bodyartist
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Dec 14, 2002, 12:13 AM
Post #1 of 1
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Belief Structures
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Body alteration and adornment, for me, and to me, is something deeply religious, spiritual, and defining for the individual, and in many cases, for their social orders.
Piercings are more "functional" than decorative, tattoos are defining or marking, rather than "decorative", and all body alterations define or describe a social position, belief structure, or sexual status.
This is a hard concept to explain. Perhaps, the best way to describe it, is in my circles, no one would ask who the artist was, or where you got it. They might ask HOW you got it, WHEN you got it, and if it was local, or during travel -- but the artist or shop is not important. Only the artwork/design is.
The same holds true to other body alterations as well - piercing, scarring, branding, binding, etc. Unless the alterations are extreme, and not commonly done, the "artist" or "practitioner" is not important. What is important, is the alteration ON the person, and how that person "wears" it.
While body alteration and artistry is a religious and spiritual issue for me, the technical aspects are NOT a religious issue.
While my belief structure is "urban primitive", my skills level is much more "modern primitive". There is no reason to not use all the improved techniques -- there is no doubt in my mind that the "primitives" would have used them had they had them available. But, what doesn't change, is that your body is YOUR means of expression, and individuality, and not a canvas for others to express themselves on. All too many people are nothing more than "graffiti walls" -- maybe very pretty graffiti walls, but still, just graffiti walls.
As an example, for me, there is a big difference between the person who gets their septum pierced because it's pretty, or looks cool, than one for whom it has a deeper meaning.
Let me ask a question, to try to use specific examples:
Pierced nipples have a wide variety of meanings, through the ages and even regionally around the country, and perhaps the world. If you have your nipple(s) pierced, or are considering getting your nipple(s) pierced, why did or will you do it? What does it mean to you, if anything?
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