“Tattoo books have been geared towards the tattoo community and tattoo artists,” says Brian Jacobson. “There’s not too many art books about the scene, specifically Philly, or tattooing in general.”
Like any good publisher, Jacobson seemed to find a niche market and put out content that addresses the needs of its audience. It might have seemed that way, but Tatted isn’t that kind of book. Born as a passion project of Philadelphia-by-way-of-Connecticut artist/photographer/filmmaker Marianne Bernstein, Tatted began like most good art does, organically.
“I thought it would be interesting to photograph a person using a tattoo as the way in instead of just asking if I could take their portrait,” said Bernstein.
What started as nothing more than a series of photos then grew into a photo essay in an early issue of two.one.five magazine and now Tatted, published by Jacobson’s Philly imprint, Grit City Inc.
Originally a collaborative effort between Jacobson and an artist friend, Grit City released Smoked last year, an art book focusing on the world of glass pipe making.
“After the success of the first book,” said Jacobson. “We decided let’s continue doing these glass books, but let’s branch out to other topics that are sort of near and dear to us and our community.”
Enter Bernstein.
After meeting two and a half years ago (Bernstein was a client of Jacobson’s design firm), the two hit it off.
“We have a lot of respect for each other,” said Bernstein. “Our eyes are similar. He knew I was working on these tattoo images and that’s how two.one.five decided to run the images.”
Tatted contains beautiful photography, but some of the most intriguing parts of the series are the handwritten notes that accompany each image.
“I just kind of decided randomly,” said Bernstein. “I happened to have a notepad on me one day and I asked a person to joy down a few lines about their tattoo. I started finding that interesting as well.”
“The notes,” said Jacobson. “Are almost as important as the images of the tattoos themselves.”
Bernstein shot the book along South Street, an area with no shortage of tattoo shops. One might wonder why Philadelphia seems so colorfully skinned, just ask Craig Bruns, curator of the Independence Seaport Museum, who wrote the forward to Tatted.
“The tattoos illustrated in Tatted echo a long and forgotten history,” said Bruns. “There’s never been a history attempted about Philadelphia’s tattoos.”
“It all started at the Declaration of Independence,” said Bruns. “When British sailors became American sailors, that’s when the American tattoo tradition started.”
Philadelphia was lucky enough to be a port city, making it, as Bruns calls it, “the cradle of the American tattoo.”
Tattoos are more prevalent than ever in American life. Walk down any street and you’re sure to see at least one exposed tattoo. Turn on the TV and find shows like “LA Ink,” the whole concept of the show being a tattoo studio.
“It’s become more acceptable for the mainstream audience to get tattoos than it was 10 years ago,” said Troy Timple, an artist at local institution Philadelphia Eddie’s. “But Philadelphia’s a big tattoo town. People were more heavily tattooed in Philadelphia than other cities in America.”
Even though Philadelphia’s history is rich with tattoos, it didn’t always make Bernstein’s mission easier.
“You don’t have a lot of time with each person, you have to work really fast,” said Bernstein. “You take a lot of photographs and once in a while everything comes together.”
The ones that came together, make up Tatted. As for the extraneous photos? They’ll be on display Thursday night at the book release party and exhibition at Pure Gold Gallery at the Piazza.
“This will be our coming out party in the city,” Jacobson said about the event. “The nice thing about this book being a Philly project is we can introduce it to a Philly audience and people will really learn about who Grit City is.”
There’s been a magazine spread, a book and now an exhibition of the series. What does it all boil down to for Bernstein?
“I’ve been a photographer since I was 10,” said Bernstein. “I always loved having a camera in my hands and exploring the world through a lens. That in itself, taking my time and looking, is a wonderful, calming experience for me.”
“Some days,” she continues. “I said ‘This is a really stupid idea, why am I bothering these people?’ and I’d turn around and go home. Another day, I’d go out and do a portrait that’s in the book. I love the serendipity of that. Artists feel that way when the work in general. There’s some days things work and it’s almost like magic happening.”
The magic of photography isn’t unlike the magic of tattoos. It all starts with an idea that has to be properly executed, but where do those ideas come from? How much is idea and how much is work?
“It’s 90% perspiration,” says Bernstein. “And 10% inspiration.”
RELATED STORIES...
Photos: Philly Indie Craft Market
