Posts tagged Jim Ward

Point 89: The Gay Ear

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Lynn Loheide & Margo Dellaquilla

In piercing studios around the country the question is still asked today, “Does one side have any special meaning? You know, what ear is the gay ear?” Despite changing times and modern progress many people still associate piercings—particularly a single piercing in the lobe—as a symbol of one’s sexuality. We’ve all given a little internal eye roll when we have to field this question in our studios and most of us have a carefully prescribed response. any of us may not understand the history of this concept. It’s actually quite fascinating to take a look behind how one specific piercing developed such recognition as a gay symbol.

To find out how an ear piercing could carry such symbolism we need to look back to the ‘70s and ‘80s in America. A different time when it was still perilous to be LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, and asexual or allied) and publicly out, and there were no legal or social protections for people who were. Many people lived in fear of losing their jobs, homes, families, or being outright attacked. The AIDs crisis was beginning and both hate and fear concerning anything gay were at an all-time high.

People gathered in secret bars, hung around dark trails in local parks, and used various forms of code based on location to subtly tell people they were gay. These codes were a form of protection, a small way to tell people in-the-know what their preferences were without outing themselves and potentially changing, or even ending, their lives. We, as piercers, generally know and love the hanky code (raise your hand if you own a purple one!) This same philosophy also helped to coin“The Gay Ear”. Born from these codes is a phrase few now remember as familiar, “Left is right and right is wrong” (“wrong” here meaning gay). This cultural phrase spread across communities in an era when piercing was just blossoming. Women were daring to wear second and third earlobe piercings and a particularly rebellious person may pierce their cartilage. This phrase cemented in many minds that the singular right lobe piercing on a man was synonymous with being gay. We can even look at this New York Times article from 19911 that mentions a piercing in the right ear as a “discreet symbol”    of one’s sexuality. We must remember this was a time when discretion was, for some, life or death. Like a game of  telephone,  this  phrase  spread,  and small changes happened along the way. In some areas, it was reversed, and the left ear was  a signifier. Others changed the script  entirely:  both ears could signify one was bi or trans, and a few on one ear had specific meanings in a local scene. As the phrase became  more  widespread  and used as a way of outing folks, some opted to pierce the opposite ear associated in their area to remain hidden. All of this served to muddle the waters until no one  could  agree  which  ear  was, in fact, “the gay ear”.

It wasn’t long before that phrase became lost, and many people forgot which ear meant what, as if any ear ever meant anything. The internet, and even before that the “Ask x” columns and library question cards, were filled with men agonizing over which was the ear they were “supposed” to pierce. How could they wear the adornments they desired while maintaining their heterosexuality; or, perhaps, secretly inquiring which they could pierce to flaunt their homosexuality. Over time the meaning seemed to matter less and less as piercings became more popular and many folks cared not what anyone else thought. Their adornments were for them and them alone. As early as the ‘90s people had forgotten the meaning as piercings were now more about punk rock and youthful rebellion than an underground symbol. Time passed and it became ok to be out. We didn’t need to hide behind antiquated codes or symbols; we could be out and proud!

While discrimination still exists in many shapes and forms, even now in 2020, fortunately, we don’t need to hide as much as we did then. That being said, education and reclamation of what was once used to hurt or oppress us can be a powerful way to stand in the face of discrimination. This is a great piece of history to share with other piercers, clients, and friends, to help remove the stigma and keep our history alive. After all, given our shared history, all piercings are a little bit gay!

Photos of Gauntlet founder and out gay man Jim Ward from issue 24 of Piercing Fans International Quarterly (1985). Jim acquired his first ear piercing in 1969 when the right ear was very much the traditional “gay” ear. Like many gay men of that time, he still opted to pierce the left ear. The initial piercing was a bit low; sometime in Gauntlet’s early years, he did a second one above it for which he designed these unique jewelry pieces. Sadly, they disappeared when Gauntlet closed in 1998. After he moved to San Francisco in the early 1990s, he finally had his right ear pierced.

Point 89: From the Editor

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Marina Pecorino, Managing Editor– The Point

The Point started in 1994 as a black and white paper mailer with a rotating cast of producers. The very first iteration1 stated in its introduction that “we intend [for this publication] to serve as a forum for information; all contributions are welcome.” In Issue 22, The Point producers stated that the publication was intended to “make piercing a safe, positive, evolving craft” and cautioned submitting authors to “expect to be variously disagreed with, challenged, or supported by other subscribers. That’s exactly The Point.”

