Tattoo Lexicon - by Dirk-Boris Rödel
Native American portraits, or more correctly portraits of American Natives, have always been part of the repertoire of tattoo artists. In the albums of templates by Christian Wahrlich, Herbert Hoffmann and other German tattoo pioneers of the last century, they can still be seen in the classic traditional style with thick black outlines and bright colors - of course, there was no other tattoo style until the 1970s.
This changed very slowly and tentatively in the late 80s and early 90s; tattoo artists became more experimental and with the development of the fine-line style by tattoo artists such as Jack Rudy in the USA, some also ventured cautiously in the direction of more realistic portraits, even if not yet in the quality and realism that you can get these tattoos today.
The photographs taken by the American Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868 - 1952) of Native Americans from numerous tribes made a very important contribution to this development. Curtis, who began an apprenticeship as a photographer at the age of 17 and worked in various photo studios, began to focus entirely on the photographic documentation of North American Indians from the age of 27. One of his first models was Chief Joseph of the Nez Percé.
On behalf of the banker J.P. Morgan, Curtis began work in 1906 on an enormous photographic documentation of the American First Nations, which ultimately led to 20 illustrated books with 1500 photographs; in total, Curtis had taken an incredible 40,000 photos of members of 80 different Indian tribes. In addition to pictorial documents, this also resulted in language and music documents and reports on rituals and celebrations such as the Sundance ritual of the Blackfeet or the potlatch festivals of the Canadian Kwakiutl.
In the 1930s, the J.P. Morgan Company sold the rights to Curtis' work to a Boston publishing house, where his work was forgotten for decades. It was not until the 1970s that the photographic documents were rediscovered and reprocessed.
The expressive photos by Edward Curtis gradually appeared just in time to serve as motifs and templates for tattoo artists worldwide. The weather-beaten, rough and wrinkled faces of Native American chiefs and warriors, their imposing feathers and elaborately decorated clothing were ideal for tattoo artists who wanted to try their hand at the newly learned fine shading technique, which differed greatly from the very robust shading of traditional motifs. Curtis' photography technique, which produced superbly lit images with great light-dark contrast, was practically made for this new style of tattooing.
Even today, the illustrated book "The Indians of North America", which was recompiled and republished by Cologne-based Taschen-Veerlag in 2005, is still almost a must-read for every realistic tattoo artist.
Text: Dirk-Boris Rödel
Graphic: Jonas Bachmann
Tattoo Lexicon - by Dirk-Boris Rödel
Native American portraits, or more correctly portraits of American Natives, have always been part of the repertoire of tattoo artists. In the albums of templates by Christian Wahrlich, Herbert Hoffmann and other German tattoo pioneers of the last century, they can still be seen in the classic traditional style with thick black outlines and bright colors - of course, there was no other tattoo style until the 1970s.
This changed very slowly and tentatively in the late 80s and early 90s; tattoo artists became more experimental and with the development of the fine-line style by tattoo artists such as Jack Rudy in the USA, some also ventured cautiously in the direction of more realistic portraits, even if not yet in the quality and realism that you can get these tattoos today.
The photographs taken by the American Edward Sheriff Curtis (1868 - 1952) of Native Americans from numerous tribes made a very important contribution to this development. Curtis, who began an apprenticeship as a photographer at the age of 17 and worked in various photo studios, began to focus entirely on the photographic documentation of North American Indians from the age of 27. One of his first models was Chief Joseph of the Nez Percé.
On behalf of the banker J.P. Morgan, Curtis began work in 1906 on an enormous photographic documentation of the American First Nations, which ultimately led to 20 illustrated books with 1500 photographs; in total, Curtis had taken an incredible 40,000 photos of members of 80 different Indian tribes. In addition to pictorial documents, this also resulted in language and music documents and reports on rituals and celebrations such as the Sundance ritual of the Blackfeet or the potlatch festivals of the Canadian Kwakiutl.
