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Permanence: Tattoo Portraits
Once a fringe phenomenon, tattooing is now a full-blown cultural fact. More than 40 million people in the U.S. alone have tattoos, all with unique stories about why they chose to indelibly mark their bodies. Permanence combines photographic tattoo portraits with these stories, told in the subjects' own words and handwriting. Kip Fulbeck brings together young and old of all races, religions, and political persuasionsfrom celebrities to suburban moms to Hells Angels. Including interviews with celebrity tattooers Kat Von D and Oliver Peck (Miami Ink), hardcore legend Evan Seinfeld, and some regular folks, Permanence is an entertaining and enlightening portrait of the tattooed population today.
276 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
July 4, 2011
Some of the tattoos in this book aren't all that great but it's the stories behind the tattoos that are amazing. People's stories are told in their own handwriting next to their tattoo pictures. There are also great interviews. It's interesting to find the back story about why individuals choose the tattoos that they do. Some of my favorites include:
A man with a shark tattoo on his forearm says: "After a close encounter with a 8 ft Bull Shark we made a deal. Sharks don't eat me & I won't eat them."
A woman with fading book tattoos says: "I can't explain how much books mean to me in this small space. The pages are flying away to remind me to let go. The words on the pages are from one of my favorite books, by Peter Beagle, but they've blurred over the 15 years since I got this....."
There is a husband and wife with full body suit tattoos they refer to themselves as "Tat Chic" and "Tat Man".
and I found this one touching: "My first tattoo is baby foot prints with the due date below it. I was 18 yrs. old and had an abortion......"
My favorite interview was with a retired marine working at a movie theater. He worked there for 15 years with his marine tattoos and no problems but when the theater got bought out by a larger company he was fired for having tattoos. Through community outrage, he got his job back.
A man with a shark tattoo on his forearm says: "After a close encounter with a 8 ft Bull Shark we made a deal. Sharks don't eat me & I won't eat them."
A woman with fading book tattoos says: "I can't explain how much books mean to me in this small space. The pages are flying away to remind me to let go. The words on the pages are from one of my favorite books, by Peter Beagle, but they've blurred over the 15 years since I got this....."
There is a husband and wife with full body suit tattoos they refer to themselves as "Tat Chic" and "Tat Man".
and I found this one touching: "My first tattoo is baby foot prints with the due date below it. I was 18 yrs. old and had an abortion......"
My favorite interview was with a retired marine working at a movie theater. He worked there for 15 years with his marine tattoos and no problems but when the theater got bought out by a larger company he was fired for having tattoos. Through community outrage, he got his job back.
April 3, 2008
Tattoos, like books tell us stories of love, hope, and grief. In addition to the emotions that they are able to express, ink also narrates a day when getting a tattoo just seemed like the right thing to do. It’s the history and the desire to write that history on the body that makes tattoos so fascinating. There has been a lot of coverage on the topic, but Permanence: Tattoo Portraits, put out by Chronicle Books is the first of its kind.
Author Kip Fulbeck has provided readers with a book that offers readers first-hand stories about getting inked. What’s so new about that? Well, Kip himself is inked and puts together this book as an insider. He knows full well the experience of having a needle piercing his skin, resulting in a work of art. The result is a work of honesty that avoids the sensationalism of other titles on the topic.
read more at http://www.planetofthebooks.com/plane...
Ben
Planet of the Books
http://www.planetofthebooks.com
Author Kip Fulbeck has provided readers with a book that offers readers first-hand stories about getting inked. What’s so new about that? Well, Kip himself is inked and puts together this book as an insider. He knows full well the experience of having a needle piercing his skin, resulting in a work of art. The result is a work of honesty that avoids the sensationalism of other titles on the topic.
read more at http://www.planetofthebooks.com/plane...
