| Body Type: Intimate Messages Etched in Flesh | 
 enlarge | Author: Ina Saltz
Publisher: Abrams Image
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $6.98
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Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 298375
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 7.4 x 1.1
ISBN: 0810970503
Dewey Decimal Number: 391.65
EAN: 9780810970502
ASIN: 0810970503
Publication Date: September 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New - Has remainder mark. Fast shipping from trusted wholesaler with many exclusive publisher contracts.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Body Type is an eye-opening look into the amazingly creative ways that tattoo artists are utilizing typography. Whereas the majority of tattoo art uses images to convey messages, here the message actually is the image. Twenty-six alphabetical characters might not seem like much to work with, but a look through these photographs reveals the contrary. Here are truly unique social commentaries, expressions of love, hilarious examples of biting satire, plus some mottos, intricate logotypes, deeply personal song lyrics, and, of course, those tattoos that exist for one reason only: to shock the hell out of you. The crisp photographs are accompanied by an insightful commentary from renowned graphic designer and typographer Ina Saltz, plus consistently surprising and heartfelt explanations from the tattooed.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
 Very nice, though some of the photographs could have been done better January 3, 2008
Ina Saltz, Body Type: Intimate Messages Etched in Flesh (Abrams Image, 2006)
The idea of an all-text tattoo is brilliant. I can't believe I never thought of it. A lot of people, however, have, and Ina Saltz has made a project out of documenting these tattoos. The result (at least, up till now) is Body Type, a fine book of photography depicting these tattoos, with the expected short captions containing explanations by the owners of the tattoos about their reasons for getting them. (These are, at times, unintentionally hilarious.)
As enamored as I am of the idea behind the book, I'm not as much so where some of the actual photographs are concerned. Many of them are nicely done, but there are a few that just don't work; too dark, too light, too washed out, too something, depending on the photograph. Not a good thing in a book of photography, one thinks. Still, there are enough good photographs here depicting such an excellent idea that it's still worth your time. ***
Body Type - great work, good ideas December 28, 2007
This book has thousands of clearly photographed tattoos for inspiration, they may also serve as a "What not to get" sample.
Amazing book of tattoos of text June 27, 2007
If you are into typography, the personal meanings of words, or tattoos, this is an excellent book. The photos focus on the words, not the people wearing them, but the descriptions of the tattoos from the owners bring it back to the people. There are also a few discussions about typeface choices that show that at least some of the owners really thought about it.
An impressive volume November 5, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Although this charming little book is a quick read, it deserves to be returned to many times, to really admire and appreciate all of the unique, amazing, and well-done tattoos on display therein. In recent years, the old stereotypes of body modifications and the people who get them have been changing for the better. This book can only help in that endeavor. Far from displaying a bunch of bikers, criminals, delinquents, soldiers, and sailors, the type of people who are stereotypically associated with tattoos, these are people from a wide range of walks of life. Many of them are professionals and educated, and all put a lot of thought into these tattoos. And far from being the stereotypical fare of skulls, hearts, roses, and pin-ups girls, the tattoos themselves are also from a very diverse sampling.
The book was inspired by a typographic tattoo which Ms. Saltz saw on the subway one day, and after that discovery (which her subject happily let her photograph), she began seeing more and more tattoos that contained words, letters, and typographical symbols instead of the more standard traditional pictorial images. These people used a wide variety of typefaces for these tattoos, and sometimes even designed their own typefaces. I loved the ambiagram tattoos, the ones designed in a typeface that lets the word be read the same upside-down as it is when viewed rightside-up. People have gotten tattoos containing loved ones' names (very unique was the woman who got her blind lover's name tattooed in Braille on the top of the back of her neck), quotations from Shakespeare, the Bible, movies, songs (the story behind the 33 people who had the first 33 words of Holland's national anthem tattooed on them was a very interesting one, reflecting not only the diversity of the nation but also how much the Dutch love their country), popular quotations, works of literature, and other things which inspire them. One of my favorite word tattoos was the one containing the opening line of 'The Divine Comedy,' in the original Middle Italian, since I also find the opening lines of that long epic poem to be very beautiful, moving, and inspiring. The tattoos are also categorised into such divisons as love, self-love, self-expression, politics, religion, and personal beliefs.
Overall, this is a great small-sized coffeetable book full of great photography of a very unique subject. One doesn't need to have a tattoo or tattoos oneself to appreciate the photographs; I can't get a tattoo due to my religious beliefs, but I greatly admired all of the workpersonship and personal meaning that went into thinking up, designing, and executing these amazing tattoos, and even saw some I'd like to have myself if I were allowed to have a tattoo. I'd love for there to be a second volume, particularly because this one didn't include my own favoritest typefaces, Palatino and Bookman!
A Helvetica of a Book September 28, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is fabulous for all the reasons Ina outlines in her introduction. I was not prepared for it to be both philosophical and intimate. I love it. It is inspirational. And I abhor tattoos.
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