In the 1930s, the J.P. Morgan Company sold the rights to Curtis' work to a Boston publishing house, where his work was forgotten for decades. It was not until the 1970s that the photographic documents were rediscovered and reprocessed.
The expressive photos by Edward Curtis gradually appeared just in time to serve as motifs and templates for tattoo artists worldwide. The weather-beaten, rough and wrinkled faces of Native American chiefs and warriors, their imposing feathers and elaborately decorated clothing were ideal for tattoo artists who wanted to try their hand at the newly learned fine shading technique, which differed greatly from the very robust shading of traditional motifs. Curtis' photography technique, which produced superbly lit images with great light-dark contrast, was practically made for this new style of tattooing.
Even today, the illustrated book "The Indians of North America", which was recompiled and republished by Cologne-based Taschen-Veerlag in 2005, is still almost a must-read for every realistic tattoo artist.
Text: Dirk-Boris Rödel
Graphic: Jonas Bachmann
30.06.-02.07. Summer Tattoo Festival No.8
05.08.-06.08. Garda Tattoo Event
18.08.-20.08. Tunjo Tattoo Fest
15.09.-17.09. Millennium Tattoo Show No.6
15.09.-17.09. Cagliari Tattoo Convention No.13
22.09.-24-09. Bergamo Tattoo Expo
22.09.-24-09. Torino Tattoo Convention No.12
29.09.- 01.10. Urban Land Tattoo Expo Roma
29.09.-01.10. Mima Tattoo Convention No.5
13.10.-15.10. Genova Tattoo Convention No.16
14.10.-15.10. Roma Tattoo Expo No.23
20.10.-22-10. Ferrara Tattoo Convention No.5
27.10.-29.10. Passion Art Tattoo Convention Bolzano No.16
04.11.-05.11. Chiuduno Tattoo Weekend
10.11.-12.11. Ancona Tattoo Expo No.2
10.11.-12.11. Palermo Tattoo Convention No.9
11.11.-12.11. Trieste International Tattoo Expo No.14
11.11.-12.11. Catania Tattoo Convention No.5
01.12.-03.12. Florence Tattoo Convention No.13
08.12.-10.12. East Coast Tattoo Convention No.17
16.06.-18.06. Anime Tattoo Expo, Fire de Barcelona
30.06.-02.07.23 Asturias Tattoo Expo No.8
08.09.-10.09. Ibiza Tattoo Convention No.4
15.09.-17.09. Gaia Tattoo Expo No.3
06.10.-08.10. Barcelona Tattoo Expo No.26
27.10.-29.10. Alicante Tattoo Convention No.5
03.11.-05.11. Pamplona Tattoo Expo No.5
08.07.-09.07 . Bristol Tattoo Convention
22.07.-23.07 . Ink And Oil Tattoo Convention
29.07.-30.07. Great Western Tattoo Show
19.08.-20.08. Cornwall’s Tattoo Convention
19.08.-20.08. Tatcon Blackpool
26.08.-27.08. Big London Tattoo Show
16.09.-17.09. Buckley Ink Tattoo Convention
23.09.-24.09. Sheffield Tattoo Festival
30.09.-01.10. Tattoo Trojans Doncaster Tattoo Convention
07.10.-08.10. Locked up Tattoo Convention
14.10.-15.10. Halloween Tattoo Bash
11.11.-12.11. Wrexham Tattoo Show
02.09.-03.09. Tattoonika
14.10.-15.10. Wildstyle & Tattoo Messe Kapfenburg
21.10.-22.10. Wildstyle & Tattoo Messe Linz
28.10.-29.10. Wildstyle & Tattoo Messe Salzburg
