Mirror Cave #11: Transcendental Sound Vibration with Robert Ryan.

Dan Higgs Baphomet tattooed by Robert Ryan.

Do only good.
The latest episode of Scott Harrison’s MIRROR CAVE podcast features a 30 minute chat with Electric Tattoo’s Robert Ryan. The episode’s focus is on Robert’s connection with Eastern religion, experiences with Ayahuasca and his first visit to India; while not directly connected with tattooing it’s a great insight into his aesthetic output.

You can find it on ITUNES:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mirror-cave-podcast/id1143661860?mt=2

 

Inborn Absolute Ultimate Bundle.

 

The folks over at Featherproof Book are offering a deluxe bundle of Robert Ryan’s INBORN ABSOLUTE this Holiday Season, featuring the hardcover book, Raking Light Productions seven color letterpress print of Robert’s PURUSHA AND PRAKRITI (edition 100) and a t-shirt available only through Featherproof.

These are only available until 25th December or as the inventory lasts. You can find out more information at Featherproof‘s website. I’m working on getting a proper review up for Inborn Absolute by the end of the year, but needless to say most OV readers should know that it’s a must have. From the press release:

The Inborn Absolute collects the artist’s past five years of Eastern deity paintings, mandala studies, and even an unfettered glimpse into his sketchbook. It also includes interviews with iconic performer and artist Genesis P. Orridge and legendary tattoo artist Freddy Corbin that serve to contextualize Ryan’s work and his progression as an artist. Ultimately, The Inborn Absolute is a celebration of an artist’s masterful blend of skill, tradition, and a knowledge which can only be passed down through oral traditions and ancient practices.

Inborn Absolute (pre-order available)

Robert Ryan’s “The Inborn Absolute” is available for pre-order.
http://www.featherproof.com/catalog/the-inborn-absolute

From the publisher:

Coming in at just under 160 pages, this 12.25” by 10.75” cloth hardcover contains over 70 pages of full-color paintings; 30 pages pulled from his personal sketchbooks; and essays and interviews with art and music luminaries Genesis P Orridge, Freddy Corbin, and Andrew Berardini, all discussing the esoteric origins and subject matter of Ryan’s incomparable body of work. With early roots as a musician and painter, Robert Ryan’s work reveals a deep mastery of the American tattooing tradition while creating a mystical and fantastic world full of unique takes on Eastern religious iconography.

The Inborn Absolute

This monograph delves into the career of celebrated artist Robert Ryan. From his early roots as a musician and painter, he discovered tattooing and quickly became one of the preeminent artists in that realm. His work reveals a deep mastery of the American tattooing tradition while creating a mystical and fantastic world full of unique takes on Eastern religious iconography. The book covers two decades of stunning paintings & tattoos, interviews with art and music luminaries about his work and subject matter, detailing Ryan’s personal journey and progression as an artist.

Set for an August 9th release from Featherproof Books, THE INBORN ABSOLUTE is going to be one of 2016’s must-have books. Right now there’s a pre-order via Amazon.com and when alternate ordering becomes available I’ll include it here.

You can see more of Robert’s work on tumblr and instagram.

 

Prepare the way of the Lord

 

Kind of a self serving post, but then again that’s what blogging is all about, right?
I was able to get back up to Asbury Park recently to start another tattoo from the incredibly talented Robert Ryan at Electric Tattoo. After my appointment with him last May, which saw me getting the whole top of my thigh done in one crazy seven hour sitting, I decided to break this one up into a more traditional ‘outlines, shading, color’ appointment structure.

We managed all of this (and some outlining on my butt. Butt tattoo hurt much more than you’d think) in just a little over two hours and will be taking October off, so hopefully November will see session 2.

I grew up Baptist, so the head of John the Baptist (as an oracle of Divine Prophecy) has been an idea I’ve been tossing around for more than a few years now. Robert was the perfect artist to do it; someone who took the symbolism I brought him and added his own to create the perfect tattoo. If you folks saw the thumbnails I send him… you’d see just how impressive a task that is. I’ll update again when we get into the next round.

For more Robert Ryan tattoos: http://robertryanofjudah.tumblr.com

Thom DeVita Part 1: Tattoo Age

All tattooing is folk art.
Vice.com  has finally begun airing the Thom DeVita arc of their ‘Tattoo Age’ series, with episode 1 currently streaming.
You can check it out here.

The first episode features Ed Hardy, Nick Bubash, Clayton Patterson, Scott Harrison, Angelo Scotto, John Wyatt, Robert Ryan, Bubba Reeves and of course Thom. If you use the Freddy Corbin arc of season 1 as a yardstick for quality, it’s really hard to imaging it getting any better. But seeing the enthusiasm that other people have for Thom and his work wins you over. Harrison’s face lights up when he talks about his ‘bad’ DeVita tattoos. These episodes- five in total- will end up being a once in a lifetime view into the life of an iconic artist.

Check it out.