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Scarification takes body art to next level, but not everyone is ready to go under the knife
By Rebekah Jones
Posted: 10/13/08, 4:18 AM EST Section: Feature
Joyce has been a tattoo artist for 11 years and has been practicing scarification for seven. He charges $125 an hour for his work, and has on several occasions spent up to five hours fixing home-jobs done by fraternity brothers at SU.
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Scarification is another form of body art to Joyce, making the body more beautiful with design. But to other tattoo artists, scarification is a fad that is young, ill-advised and undeserving.
"Scars are something that is earned, not bought," said D.J. Rose, tattoo artist and co-owner of Halo Tattoo and Piercing.
"Things come and go as far as people's interests are concerned," Rose said. "It's new and popular now, but people are just looking for something more extreme than tattooing."
Rose thinks the scar fad will eventually fade because it is not as appealing as other forms of body art.
"It's a different urge," he said. "Tattoos mean a lot more - there's a purpose behind them more than, 'I had some extra money'."
Scarification can be dangerous if the artist is not well-trained, Rose said. Since training for this new body art is not formal, becoming a qualified scar artist is much more difficult than becoming a tattoo artist.
"You'd have to do your homework and really know what you're doing," he said.
While Rose will not be adding scarification to Halo's list of services, many parlors across the country already have.
The ScarWars scarification convention in Los Angeles in 2007 was the most successful of all similar conferences, said Joyce. And with scarification becoming a pop-culture fad, as well, branding characters in the popular X-Men and Blade trilogies, it is becoming standard practice at tattoo shops.
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Some SU students, like freshman civil engineering major Wes Garlock, agree with Rose and don't see the trend picking up in the future.
"From my life experience, I don't think a lot of people want to scar themselves," he said.
Garlock has been a fan of tattoos for several years, frequently adding ideas and designs to his collection of body art.
Garlock appreciates the art of tattooing but feels scarification is a cheaper form of body art, and the risk of an "oops" moment is too much for a scar that might not even settle the way he visions it.
"I feel that tattoos are an intimate way of expression, but I would not be willing to try scarification," he said.
rdjone03@syr.edu
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Scarification is another form of body art to Joyce, making the body more beautiful with design. But to other tattoo artists, scarification is a fad that is young, ill-advised and undeserving.
"Scars are something that is earned, not bought," said D.J. Rose, tattoo artist and co-owner of Halo Tattoo and Piercing.
"Things come and go as far as people's interests are concerned," Rose said. "It's new and popular now, but people are just looking for something more extreme than tattooing."
Rose thinks the scar fad will eventually fade because it is not as appealing as other forms of body art.
"It's a different urge," he said. "Tattoos mean a lot more - there's a purpose behind them more than, 'I had some extra money'."
Scarification can be dangerous if the artist is not well-trained, Rose said. Since training for this new body art is not formal, becoming a qualified scar artist is much more difficult than becoming a tattoo artist.
"You'd have to do your homework and really know what you're doing," he said.
While Rose will not be adding scarification to Halo's list of services, many parlors across the country already have.
The ScarWars scarification convention in Los Angeles in 2007 was the most successful of all similar conferences, said Joyce. And with scarification becoming a pop-culture fad, as well, branding characters in the popular X-Men and Blade trilogies, it is becoming standard practice at tattoo shops.
****
Some SU students, like freshman civil engineering major Wes Garlock, agree with Rose and don't see the trend picking up in the future.
"From my life experience, I don't think a lot of people want to scar themselves," he said.
Garlock has been a fan of tattoos for several years, frequently adding ideas and designs to his collection of body art.
Garlock appreciates the art of tattooing but feels scarification is a cheaper form of body art, and the risk of an "oops" moment is too much for a scar that might not even settle the way he visions it.
"I feel that tattoos are an intimate way of expression, but I would not be willing to try scarification," he said.
rdjone03@syr.edu
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 4
gobigpelf
posted 10/13/08 @ 10:12 AM EST
John Joyce is <3
Also, that commentary from D.J. Rose is just one of the many reasons I'll never go into Halo. Talk about pretentious...
ryan
posted 10/13/08 @ 5:23 PM EST
My ex girlfriend got a tattoo Scarab and her friend did too the same day. Both came out blurry and the placement didnt make sense. The spot on Erie does decent work (dont go to M Street) Ive only seen crap work come out of electric circus. (Continued…)
SkinBright
posted 6/29/09 @ 3:52 PM EST
No formal training is required to be a body artist - and New York State has no regulations on tattoo or scarification parlors. Despite the absence of laws, self-ruling is important to the body art business
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