Good for the beginner as this volume will provide an excellent overview of body art. Valuable for the collector due to the quality of the portraits and breadth of body art depicted, supported by the personal and intelligent commentary.


Apprentice Body Mods look here.   November 26, 2001
 9 out of 10 found this review helpful

This book is a nice edition to anyones coffee table if your into tattoo's, piercing, masks and boots etc.If you're a novice stepping into this world for the first time then this would be a good starting point. Every section of photo's has an introduction explaining histories and psychologies on the subject.Each model gives a brief description of themselves and why they are into what they do and the rest is left up to the voyeur (reader).Once you have looked at this then you will want to look at more. Highly recommended.


Lots of pictures, a mixture of personal opinions and facts   July 23, 2001
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

It contains mainly information on bodypainting, tattooing, scarification, bodypiercing, gender transformation, masks and other forms of appearance manipulation. it has big clear pictures and personal comments from each person photographed. It's a very nice book to look through it doesnt have a large focus on writing as I wanted. It includes a mixture of personal opinion and actual facts. My main reason in buying the book was because I am interested in body piercing and I was disapointed that that only 12 pages were specifically focused on the subject. It does not give the "why you should not do it" lecture but looks at it in an anthropological view point. Looks at at reasons why people do it, how they feel when pierced and the non western tribes, eg Amazon. I find it disapointing that All pictures are in black and white. I was also disapointed that a lot of the book contains material on costumes, different hair and shoe styles which do not interest me at all. Even so for a person who is interested in them I would think that it is a book that they would enjoy.


A chronicle of bodies by design rather than by chance   April 5, 2001
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

This book does an excellent job of documenting the ways in which people are remaking their bodies to their own specifications rather than those of their birth. The text is well-written, and the photos are technically and artistically pleasing. As a body art enthusiast and a fan of Housk Randall-Goddard, I highly recommend this one.