''Modern Primitives'', written by V. Vale and Andrea Juno, is a

RE/Search RE/Search Publications is an American magazine and book publisher, based in San Francisco, founded by its editor V. Vale in 1980. In several issues, Andrea Juno was also credited as an editor. It was the successor to Vale's earlier punk rock fan ...

publications book about

body modification Body modification (or body alteration) is the deliberate altering of the human anatomy or human physical appearance. In its broadest definition it includes skin tattooing, socially acceptable decoration (''e.g.'', common ear piercing in many s ...

, published in 1989. The book consists of a collection of twenty two interviews and two essays with individuals and key figures involved the field of body modification in the late 1980s. It was one of the first documents to attempt to comprehensively cover the re-emergence and increasing popularity of

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing proc ...

ing,

piercing Body piercing, which is a form of body modification, is the practice of puncturing or cutting a part of the human body, creating an opening in which jewelry may be worn, or where an implant could be inserted. The word ''piercing'' can refer to ...

scarification Scarification involves scratching, etching, burning/ branding, or superficially cutting designs, pictures, or words into the skin as a permanent body modification or body art. The body modification can take roughly 6–12 months to heal. In th ...

corsetry A corsetmaker is a specialist tailor who makes corsets. Corsetmakers are frequently known by the French equivalent terms corsetier (male) and corsetière (female). Stay-maker is an obsolete name for a corsetmaker. The best corsetmakers are high ...

sideshow In North America, a sideshow is an extra, secondary production associated with a circus, carnival, fair, or other such attraction. Types There are four main types of classic sideshow attractions: *The Ten-in-One offers a program of ten s ...

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

and other practices in contemporary

western society human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Clemetino Inv305.jpg, upPlato, arguably the most influential figure in all of Western philosoph ...

Influence

At the time of its publication, ''Modern Primitives'' was the first text to attempt to comprehensively address the issues, aesthetics and meaning involved in the subject of body modification. The public knowledge of the term

Modern Primitive Modern primitives or urban primitives are people in developed, or modern nations who engage in body modification rituals and practices inspired by the ceremonies, rites of passage, or bodily ornamentation in what they consider traditional cul ...

is primarily due to the widespread popularity of this book. Many of the images in the book would have been familiar to persons involved in the movement, but the book exposed several "underground" practices to a vastly greater public, including graphic images of

genital piercing Genital piercing is a form of body piercing that involves piercing a part of the genitalia, thus creating a suitable place for wearing different types of jewellery. Nevertheless, the term may also be used ''pars pro toto'' to indicate all body pie ...

and genital bisection and

. The book also advanced numerous

urban legends An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

regarding the history and origin of body piercing, which remain widespread to this day, most notably Doug Malloy ( Richard Simonton)'s invented origins of various piercings. The book was the subject of an obscenity trial in England. In November 1989, police seized a copy of ''Moderns Primitives'' from London store The Book Inn, owned by bookseller Richard Waller. Magistrate Ian Baker ruled in 1991 that the book was not obscene. This was part of a pattern of prosecution at the time, coming shortly after

Operation Spanner Operation Spanner was a police investigation into same-sex male sadomasochism across the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. The investigation, led by the Obscene Publications Squad of the Metropolitan Police, began in 1987 and ran for three year ...

, which targeted practitioners of

sadomasochism Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...

; one of the Spanner defendants, Anthony Oversby, had photos of piercings and tattoos he had done in ''Modern Primitives''.

Notable interviewees and essayists

Fakir Musafar Roland Loomis (August 10, 1930 – August 1, 2018), known professionally as Fakir Musafar, was an American performance artist considered to be one of the founders of the modern primitive movement. Life Born Roland Loomis, at age four he clai ...

Don Ed Hardy Don Ed Hardy (born 1945) is an American tattoo artist known for his tattoos, strong influence on the development of modern tattoo styles, and his eponymous apparel and accessories brand. Early life Hardy was born on January 5, 1945, in Des Moin ...

* Anton LaVey *

Leo Zulueta Leo Zulueta is an American tattoo artist. He is known as the "father of modern tribal tattooing." Biography Leo Zulueta was born in 1952 in a naval hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. He was born into a Roman Catholic Filipino American family. Zulu ...

Sheree Rose Sheree Rose (born 1941) is an American photographer and performance artist. She is best known for her collaborative work with performance artist Bob Flanagan, and her photography documenting a wide range of Los Angeles subcultures, especially in ...

Lyle Tuttle Lyle Gilbert Tuttle (October 7, 1931 – March 26, 2019) was an American tattoo artist and historian of the medium, who had been tattooing since 1949. He tattooed Janis Joplin, Cher, Jo Baker, Paul Stanley, Jeff Scranton, and many other American ...

Vyvyn Lazonga Vyvyn Lazonga is a tattoo artist who began her career in Seattle in the early 1970s and was trained by Danny Danzl. She was the first woman to work for herself in the industry, not her husband or another male shop owner. She worked in San Francisc ...

Monte Cazazza Monte Cazazza is an American artist and composer best known for his seminal role in helping shape industrial music through recordings with the London-based Industrial Records in the mid-1970s. Career Cazazza, based primarily in San Francisco ...

* Hanky Panky *

Greg Kulz Greg Kulz (born 1963) is an American tattoo artist. He is based in San Francisco, California. Biography Greg Kulz grew up in Fallsburg, New York and Florence, Italy. He attended the San Francisco Art Institute. He helped pioneer the modern prim ...

* Jim Ward *

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...

and

Paula P-Orridge Paula P-Orridge (born Paula Jean Brooking, 23 February 1963), also known as Alaura O'Dell, is an English musician, writer, and entrepreneur. Career P-Orridge's musical career began in 1979 when she met musician and artist Genesis P-Orridge while ...

Notes

{{reflist 1989 books Modern primitive Books of interviews

Influence

Notable interviewees and essayists

See also

Notes