Body Type: Intimate Images Etched in Flesh [Hardcover]

Although this charming little book is a quick read, it deserves to be returned to many times, to really admire and appreciate all of the unique, amazing, and well-done tattoos on display therein. In recent years, the old stereotypes of body modifications and the people who get them have been changing for the better. This book can only help in that endeavor. Far from displaying a bunch of bikers, criminals, delinquents, soldiers, and sailors, the type of people who are stereotypically associated with tattoos, these are people from a wide range of walks of life. Many of them are professionals and educated, and all put a lot of thought into these tattoos. And far from being the stereotypical fare of skulls, hearts, roses, and pin-ups girls, the tattoos themselves are also from a very diverse sampling.

The book was inspired by a typographic tattoo which Ms. Saltz saw on the subway one day, and after that discovery (which her subject happily let her photograph), she began seeing more and more tattoos that contained words, letters, and typographical symbols instead of the more standard traditional pictorial images. These people used a wide variety of typefaces for these tattoos, and sometimes even designed their own typefaces. I loved the ambiagram tattoos, the ones designed in a typeface that lets the word be read the same upside-down as it is when viewed rightside-up. People have gotten tattoos containing loved ones' names (very unique was the woman who got her blind lover's name tattooed in Braille on the top of the back of her neck), quotations from Shakespeare, the Bible, movies, songs (the story behind the 33 people who had the first 33 words of Holland's national anthem tattooed on them was a very interesting one, reflecting not only the diversity of the nation but also how much the Dutch love their country), popular quotations, works of literature, and other things which inspire them. One of my favorite word tattoos was the one containing the opening line of 'The Divine Comedy,' in the original Middle Italian, since I also find the opening lines of that long epic poem to be very beautiful, moving, and inspiring. The tattoos are also categorised into such divisons as love, self-love, self-expression, politics, religion, and personal beliefs.

Overall, this is a great small-sized coffeetable book full of great photography of a very unique subject. One doesn't need to have a tattoo or tattoos oneself to appreciate the photographs; I can't get a tattoo due to my religious beliefs, but I greatly admired all of the workpersonship and personal meaning that went into thinking up, designing, and executing these amazing tattoos, and even saw some I'd like to have myself if I were allowed to have a tattoo. I'd love for there to be a second volume, particularly because this one didn't include my own favoritest typefaces, Palatino and Bookman!

Acknowledging both the history of tattoos with letters and the ubiquity and social acceptability of tattoo art today, the brief but informative introduction to BODY TYPE sets forth the premise of the book: to showcase those who have chosen to tattoo messages in the form of western letters somewhere on their bodies.

The breadth of work represented here is astounding, and smartly edited. Way beyond "MOM" in a scrolled banner, the viewer is shown not only letterforms tattooed for the sake of their own beauty, sometimes incorporating body parts (eg a nipple) for punctuation; but also letterforms composing words of great meaning to the tattooed. The most moving example of the latter is the subject who tattooed the word "forgiveness" over the word "hatred" he had scarred into his arm years earlier. The hatred and later forgiveness refer to his mother who had committed suicide.

The content ranges from art, like the writer Shelley Jackson's "Skin" project, to political statements such as the Dutch group of 33 individuals tattooed with lyrics from the National Anthem. The tattoos were done in protest to the Queen's decree that the anthem be played only in the presence of a member of the royal family. She later acquiesced.

But there are plenty of lighter moments to look at, with less expected nods to pop culture: a Ouija board, Krispy Kreme logos, and even a series of ambiagrams (words that read the same forwards and upright as well as upside-down and backwards), popularized by The da Vinci Code's Tom Brown in Angels and Demons.

Each tattoo photographed is captioned with a brief, pithy statement from the person sporting the tattoo. Even in cases where the choice of tattoo may seem obvious, the quote adds further insight.

BODY TYPE is unobtrusively designed and well produced. It is a carefully curated and moving photo essay--exploring how meaningful letterforms are to people, even those not in the business of graphic design and typography. Not just a design book, unexpectedly, it is a testament to the power of the written word, made even more powerful written on the body.

I had absolutely no interest in tatoos, but am interested in design. When I saw this book, I was intrigued by the use of type in such unusual contexts. The author's remarkable eye, insight, and ability to explain nuance gave me an entirely new perspective on tatoo, typography, and design. This is a coffee table book destined to be well-worn very soon.