Ben
Planet of the Books
http://www.planetofthebooks.com
February 24, 2009
his is a collection of tattoo art and brief interviews with the tattooed, talking about why they chose to get tattooed and what their tattoos mean to them. Some of the tats are truly beautiful – there’s one in particular that I liked, which was done in black ink and featured Japanese style cherry blossoms scattered over the tattooee’s back. Skin makes for an interesting canvas. A lot of the colorful tattoos seem like overkill – too much tattoo – and so many of them aren’t at all appealing to me. If I were going to get something that was going to be with me for the rest of my life, I’d either make it really small (so I could ignore it if/when I got sick of it) or choose something I wouldn’t mind seeing all the time (and I’m not sure if I’m *that* attached to anything). Until recently, I hadn’t realized that tattoos *wear* differently on different people – skin color, exposure to light, and other factors all play into a tattoo’s brightness and clarity over time (a friend of mine is a tattoo artist and was explaining some of this recently, when we got together). I didn’t find anything revelatory, really, in people’s tattoos or stories, but the collection was fun to page through, and I’m sure readers will pick it up for the pictures alone.
August 27, 2018
4.5 stars. I love tattoos so of course I loved this. Man, some people are crazy. The ones I found the most interesting were the people who didn’t have many tattoos, like me, because there’s a more defined meaning behind the tattoos and, visually, they stand out a lot more when they’re not surrounded by other tattoos they can blend into. I thought it was super interesting how everyone had their own way of talking about their tattoos. Some people gave the reason why they got the tattoo, others gave the story of actually getting the tattoo, some talked about what tattoos in general and tattoo culture means to them, and others just said something random. I liked how the author included each submission exactly the way he received them, handwriting and all, even though some of them were hard to read and I liked how different languages were included as well. My favorite submission was the woman who had the tattoo of a book with pages flying out of it and how she talked about how much books mean to her. Another one I loved, because it cracked me up was the tattoo on the guy’s butt that said “Sign here x_____” and all he said about it was “Why they put tattoo parlors next to bars I have no idea.” Hilarious. I liked the 9-11 tribute full back tattoo. It was really beautiful. I love Kat Von D so I was super excited to see her included. And there were so many others that I loved, but I also really enjoyed every page.
June 5, 2019
I don't have tattoos, but damn this book made me want them. I loved seeing the huge expanse of creativity, as well as people's stories. This is such a personal form of art, and the stories ranged from the intense, to the specific, to the dedicated.
Read
April 15, 2014This is a nonfiction book about tattoos and the tattoos people have on them. On each page there is a picture of a person and their tattoos and a little description about why they got it. That description is handwritten by each individual. There are a few pages that explain why a certain individual got their tattoo and what it means to them, it also talks about their life story and how it led them to get a significant tattoo. This book includes answers to why people get tattoos, there are various different answers but the main one is because it represents something special to them.
There wasn’t really many paragraph type of writing in this book but that is what made it special because different people wrote different things about their life and why they got their tattoos. The reason this book is so interesting is because you can see the different ways people write and the different ways they talk about their life. It also shows such a good variety of different handwriting and that is what makes the book so special. Instead of talking about the cons of getting tattoos, these individuals talk about the pros of getting tattoos and how special it can be, that really inspires readers to want to get a tattoo in the future.
I would recommend this book to any teenager that has would like to kill time reading a great book about real life and how people show their passion through tattoo. It is also convenient for teenagers to read in their spare time because many teenagers these days are very busy and this book would not take up much of their time. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I hope I could find another book that is as unique as this one.
There wasn’t really many paragraph type of writing in this book but that is what made it special because different people wrote different things about their life and why they got their tattoos. The reason this book is so interesting is because you can see the different ways people write and the different ways they talk about their life. It also shows such a good variety of different handwriting and that is what makes the book so special. Instead of talking about the cons of getting tattoos, these individuals talk about the pros of getting tattoos and how special it can be, that really inspires readers to want to get a tattoo in the future.
I would recommend this book to any teenager that has would like to kill time reading a great book about real life and how people show their passion through tattoo. It is also convenient for teenagers to read in their spare time because many teenagers these days are very busy and this book would not take up much of their time. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I hope I could find another book that is as unique as this one.
December 3, 2013
Six tattoos that stood out to me.
