MARTHA COOPER - TOKYO TATTOO 1970

MARTHA COOPER
TOKYO TATTOO 1970

Published by Document Press, 2011
Book size 18 x 30 cm 
Pages 72 pages 
Hardcover
First edition
Fair condition
Language English
ISBN 9185639273

The photographer Martha Cooper came to Tokyo in 1970 and immersed in documenting traditional Japanese tattooist Horibun I. Tokyo Tattoo 1970 is a book about the traditional art of tattooing and a portrait of a master artist. Horibun I worked with traditional Japanese methods, tattoos made by hand, with different sized needles bound to sticks which he dipped into coloured inks. His motifs were all derived from traditional Japanese legends. Horibun I was a rare tattooist, as he was open to letting a foreigner come to photograph him and his customers. Tokyo Tattoo 1970 tells the story of a Japanese tattoo master and his work. We see him at work, meet his customers, who show their tattoos, and follow Horibun on a pilgrimage to a holy Shinto shrine. Martha Cooper's pictures show the process of the tattooist's work as well as finished motifs from an era long gone. Tokyo Tattoo was Martha Cooper's first study of a subculture, which launched her on a ten-year-long immersion into the graffiti and street art of New York City.