Author Ina Saltz never thought she would write a book about tattoos.
“Tattoos were not really on my radar screen at all,” the typography professor said. “I?m a type nut. I?ve spent my life being passionate about letter forms.”
“Body Type: Intimate Messages Etched in Flesh” is Saltz?s first book. Compiled of photographs of people with typographic tattoos, Body Type takes a look at what each tattoo means to the tattooee.
Saltz was first inspired to write the book when she saw a man with a typographic tattoo on a bus in New York. “[The tattoo] immediately called to me,” she said. “I remember it was Helvetica sans serif type.”
The author describes her book as a literary, upscale and intellectual book about tattoos.
“And those are not words traditionally associated with tattoos,” she said. “It?s time for people to upend the stereotype.”
During her research, Saltz ? who has no tattoos herself ? was surprised by what she found out about the tattooed population.
“It?s an interesting mix of people,” she said.”Of course you have the bikers, and the so-called ?underbelly? of society. But a lot of the newer tattoo artists are graduates from art schools. They are educated, affluent, culturally sophisticated and typographically aware.”
Baltimore Tattoo Museum tattoo artist Chris Keaton has been tattooing for the last 14 years.
“I think that from an outsider?s perspective, [the book] is just an appreciation of the art,” he said. “It?s pretty cool.”
Although she said it would be hard to choose a favorite, Saltz does recall one series of tattoos that touched her.
“This one guy was just covered with text, he has all these literary quotes, from people like Walt Whitman, Ghandi, Shakespeare, and they all relate to his relationship with pit bulls,” she said. “They are all quotes that have some resonance for him.”
Saltz will be signing copies of her book at the Baltimore Tattoo Museum on Thursday.
“Four million Americans are tattooed. One-third of adults ages 18 to 29 have at least one tattoo,” Saltz said. “I think it?s a pop culture. And it?s a phenomenon that is only likely to increase as the stigma decreases.”
If you go
Ina Saltz, author of “Body Type: Intimate Messages Etched in Flesh”
» Venue: Baltimore Tattoo Museum
» Where: 1534 Eastern Ave., Fells Point
» When: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday
» Tickets: $35 (includes light fare, beer or wine and autograph)
» Information: www.bodytypebook.com