01.09.-03.09. Lugano TI – Tattoo Convention No.24
16.06.-18.06. Epinal Tattoo Show
17.06.-18.06. Asian Festival Tattoo Show
01.07.-02.07. Caen Tattoo Show
08.07.-09.07. Rock Tattoo Spirit
15.07.-16.07. Sermaize Tattoo Convention
19.08.-20.08. Deauvile Tattoo Festival
01.09.-03.09. Montauban Tattoo Show
01.09.-03.09. Ink’n’Roll Chateauroux Tattoo Festival
02.09.-03.09. The 70’s Tattoo Show
09.09.-10.09. Jura Ink Park
09.09.-10.09. Dentelle Ink Alençon
09.09.-10.09. Champagne Tattoo Event
09.09.-10.09. Limoges Tattoo Show
15.09.-17.09. Univers Tattoo Convention
16.09.-17.09. Circus Tattoo Show
16.09.-17.09. Kustom Festival & Tattoo
16.09.-17.09. Perpignan Tattoo Convention
22.09.-24.09. Nantes Tattoo Convention
23.09.-24.09. Isere Tattoo Show
23.09.-24.09. Girl Ink Tattoo Show
30.09.-01.10. Perigueux Tattoo Expo
30.09.-01.10. La Maison d’Encre
07.10.-08.10. Convention Tatouage de Bourges
14.10.-15.10. Poitiers Tattoo Convention
13.10.-15.10. Chalons en Champagne Tattoo Show
20.10.-22.10. Evian Tattoo Show
21.10.-22.10. Biarritz Tattoo Fest
21.10.-22.10. Fabulous Tiki Weekend
21.10.-22.10. Bourg-en-Bresse Tattoo Convention
21.10.-22.10. The Team Miss P’ink Tattoo
28.10.-29.10. Cahors Tattoo & Geek
03.11.-05.11. Sugar Ink Tattoo Convention
11.11.-12.11. Love Tattoo Festival
18.11.-20.11. Potopistons Tattoo Convention
18.11.-19.11. Salon du Tatouage Clermont
25.11.-26.11. Troyes Tattoo Convention
01.12.-03.12. Merry Christmas Tattoo Show
02.12.-03.12. Nohell Tattoo Show
02.12.-03.12. Tarn Tattoo Convention
22.09.-24.09. Hans Christian Andersen Tattoo Convention No.6
27.10.-29.10. Nordic Ink Festival No.12
16.09.-17.09. Bulgaria Tattoo Expo VIII
25.08.-27-08. INKJUNX
02.09.-03.09. Craboutcha Tattoo Festival
02.09.-03.09. Tox Cit’Ink No.10
23.09.-24.09. Brügge Tattoo Convention No.2
07.10.-08.10. Skin Art Expo No.14
14.10.-15-10. Mons Tattoo Convention No.5
28.10.-29.10. Hasselt Tattoo Convention No.2
28.10.-29.10. Kempen Tattoo Convention No.3
10.11.-12.11. Brüssel Tattoo Convention No.13
16.09.-17.09. Haná Tattoo Expo No.5
18.11. Pardubice Tattoo Event No.8
28.07.-30.07. Maiden City Tattoo Convention No.11
29.09.-01.10. Dublin Tattoo Convention No.22
21.10.-22-10. Wild Atlantic Tattoo Show
25.08.-27.08. Baltic Tattoo Convention No.5 ^
21.10.-23.10. Vianden Tattoo Convention No.23
15.07.-16.07. Ink Panthers Tattoo Convention No.2
15.09.-17.09. Amsterdam Tattoo Convention No.17
23.09.-24.09. Ink and Cutz Tattoo Convention No.6
01.07.-02.07. Warsaw Tattoo Convention No.10
02.09.-03.09. Katowice Tattoo Konwent
16.09.-17.09. Opole Tattoo Expo No.5
14.10.-15.10. Hagen Tattoo Convention
25.11.-26.11. Lodz Tattoo Konwent
05.10.-08.10. Lisbon Tattoo Rock Fest No.16
01.09.-03.09. Constanta Tattoo Convention
20.10.-22-10. Bucharest Tattoo Convention No.11
06.08.-13.08. Ink Needle Tattoo Convention
25.08.-26.08. Minicon
01.09.-03.09. Stockholm Ink Bash Tattoo Convention No.26
