Alix Wood - Body Art

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wood, Alix.

Body art / by Alix Wood. p. cm. (But is it art?)

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-4824-2279-5 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-1-4824-2280-1 (6-pack)

ISBN 978-1-4824-2277-1 (library binding)

1. Body marking Juvenile literature. 2. Body painting Juvenile literature.

3. Body art Juvenile literature. I. Wood, Alix. II. Title.

N6494.B63 W66 2015 391.6d23

First Edition

Published in 2015 by Gareth Stevens Publishing

111 East 14th Street, Suite 349 New York, NY 10003

Alix Wood Books

Produced for Gareth Stevens by Alix Wood Books Designed by Alix Wood Editor: Eloise Macgregor

Photo credits:

Cover, 1, 5, 8, 9, 11 right, 14, 16 left, 17, 19, 21 bottom, 22, 23, 25 bottom, 28, 29, 32 Shutterstock; 4 Luisa Puccini/Shutterstock; 6 holbox/Shutterstock; 7 Malgorzata Kistryn/Shutterstock;

10 Greg James of Tattoos Deluxe; 11 left Pavel L Photo and Video; 12 Samsara; 13 nevenm/Shutterstock; 15 top Everett Collection/Shutterstock; 15 bottom Jessie Tarbox Beals; 16 top Amy Nichole Harris/Shutterstock; 17 Einat Dan/ www.bodypainting-festival.com ; 18 top Gryffindor; 18 bottom Art Institute of Chicago; 20 Alamy; 21 top Thomas Willemsen; 24 top Courtesy Juliens Auctions/M2MPR; 24 bottom Sergey Lavrentev; 25 top sherwood/ Shutterstock; 26 top Angelo Giampiccolo; 26 bottom left Rulon Oboev; 26 bottom right Michele Alfieri/Shutterstock; 27 Nicor

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except by reviewer.

Printed in the United States of America

CPSIA compliance information: Batch # CW15GS: For further information contact Gareth Stevens, New York, New York at 1-800-542-2595.

Body art is any art made on the body, such as tattoos, makeup, or body paint. It can be art that is made with the body as a kind of performance art. Or it can be art made to decorate the body, such as a mask.

People have been decorating their bodiesfor thousands of years. Body art was usedas a way of identifying people belongingto your tribe, or to show their status. Somepeople believed it could provide magicalprotection against evil. It was thought tomake people more attractive, too.

The Karo tribe fromEthiopia draw on theirbodies with white chalk.

In modern times body art is mainly used as

a form of self-expression

an expression of spiritual belief

a fashion statement

a way to improve looks

a rite of passage

a way of showing a person belongsto a group

Body art is one of the earliest forms of art. In Africa, 160,000-year-old pencils used to create body art have been discovered!

nail art

A Lady Gaga fan shows her tattoo.

There are many definitions ofwhat people think art is. Whichof these do you agree with?

Art is:

anything that an artist calls art

something that is created withimagination and skill. It mustbe either beautiful, or expressimportant ideas or feelings

a mixture of form (the waysomething is created) andcontent (the what that hasbeen created)

To conform means to be the same as everyone else.A nonconformist stands out from the crowd. Bodyart can help a person feel unique. To be seen as art,the work should be original.

Some people like to feel part of the tribe. Somepeople prefer to feel unique. Warriors often wearelaborate masks to make them look moreterrifying than their enemy. This mask makesthe wearer look much taller than heactually is. It also helps disguise anyfear on the warriors own face. Isthis traditional Mayan costume awork of art?

People often create body art tomake them look different. Weall make choices about whatclothes we wear, or how we styleour hair. Decorating our body isanother way to display our ownartistic style. Not all body art isunique self-expression, however.Sometimes people have bodyart done because it makes themfeel part of a group. The fact thatthe art is the same as someoneelses is important to them.

In some friend groups having a tattoois not unique at all. Some rock bandsor sports teams all have tattoos! Eachindividual tattoo could be art, though.Do you think these look like art?

There is a saying good tattoos arentcheap and cheap tattoos arent good!Great body artwork can be expensive.

Henna tattoos are a fun and safe type of body art.They are not permanent. Henna is a paste madefrom leaves. The paste is used to draw patternson skin. The dried paste is brushed away to leavethe design behind. The longer the paste is left on,the stronger the color will be.

Henna tattoos are a tradition inIndia at weddings and religiousceremonies. Most henna artistswork freehand and think up thedesigns as they go. The wearer andthe artist are thought to developa spiritual connection while thetattoo is being done.

A Hindu bridehas her palmstattooed withhenna. Popularhenna designsfor the palmsinclude sun andflower images.

The feet are aspiritual placeto have hennatattoos. The feetare believedto connect thebody, mind, andspirit with theearth.