"In a few moments, upstairs, the legendary Spider Webb will be tattooing the one and only Lizardman." went out the announcement over the main floor on the last day of the 17th annual AMJAM tattoo expo in Schenectady, NY.
At A Glance Author The Lizardman Contact thelizardman23@aol.com IAM The Lizardman When A month ago Artist Spider Webb Studio 17th Annual AMJAM Tattoo Expo Location Schenectady, NY When I was first becoming acquainted with tattooing (around 1990), Spider Webb was one of the first artists whose work I saw as going beyond the simple and obvious graphical art aspects of the medium. In him I first saw tattooing used in a conceptual structure and in ways similar to what I myself was drawn to as an artist. My immediate appreciation for his work led to a respect for him as an individual as I learned more about his personal history and role in the development and acceptance of tattooing as art on a social and institutional level. [Among other things, he tattooed people as acts of performance art and protest on the steps on MOMA and was arrested for it. Speaking to him about this now, in light of people like myself having successful public careers and tattoo flash having hung in gallery shows he simply smiled and said, "We won."]
One of my particular favorites was his X 1000 project from the mid-seventies. For this, Spider tattooed 1000 people. The first 999 got a single small 'x'. The final person received a large 'x' made up of 1000 x's. These were all documented with photos, blood prints, etc. and published in a limited book series. The background story to the piece goes that an interviewer once asked Spider what he thought the limits were for tattooing as an art form. He responded to this, off the cuff, that the only limit was the size of the body i.e. the amount of skin. Upon reflection he hit upon the idea of doing a tattoo that spanned bodies, one thousand bodies, and X 1000 was born.
Jump ahead now to January 2003. I am working as guest MC at the 17th annual AMJAM and Spider Webb is there exhibiting his 9/11 Tribute flash collection. More than a decade from when I first started seriously looking at tattooing, after nearly 700 hours of being tattooed myself, I have an opportunity to meet a man who impressed and inspired from the beginning. I quickly sought out Spider and introduced myself. Happily, we got along well immediately and spent much of our combined free time during the event discussing various topics. Of course, I told him about my own appreciation for his work and on the second day of the convention he made a very interesting suggestion. It was Spider's idea that he put an 'x' on me, simply as an homage to the original piece that I enjoyed or maybe even the beginning of a new project – a sequel of sorts. I was excited but took a little time to think about. After some consideration I agreed it was a good idea and that on the final day of the expo he would tattoo me.
Sunday came and everything was prepared. A group of people gathered around, cameras clicked and video was shot. Both Spider and myself made some brief comments and then he tattooed a small 'x' in the middle of one of the scales beneath my left eye. Being such a small piece it was over very quickly and there was little to speak of in terms of sensation. The physical act of the tattooing seemed nearly anticlimactic being so brief. Nonetheless, it was a very gratifying experience. I made some blood prints of it for Spider and it seemed to be over. But then, someone else stepped forward and said that they might like 'x' someday as well after seeing it. It only took one 'there's no time like the present' and things were underway again. Hopefully, this will have been the kickoff for X 2000 or beyond.
As I sit here now, a little more than a month later, it is hard to completely explain how I feel about the piece. Several people have asked about it, what it means, etc. There is no real easy quick way to explain it fully – I generally just say its part of a performance art piece and often that is all they need to hear. It is that and it is also more. For me, it is not just a fun piece of concept/performance art it is also an important tie to the history and tradition that is modern tattooing. It is a very personal memento from a person who I am now honored to know as a colleague and perhaps I can even say in some way now a collaborator, having given up my body as a part of his work and having had his work added to my own [my body]. All this and more summed up in just two small lines under my eye.
Pictures can be seen on BME, my IAM page (The Lizardman), and www.thelizardman.com in the archives section
The Lizardman
www.thelizardman.com