Posts by Jim Ward — Managing Editor of Design & Layout

Point 74: From the Editor – Jim Ward

1 Comment read Editorial, From the Editor, Issue 74, Technology
The Point - Issue 74

Jim Ward headshotJim Ward
Art Director

One of the joys of having been a part of this industry since its beginning has been seeing the technological advances that have brought it to such an astounding degree of professionalism.

Young piercers have no idea what things were like when Gauntlet was born in 1975. For starters, imagine a world without the cell phone, personal computer, and the internet. As the old cigarette commercial said, “You’ve come a long way, baby.”

When I first began my piercing business, I had to use a pressure cooker to sterilize instruments, later graduating to ever more sophisticated autoclaves. With the advent of the Statim, you are now blessed not only with more reliable sterilization, but are able to accomplish it within mere minutes.

The first piercing needles were veterinary hypodermics with the syringe couplings cut off. We sterilized and reused them over and over while they became duller with every use and often had to be used with a needle pusher. Nowadays, you have access to disposable needles that are so sharp they pierce the toughest of tissue like butter.

Even though I made every effort to provide the highest quality body jewelry, in those early days we had little understanding as to which materials were most suitable for the purpose of piercing. The industry is now blessed with an abundance of jewelry choices produced to the most stringent of manufacturing standards.

Many of you are familiar with Gauntlet’s publication Piercing Fans International Quarterly (PFIQ). Thanks to the personal computer and the marvel of desktop publishing, I’ve been able to say goodbye to the typewriter, the T­square, the drafting board, and all the art supplies that were used for years to produce the magazine. With a few mouse clicks, design and layout has become a breeze.

Technology is here to stay, and will continue to benefit our profession. I only hope that one day human kindness and compassion will catch up.

On another subject, for the last several issues of The Point I have participated as one of the Managing Editors. With this issue my title changes and I become the publication’s Art Director. I will still be an occasional Contributing Editor, and while I’m busy doing the layout and design, I get to edit the editors.

Over time I also hope to be able to bring some fresh design ideas to these pages. Enjoy!

Point #73: From the Editor – Jim Ward

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Jim Ward headshotJim Ward
Managing Editor of Design & Layout

November 17th this year marked the 40th anniversary of Gauntlet, the world’s first body piercing studio. For most of you reading this, it will be difficult to conceive what things were like for body mod enthusiasts back in those days. For many of us, our piercings were a sexual fetish that were well concealed under our clothing and revealed only to our most intimate of friends and acquaintances. We remained firmly in the closet.

With the exception of tattoos, other body mods were rare or nonexistent in the United States. Unless you lived in a colorful ethnic neighborhood, you were likely to see only piercings of the ears. Even then people with visible piercings could lose their jobs. Despite Gauntlet’s efforts, it was almost 15 years before things began to change. When that change came, it was explosive.

Modern Primitives appeared in 1989 and soon thereafter Shannon Larratt began advocating for more extreme body mods. Piercing shops began springing up like fungi after a spring rain. We saw fashion models strutting down runways sporting navel and nostril rings. Alicia Silverstone appeared in the Aerosmith music video Cryin’ getting her navel “pierced” by Paul King (admittedly, the piercing was staged). Suddenly, visible body mods were everywhere. They have become so common that virtually no one raises an eyebrow anymore.

As most of our readers know, I do the design and layout of The Point. When I was sent the image for this issue’s cover I was a bit taken aback by the lack of visible body modifications. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a great image of Rob Hill, a well-known and respected member of the APP community. But what, I asked my fellow editors and the APP Board, did it have to do with piercing. The response stunned me: “We are seeing more and more people that work in our industry who are choosing not to have visible modifications. We also realize that not everyone that reads our publication is a piercer or modification artist and we want to increase our readership, even having an article specifically aimed at reaching our clients in this issue.” [emphasis mine]

I have to laugh. It has been 40 years, and we have come full circle. While people may be choosing to keep their piercings private again, I can’t help wondering if piercings will ever be as erotic as they were all those years ago.

Point #72: From the Editor – Jim Ward

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Jim Ward headshot

Jim Ward
Managing Editor of Design & Layout

The annual APP Conference is always a mind-expanding experience, but this year—it’s 20th anniversary—was a definite milestone. More people than ever turned out, attending a record number of classes and events presented by a roster of industry all-stars.

The one thing I appreciated most this year was the APP’s commitment to history, not only of the organization, but also of the industry itself. Long standing icons like Paul King, Dave Vidra, Fakir, and myself presented snapshots of the APP’s birth and evolution. The APP Timeline session brought together many of the early founders including some I have not seen in over 20 years. It was a touching reunion.

I was especially impressed with Paul King, Matte Erickson, and Becky Dill, as well as the host of volunteers who brought together the Body Piercing Archive, which opened its doors for the first time on June 10th. Walking through the exhibit was a heartwarming and often bittersweet experience. Seeing reminders of industry champions like Al D., Raelyn Gallina, and Sailor Sid Diller brought a tear to my eye.

Paul has been working tirelessly to preserve the history of our industry. In this process he has started forging an alliance between the APP and the Leather Archive & Museum (LA&M) in Chicago*. The LA&M “is dedicated to the compilation, preservation, and maintenance of leather, kink, and fetish lifestyles,” which often includes body modification. Since the body piercing industry has its roots in the gay and BDSM community, this is an important alliance. The LA&M has financial resources, its own building, and a staff that includes a professional archivist. This is a win/win relationship for everyone involved.

This year in particular, as part of his efforts, Paul organized a special appeal to help finance the preservation of the Sailor Sid collection which had been willed to me and which I had donated to the LA&M many years ago. Some of the materials are particularly fragile and in need of special attention before they deteriorate beyond saving. For the story of this highly successful campaign, see the Sailor Sid Update in this issue.

We can all be justly proud of our organization. So much has been accomplished in the last 20 years. I cannot praise enough those members, past and present, who have struggled and nurtured the APP to make it such a success, to set such high standards for the industry, and to continue its educational efforts. It does my heart good.

*As a footnote, the LA&M is already the repository of the Fakir Musafar collection, still in the process of being cataloged. I am currently in negotiations to donate my own collection to them as well.

 

Point #71: From the Editor – Jim Ward

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Jim Ward headshotJim Ward
Managing Editor of Design & Layout

 

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that has.” —Margaret Mead

Thinking back to the early days of the APP, I have to marvel at how far the organization has come, but what is really amazing is that it made it into existence at all.

When Modern Primitives hit the bookstores in 1989, body modification, and particularly body piercing, hit the big time. Studios began popping up overnight like fungi after a spring rain. Few, if any, of the owners had any actual training or experience, and the competition was fierce. Rivalries were intense. There was little common ground.

The following is from my book Running the Gauntlet: “In 1994 the State of California was poised to pass legislation (Assembly Bill 3787) that would regulate body piercing, tattooing, and permanent cosmetics. A handful of piercers from several studios began to network and strategize how best to assure that these forms of body modification were not outlawed. Those who met at the Gauntlet corporate office for those early meetings included Raelyn Gallina, several representatives from Body Manipulations, Nomad, and Primeval Body in L.A. Along with some of his students, including Idexa, Fakir also attended. The office was full. As the pending legislation grew closer to passing, a group got together and drove to Sacramento. Michaela spoke on behalf of the industry during one of the hearings for the bill. She also did a number of television interviews. The bill ultimately failed thanks to lobbying by the ear-piercing gun manufacturers. However, this did not end the threats to the industry, and the need for a professional organization to deal with them.”

The APP was the organization that sprang from this need. A handful of rivals managed to set aside their differences and come together for their common good. Even though there are still differences, the APP has been able to grow and thrive. When a group of people work together for the common good, it’s amazing what they can accomplish. Happy 20th Anniversary!

Point #70: From The Editor – Jim

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Jim Ward headshotJim Ward
Managing Editor of Design & Layout

As many of you know, Kim Zapata the previous Editor of The Point has stepped down to devote more time to other aspects of her life. We owe her an enormous debt of gratitude for her work and will miss her. She did an outstanding job and has left big shoes to fill. Perhaps that is why the APP Board has asked three of us to take over her duties. I will be sharing responsibilities with my co-editors Kendra Jane Berndt and Marina Pecorino.

The Point has been a part of APP history since its beginning in 1994–5, and I am thrilled and privileged to have been involved, on and off, for many years. The organization came into being through the tireless efforts of my Gauntlet associate, Michaela Grey, and a handful of other body mod professionals. As the pressures of government intervention reared its ugly head, these practitioners were committed to seeing that our industry would survive. The content of Issue #1 contains a great deal borrowed from Gauntlet’s piercing seminar manual.

In 1998 Gauntlet went out of business. Thankfully, by that time the APP had already become an independent entity. With Gauntlet’s demise, I withdrew into a shell. In 2003, with Issue #25, the APP reached out to me and asked me to take on the design and layout of The Point and to submit an article about Doug Malloy, who had inspired me to open Gauntlet in the first place. I continued in the designer position until 2005 when the Board decided to expand the newsletter and print it in color at which time the torch was passed to another Art Director. The printed color issues, #33 through #60, took The Point to a whole new level and brought it to a peak of professionalism worthy of the organization. I remained on the sidelines through much of this period, occasionally being asked to present at the annual Conference.

For Issue #41 (2007), then president James Weber asked my permission to reproduce the cover of an old issue of Gauntlet’s publication Piercing Fans International Quarterly (PFIQ) showing the penis piercings of Louis Rove, the gay, adoptive father of right-wing extremist Karl Rove. The only change he made was to alter the masthead to say “The Point” in the same font as the original magazine. This and every issue of The Point can be viewed and/or downloaded from the APP website, http://www.safepiercing.org/publications/the-point/back-issues/.

Like all organizations, the APP has experienced its own financial ups and downs. In 2012 in an effort to economize, as well as to keep up with current trends, departing from its print publication. The Board made the decision to produce The Point in digital format only. I was approached about taking over once again as Art Director for the newsletter and gladly accepted. My first was Issue #61 and here is issue #70. I thoroughly love doing this job for an organization I deeply admire and respect, and I hope to continue to do so for many years to come.

This is a landmark year in the world of body modification Gauntlet, the world’s first body piercing studio will turn 40 and the APP will celebrate its 20th anniversary. This issue and the next of The Point will kick off the celebration, with a dedication to this special occasion and to our annual Conference in June. We encourage every reader to make the effort to attend what is sure to be a memorable event.