1. A old couple who is very much in love decided to tatoo their entire bodies alll the way to the toes.
2. Another full body tatooer is s a man who did all his under the influence of LSD.
3. A young attractive woman who looks like a person who would never get a tatoo yet she had a huge tasteful picture of a young girl dancing through the rain
4. A survivor of breast cancer had a large tattoo that wrapped around her body to symbolize her life story.
5. Brock Lesner a UFC fighter got words printed in mandarin that signified himself as a black belt holder after his black belt was taken away because he joined UFC.
6. A guy has may designs on his arms that he say he got just because " they looked real cool' and not because of some meaning like almost all the others.
1. A old couple who is very much in love decided to tatoo their entire bodies alll the way to the toes.
2. Another full body tatooer is s a man who did all his under the influence of LSD.
3. A young attractive woman who looks like a person who would never get a tatoo yet she had a huge tasteful picture of a young girl dancing through the rain
4. A survivor of breast cancer had a large tattoo that wrapped around her body to symbolize her life story.
5. Brock Lesner a UFC fighter got words printed in mandarin that signified himself as a black belt holder after his black belt was taken away because he joined UFC.
6. A guy has may designs on his arms that he say he got just because " they looked real cool' and not because of some meaning like almost all the others.
July 5, 2009
Things that I liked about this book: the way each person writes up their own tattoo story, the diversity in age, race, and gender of subjects, the different handwriting styles, the pictures.
Things I could have done without: The constant condescension toward people getting tattoos that popped up in each tattoo artist’s interview as well as the foreword. We get it. You’ve been into tattoos and tattooing since you could walk. That’s awesome. But people who just decided to get a tattoo because their friend did and they think it’s cool? They’re not stupid. And you don’t need to talk down to your readers who maybe don’t have tattoos. It’s cool that they’re all so passionate about their work and their ink, but the incessant tone of superiority really grates.
Things I could have done without: The constant condescension toward people getting tattoos that popped up in each tattoo artist’s interview as well as the foreword. We get it. You’ve been into tattoos and tattooing since you could walk. That’s awesome. But people who just decided to get a tattoo because their friend did and they think it’s cool? They’re not stupid. And you don’t need to talk down to your readers who maybe don’t have tattoos. It’s cool that they’re all so passionate about their work and their ink, but the incessant tone of superiority really grates.
November 19, 2012
Leila Habayeb
Independent Reading
November 2012
"Permanence: Tattoo Portraits - Kip Fulbeck"
Informational text - no page numbers
Permanence by Kip Fulbeck is a really interesting informational text. It is really interesting because each page is a different photo of a tattoo and with it is the reasoning by the person for it. I found it really interesting to learn about why people got tattoos and the significance behind them. I was able to read the book and enjoy the excellent photography without having to think too in-depth about the story, which is something I enjoyed. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in an easy, interesting, not too insightful read.
Independent Reading
November 2012
"Permanence: Tattoo Portraits - Kip Fulbeck"
Informational text - no page numbers
Permanence by Kip Fulbeck is a really interesting informational text. It is really interesting because each page is a different photo of a tattoo and with it is the reasoning by the person for it. I found it really interesting to learn about why people got tattoos and the significance behind them. I was able to read the book and enjoy the excellent photography without having to think too in-depth about the story, which is something I enjoyed. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in an easy, interesting, not too insightful read.
April 23, 2014
This is, essentially, a book about people with tattoos.
It's not about the tattoos themselves, although they are pictured, but more about the stories and lives of the person with said tattoos.
Each opening has a brief note or story on one page and a photo of the person/persons tattoos on the other. Interspersed are interviews with various related parties such as Evan Seinfeld, Oliver Peck, Kat Von D.
I found the stories behind the older folks tattoos the most interesting, but some of the other folks certainly are too.
In closing, if you are wanting to purchase a book to get tattoo ideas, this is not the book for you.
It's not about the tattoos themselves, although they are pictured, but more about the stories and lives of the person with said tattoos.
Each opening has a brief note or story on one page and a photo of the person/persons tattoos on the other. Interspersed are interviews with various related parties such as Evan Seinfeld, Oliver Peck, Kat Von D.
