tattoo art as a t-shirt?

[nskripchun]

While doing some research on Japanese / Asian tattoo art for an (ahem) upcoming personal project, I stumbled on to this place:

http://www.yellowman.com

Shirt prices range from like $150 to $888!!! That's almost like getting a real tattoo, minus the time it would take. The company is also owned and operated by a Chinese American guy.

On the flipside, the guy has managed to get some pretty famous artists to design shirts, including Horiyoshi III, Horitomo, Horitaka, etc...

Horiyoshi III
http://www.yellowman.com/p/M708-J03HS00100/Men's+Dragon+Phoenix+Tattoo+Shirt.html
http://www.yellowman.com/p/W702-HS00200/Women's+Phoenix+Rising+Shirt.html


Horitomo
http://www.yellowman.com/p/M708-J03HR00100/Men's+Dragon+Storm+Tattoo+Shirt.html
http://www.yellowman.com/p/LM708-J03HRT0101/Men's+Limited+Warrior+Diety+LS+Shirt.html

Horitaka
http://www.yellowman.com/p/M708-J03HK00101/Men's+True+Til+Death+Shirt-ivory.html

Horitoyo
http://www.yellowman.com/p/LM708-J03HTY0102/Men's+Limited+Yakuza+LS+Shirt.html

Shige
http://www.yellowman.com/p/LM708-J03/Men's+Death+and+Violence+LS+Tattoo+Shirt.html

[DONKEY]

lol i would not wear any tattoo/shirt that is gang-related

[nskripchun]

lol i would not wear any tattoo/shirt that is gang-related

Not to mention justifying paying nearly a grand for a freak'n t-shirt! I love the artwork, but why pay money for something like that when the real thing is so much better?

Maybe "tattoo t-shirts" are the product of a committment-phobic culture. Nobody wants to put in the time or effort to get the ink.

[cattygurl]

A good, intricate backpiece with lots of color done by a decent artist will set you back 3 grand+ (at least locally, it does), and then you'll have to touch it up every few years to keep it looking its best.

I have not tats. I admit, I don't like needles. Too much time spent in hospitals.

[JadeDragon]

Aw man, one of my wishes is to get a piece done by Horiyoshi III on my skin. It probably won't be a backpiece, as most of the space there is already taken up by my ouroboros, but if I could afford it, I'd go for sleeves.

I was introduced to his work through this book by Takahiro Kitamura/Katie Kitamura, Tattoos of the Floating World: Ukiyo-e Motifs in Japanese Tattoo (http://www.amazon.com/Tattoos-Floating-World-Ukiyo-E-Japanese/dp/9074822452). His designs are just amazing, but apparently, they don't translate as well to fabric.

Time to start saving more money...after this year's trip. =P

[nskripchun]

Aw man, one of my wishes is to get a piece done by Horiyoshi III on my skin. It probably won't be a backpiece, as most of the space there is already taken up by my ouroboros, but if I could afford it, I'd go for sleeves.

I was introduced to his work through this book by Takahiro Kitamura/Katie Kitamura, Tattoos of the Floating World: Ukiyo-e Motifs in Japanese Tattoo (http://www.amazon.com/Tattoos-Floating-World-Ukiyo-E-Japanese/dp/9074822452). His designs are just amazing, but apparently, they don't translate as well to fabric.

Time to start saving more money...after this year's trip. =P

Yah, that's how I first heard about Horiyoshi III too... the Kitamura book.

One of Horiyoshi's disciples who actually lives outside of Japan has a shop in San Jose...

[JadeDragon]

Moving onto a tattoo-related tangent, how LAME is this?

http://www.thetattooistmovie.co.nz/

The synopsis:

American tattoo artist Jake Sawyer (Jason Behr) explores and exploits ethnic designs from around the world. At a tattoo expo in Singapore, he glimpses the exotic world of traditional Samoan tatau in the work of the fiercely proud Alipati (Robbie Magasiva). Fatefully, Jake is attracted to Alipati’s beautiful cousin, Sina (Mia Blake).

When Jake impulsively steals an ancient Samoan tattooing tool, he
unwittingly unleashes a powerful angry spirit. Suddenly, his art takes on a frightening new dimension, exposing everyone he touches, including the feisty Singaporean Victoria (Caroline Cheong), to mortal peril.

Sensing the solution can only lie with the Samoans, Jake follows them to Auckland, where he runs into an old adversary, tattoo artist Crash (Michael Hurst) and a new one, the respected Samoan elder Aleki Va’a (David Fane).

His investigation takes him on a devastating journey into the dark heart of Pacific mysticism. There, Jake must recover his own soul if he is to save the woman he loves and escape with his life.

THE TATTOOIST is a supernatural thriller, made by Singaporean and New Zealand co-production partners. The story centres on Samoan spiritual beliefs, in which the barrier between our world and the spirit world is very thin, leading events in one to have serious and chilling repercussions in the other.

This would have been a decent plot if it weren't for the fact that the designs are a clueless mish-mash of Polynesian/Samoan, Maori moko and Japanese styles, and oh, it's all about a white dude stealing from another culture (the ubiquitous getting-on with the "exotic" chick included)... And the whole "Look how primitive and superstitious these coloured folks are!" bits are also thrown in for good measure. *eyeroll*

For the curious ones, here's the trailer:
Thank you for choosing to waste two minutes of your life. Have a nice day! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS0hCkIqzqU)

[cattygurl]

^^ I actually snorted up coffee reading that synopsis...

[averagejoette]

I really like tattoos done by Horiyoshi lll, but they don't look so good on t-shirts. And that is really expensive for a t-shirt. I'd rather spring for the real thing.

[nskripchun]

Moving onto a tattoo-related tangent, how LAME is this?

http://www.thetattooistmovie.co.nz/

The synopsis:



This would have been a decent plot if it weren't for the fact that the designs are a clueless mish-mash of Polynesian/Samoan, Maori moko and Japanese styles, and oh, it's all about a white dude stealing from another culture (the ubiquitous getting-on with the "exotic" chick included)... And the whole "Look how primitive and superstitious these coloured folks are!" bits are also thrown in for good measure. *eyeroll*

For the curious ones, here's the trailer:
Thank you for choosing to waste two minutes of your life. Have a nice day! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS0hCkIqzqU)

barf. Thanks for the heads up, Jade...

I have a bad feeling this movie will find its way to the States and be successful. >_<

[Dialectic]

Wow, I would buy a couple of those shirts if they didn't cost almost as much as rent!

[.vhg//ALITA]

On top of the white guy steals from exotic culture trash the plot for that movie just sounds fucking stupid.

"dark heart of Pacific mysticism." - sounds like they're going to make indigenous Pacific religions and beliefs sound all dark and evil -_-

[Apollyon]

Is this a serious movie or just somebody's idea of a joke?