been starkly reflected in its infamous prisons. Home to the second highest prison population per capita in the world (after only USA, who also claims the dubious title of most overall prisoners), the Russian penal system is a sprawling, […]