I found the stories behind the older folks tattoos the most interesting, but some of the other folks certainly are too.
In closing, if you are wanting to purchase a book to get tattoo ideas, this is not the book for you.
Read
April 25, 2013Permanence: Tattoo Portraits is an informative book that is 276 pages, written by and photographed by Kip Fulbeck. In this book, it contains a series of photographs of tattoos, and then it details stories about the person in their own handwriting. I liked this book for numerous reasons. Firstly, the cinematography and the presentation is quite beautiful, even if the tattoo itself isn't that attractive. I would recommend this book to anybody, because it gives insight into the infatuation with tattoos, and the reasons for why people get them, which I never really understood before.
Read
February 13, 2014This is a beautiful book which opens up your world to the stories behind the tattoos of each individual. Some are impulsive and rebellious, some from the Nazi concentration camps, some in remembrance of a loved one - mother, unborn and aborted baby, honoured soldier, some to remind oneself of the past and not to commit the same mistake again, and some to remind or to be proud of their own heritage.
February 19, 2017
The best part about this book for me is the wide variety of tattoos and stories. There are beautiful full-back pieces to little doodles on feet and hands. The stories range from drunken mistakes to stories of love and loss.
Great book. My favorite of all tattoo books/magazines that I've owned. Such a work of art!
Great book. My favorite of all tattoo books/magazines that I've owned. Such a work of art!
August 7, 2009
I liked how each individual's thoughts were handwritten -- I just wish that something could have been done about the spelling/typographical errors. If one more person said "My tattoo's [sic:] mean everything to me," I would have screamed. It's basic grammar people!
April 30, 2009
really cool book of people's tattoos and a handwritten page on what their ink means to them. fulbeck really got a wide range here: people who got drunk and got tattoos to people who regret their tattoos to people whose tattoos are tributes or memorials...
September 8, 2010
I'm pretty much numb to body modification and haven't been impressed by a tattoo since the late 90's. Mostly intrigued by this book's concept, people explaining their tattoos in their own words, I started flipping through.
More than a few of these gave me a jolt.
More than a few of these gave me a jolt.
January 31, 2011
I thought this was clever. I really like that each story was even in the own writing of ther person who's portrait was on the opposite page. I found the interviews interesting and it was all around an ejoyable read. I'd recomend it to anyone of my friends interested in the tattoo world
October 17, 2012
A book filled with gorgeous photos of everyday people and a few celebrities, with their own handwriting beside each describing why they got their tattoo of choice. Lovely quality, brilliant idea and very beautiful.
March 3, 2014
This non fiction book is a compilation of people's tattoos and their stories behind them. Even though there is not much writing i still found the book incredibly interesting and very informing into why people get tattooed.
August 7, 2008
The stories in this book about the tattoos they have were so intriguing. The art was awesome, too.
August 28, 2008
Best book of tattoo illustrations that I've seen, with the added bonus of each person's own words of description, plus the author's explanatory narrative.
December 19, 2008
Fulbeck came to our school last year to give a presentation. He's really cool, and he has a way of connecting to his audience. Definitely an artist to look out for in the future.
April 6, 2009
loved the fact that each tattoo was described by the owner of it in their own handwriting.
May 13, 2009
Amazing tatoo portraits with some behind the scene stories. For all those who love tatooes.
June 28, 2009
I liked reading people's explanations in their own handwriting. Absolutely loved the guitar and dinosaur tats.
December 8, 2009
Pretty cool. I'm always interested to hear peoples stories behind their tat's.
July 12, 2010
The photography was great but the rest of the book was pretty mediocre. Most of the entries were about people getting tattoos on a whim. Plus, some of those entries weren't even legible.
August 7, 2011
Beautiful work
June 1, 2012
Not all I thought it would be. Still kinda interesting.
I was expecting detailed stories about why each person got their tattoos and their meaning.
I was expecting detailed stories about why each person got their tattoos and their meaning.
November 9, 2012
The trials and tribulations, love and glory, honest and sometimes odd stories of those who were the first, the only and now part of the masses of the populace who are inked.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews