'An anthropological inquiry into a contemporary social enigma.'
An eye opening, startling investigation of what once was an undercover world of body modifications, tattooing, piercing and scarification. Featuring essays and interviews on Fakir Musafar (who at the time of being interviewed was a 55-year old Silicon Valley ad executive who had practiced almost every body modification known to man), Genesis & Paula P-Orridge describing numerous ritual scarifications and symbolic tattoos, Don Ed Hardy (before his clothing empire when he was still tattooing out of a private studio in San Francisco and editing Tattoo Time), Captain Don Leslie, Jim Ward, Anton LaVey (founder of the Church of Satan), Lyle Tuttle, Raelyn Gallina & many more. They cover body practices that develop identity, sexual sensation and philosophic awareness.
Full of beautiful illustrations and incredible black and white photos of the artists, piercers, tattoos and modifications made featured throughout it makes for an incredible document of the time, published in 1989 it marks the 12th release of RE/Search books which is possibly the ONLY surviving 70s punk publisher who never quit, V. Vale’s RE/Search continues to provide ‘Against-the-Status-Quo’ publications that stimulate the imagination and optimistic skepticism to this day.
Vale has been doing counterculture publishing since 1977, when he founded the Punk tabloid, Search & Destroy, San Francisco’s first. It was published at City Lights Bookstore, where V. Vale worked, and was funded by $100 each from Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg. Then in 1980, V. Vale launched RE/SEARCH, which is best known for its impact on the total world of underground culture.
And we've got plenty more RE/Search publications which we'll be sharing here on the site and on our instagram over the next few days.
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Front Cover: Hilary Cross photographed by Bobby Neel Adams. Tattoos by Greg Kulz
Back Cover: Ken Werner
Book Design by Andrea Juno
Publishers / Editors: Andrea Juno & V. Vale
Published 1989
