August 23rd, 2008 by misvan
A recent stream of tattoos to add to the Anatomy Tattoo Gallery. Thanks for the submissions!
Recently submitted ripped skin ink by Sebastian Rudat.
Submitted by Suren. Here’s the fun story behind his tattoo—
It started as joke with a friend in class, we said we should get regular heart tattoos with blank ribbons on it so we can put whoever’s name we wanted in it. So as I thought about it more, I really loved the idea and concept behind it. I chose an anatomical rendering of the heart because it beats out a plain old traditional heart, the details the vessels and everything was very intriguing. The blank ribbon is more of a statement and a mockery of the traditional tattoo. I wanted people to know that it was a bit foolish to tattoo another persons name especially if they’re not family, hence the blank ribbon. The anatomical heart itself is mocking the traditional tattoo, because indeed it is a real heart and not a valentines day chocolate box. More than a statement the tattoo has a fun spin to it. I can sharpie or pen in anyone or anything I want inside of it, whenever I want. No regrets, and that’s the fun part to the tattoo. All in all, I’m happy with my first tattoo.
I should have asked Suren to write Street Anatomy in the ribbon and then take a picture!
Illustration © Karen Bucher, inking done by Ben Wahh from Deluxe Tattoo.
I’ve had quite a few people ask me if I know any medical illustrators who do tattoo commissions. I never really had an answer until I attended the annual Association of Medical Illustrators conference back in July. To my amazement, I saw this tattoo submitted to the Salon (a showcase/competition of student and professional medical illustration work). The artist, Karen Bucher, was asked to do this tattoo by a complete stranger. She obliged and it ended up turning out really well.
If you’re interested in getting an anatomical tattoo and want it done accurately, try commissioning a medical illustrator.
If you’d like to submit your own anatomy tattoo, send a jpeg that’s at least 500px wide and a short explanation to misvan@aol.com and I’ll post it in the tattoo gallery.
June 22nd, 2008 by misvan
When someone submits a tattoo for the Anatomy Tattoo Gallery I usually ask them for a brief explanation of the tattoo. It’s one think to just look at a tattoo and admire the art, but it’s knowing the meaning of a tattoo that adds so much value.
Andrea recently submitted this photo of her anatomical heart tattoo. The story behind it is one of the most touching I’ve read so far.
My tattoo is of an anatomical heart on my foot. You are probably wondering ‘why a heart on her foot’? Well its a long story, so I will try to make it brief…
I was born on my cousin’s (Sonny) birthday. He was about 15 years older than me, but he was bigger brother in my eyes. Sonny and I became extremely close friends. He had Marfan Syndrome, it is a genetic disease that effects the overall skeletal structure, so he was extremely tall (6′6), and thin as a board. He wore a permanent ‘zipper’ (as he would call it) down his chest from multiple open heart surgeries. None of this cease to phase Sonny. He had a heart of gold and lived his life to the fullest. He worked for a record label and followed his passion for music. Music is what brought us so close together.
Well one night on September 2002 He and his family invited me over for dinner. Something felt weird that night, also as if Sonny knew something. We went into his room so he could play a new album for me and he started talking about life in general, and how important it is to live it to the fullest. We normally did not talk about that stuff all the time, but this time it was different.
So as we are talking, his mother, my crazy lebanese, yet funny, aunt is screaming for us to come to dinner. Well Sonny, was agrivated and yelled up “We’re coming Mother!” He turned and looked at me, grabbed me by my shoulders and said, “Follow your heart kid”. Those words were the most sincere words I have ever heard or felt come out of anyone’s mouth. He meant every word to the fullest meaning, because he needed a heart transplant. We had dinner, and that was the last night I saw Sonny. It was our last super (in a weird non religious way). Two nights later he was in the hospital. I was not allowed to see him in that state. While he was struggling for his life in that bed, my aunt yelled at him and told him to “hold on and fight Sonny boy, fight.” He sat up and looked at her and said, “Mom look into these eyes! Does it not look like I am not fighting!” and he passed away.
Ok, sorry for that winded story, but it is so hard to explain or even put his strength and spirit into words. He was the strongest person I know, and a Son-of-a-Bitch if there ever was one! He was a smart-ass :0), but I loved him.
Thanks for taking the time to read that………
June 16th, 2008 by misvan
Anji Marth started off wanting to be an anatomical illustrator, but ended up drawing on people’s anatomies instead. She’s been tattooing professionally for 11 years now and does a lot of anatomy inspired work. So if you’re looking to get an anatomical tattoo, Anji’s got the background to do it.
Take a look through her blog and her portfolio for more tattoos.
May 26th, 2008 by misvan
The best part about having this blog is receiving e-mails everyday from my readers with their photos of anatomically themed graffiti, tattoos, or art. Many of the e-mails I receive lately come from Europe or South America, like the first two photos of the skulls below from Brazil. Street Anatomy is slowly becoming more of a user generated site with many of the posts you see coming from links sent to me by readers. I never anticipated such a great response and I’m thankful for the willingness of many of my readers to participate. So keep the submissions coming!
The latest anatomical street art >
by CRS8
by CRS8
I can’t remember who submitted this punk skeleton so whoever did please leave a comment with your name!
The latest anatomical tattoos >
submitted by Michael, one of my favorite people with a good eye for design.
Submitted by Jeff Decker who captured this heart tat with his phone.
Submitted by Robert Nelson
Big thanks to everyone’s participation!
May 6th, 2008 by misvan
This cerebellum tattoo was submitted by Matt Millard. One of the most unique anatomical tattoos I’ve seen yet.
The arbor vitae (Latin for “Tree of Life“) is the cerebellar white matter, so called for its branched, tree-like appearance. It brings sensory and motor information to and from the cerebellum. [via Wikipedia]
See more at the Anatomy Tattoo Gallery.
