Matt's Black Flag Tribute

I met Matt on the 59th Street subway platform in Brooklyn back in October 2011 and he shared one of his tattoos with me.

Before I proceed though, I should point out that this is my last photo from 2011. I was holding out to make this an elaborate post, combined with a book review, but it just never evolved that way.

And, as Tattoosday recently reached its five year milestone (more on that later), we're going to try things a little differently around here. Of course, that has nothing to do with this tattoo:

This tattoo is based on the album cover for Black Flag's My War.

Note the slight artistic differences:

Matt credited this work to Oscar Varela, a visiting artist at New York Hardcore Tattoo in Manhattan.

When I asked Matt why he chose to pay tribute to this album with a tattoo, he explained, "That's been one of my favorite hardcore albums of all time ... I grew up in Anaheim, California, so, you know, the So Cal scene and everything like that ... gotta keep it real."

I had originally wanted to tie this piece in with a review of Henry Rollins' book Occupants.

With Rollins the lead singer of Black Flag, it seemed like a cool tie-in.

The problem is, I really couldn't wrap my head around a book review for the site, but I can give it a rousing endorsement. The volume consists of Rollins' photos as he has traveled the world, and essays he has written to accompany the images. The words are profound and the linked photos are stark and moving. I strongly suggest that people check out the book.

Thanks to Matt for sharing his Black Flag tattoo with us here on Tattoosday, and for waiting patiently these past months for me to post it!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another website other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Dispatch from the 2011 New York City Tattoo Convention (A Recap)

 

Yesterday I spent a half dozen hours at the Roseland Ballroom, where the New York City Tattoo Convention was holding court. This was my third trip to the show, and each year, I have a different experience, as Tattoosday has evolved as a site (read about 2009 here and 2010 here).

In years past, I have only highlighted one or two pieces, as I go into sensory overload. What, outside of a convention's setting, would normally pique my interest, seems commonplace and ordinary. This year, however, I took many more photos, and actually interviewed four people, so this will be Convention Recap Week.

I do want to say the best part of the show was hanging and chatting with Marisa and Brian from Needles and Sins, as well as with Nathan from Knuckle Tattoos. It's not a portrait of future world domination, yet, but here's the three of us, masterminds of three of the best tattoo sites around, and hands and above, the best three inkbloggers at the show:

Nathan, Marisa and Me (photo by Brian Grosz)

That moment of self-adulation aside, I spent the first few hours talking to vendors about advertising, chatting with colleagues, and saying hello to people I've met in years past, like Greg who was the high point of last year's show for me.

I also like to introduce myself to artists whose work has appeared on the Site before, so I said hi to Adam Rosenthal of Th'Ink Tank in Denver, and Vinny Romanelli at Red Rocket in NYC.

I also took a slew of photos of people I didn't interview, so I will just throw them up here. Unfortunately I can't credit any of the amazing artists responsible. However, if you see your work here, shoot me an email and I can give you your proper due. Many of these shots were taken during the first round of the contest, which centered around black and gray work:

This one was one of my favorites, especially considering the woman's reflection in the blade of the knife:

And this Star Wars leg was totally cool:

Finally, through social media, my friend Ben in Hawai'i requested a shot of "80s West Coast punk rock logos." I thought I had failed in my quest until, as I was leaving, I captured this tiny Black Flag tattoo on a guy named Crash, who works for Tattoo Artist Magazine:

Mini-Black Flag Bars Tattoo by Oliver Peck

and this incredible Misfits piece to boot:

Tattoo by Frank Lee at Tattoo Blues in Ft. Lauderdale

Yes, we know, Misfits are an East Coast band. But it was too nice a tattoo to not photograph. Can you blame me?

Check out the Tattoo Artist Magazine blog here.

Check back throughout the week to see what four tattoos I found most blogworthy for us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2011 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.