This will be my final issue as a Managing Editor of The Point: Journal of Body Piercing, and the last consolidated issue to be published in a “printable” magazine format. Over the last five years I’ve helped to produce and publish 20 issues containing various tidbits of industry history; I’m sincerely proud of this professional and personal accomplishment. This unexpected opportunity allowed me to know colleagues and our organization in ways I wouldn’t have otherwise experienced. I feel closer and more connected to the piercing community, thanks to the knowledge I have gained as an Editor for this amazing publication. I am eternally grateful to have had this chance, and to have worked so closely with Kendra Jane B. and Jim Ward during my time with this project.

Moving forward, the publication will be exclusively available at thepointjournal.org in a blog style. We continue to encourage and welcome submissions of body modification and piercing related writing and high resolution images to editor@safepiercing.org. Since inception, this publication seeks to provide a reliable and progressive source of industry information, and a public platform for the diverse set of voices in our field.

The overall theme of this issue was originally planned around the interconnection between LGBTQIA+ and body mod culture; I had untold enthusiasm and personal connection to this theme. Unfortunately, due to a lack of author submissions from our community on the topic, and my own mental hurdles about ending this project (I’m not a fan of endings), the publication date was pushed far beyond our normal quarterly schedule.

Ultimately, I made the difficult decision to refocus the enclosed content around the current state of our industries and communities. Alongside many others, recently my attention and energy have been redirected; concentrating on how we can work together to create a community and support others in these uncertain and ever-evolving circumstances. I am proud of the work that my colleagues and organization have accomplished in the face of this crisis; more information about these labors of love can be found on subsequent pages of this issue.

Unfortunately, like many others, I have very different feelings toward the collaboration, guidance, and assistance offered by my state and national governing bodies. This issue offers a selection of perspectives from different industry professionals on the current COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout this difficult experience, I have been feeling much like Leah Sarah Kent describes later in this issue; “defeated, sad, and ultimately helpless” about the “systemic oppression and inequalities this virus so clearly exposes” and the lack of “major collective action as a people to rise up and fight for a new society.”

Personally, I am ready for a social and structural revolution, with the safety, security, and well being of the nation and world as the cornerstone. Until then, I’ll continue doing what I can to use my platforms to share diverse perspectives, reliable information, and available resources with my local and global communities. I hope that you will do the same. As Caitlin McDiarmid has said: “Stay Positive. Stay Generous. Stay Safe.”

1 “The Point—official newsletter of the APP,” File Archive, Association of Professional Piercers, accessed May 20, 2020,

https://www.safepiercing.org/docs/point01.pdf.

2 “The Point—official newsletter of the APP: Volume 1, Issue 2,” File Archive, Association of Professional Piercers, published January 1995,

https://www.safepiercing.org/docs/point02.pdf.

Point 87: Tiny

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Piercing and Photos by Fakir Musafar

Meet Tiny, the first African-American to appear in Piercing Fans International Quarterly. She was featured in issues 12 (1981) and 14 (1982). Fakir performed the nostril piercing using a pin vice, his tool of choice in the early days before super sharp, disposable piercing needles.

As I recall, the labret piercing was faked. A gold bead was glued to her lower lip, and a gold back of my own fabrication placed inside. The back design would never have been satisfactory.

It would take over a decade of trial and error before the best placement would be worked out and appropriate jewelry designed.—Jim Ward


Point 83: Fakir Musafar

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Interview by Sean Dowdell

Reprinted from Inkspired Magazine, Issue 26 with permission of the publisher

Cover photo of Fakir Musafar from his book Body Play, the Self-Images of Roland Loomis, 1950–1980

Why was I obsessed to modify my body? Why would I abandon the comfort of the status quo for the unknowns of body modification and ritual? I did it primarily because I was curious and bored with the status quo. In retrospect, probably for the same reasons early explorers risked the hazards of sailing uncharted seas. And like explorers of the past, present and future seeking rewards of some kind: treasure or knowledge. In my journey I sought to explore the seas of consciousness, my own inner self. The most personal and accessible vehicle was my own body.  During my 50 plus years of sailing via body ritual, I have found some of the same reasons I set sail in the body rituals of other cultures.”

“EPILOGUE,” Body Play: My Journey—Fakir Musafar

Sean Dowdell: Let’s start with your age, where you were born, and the city you live in now.

Fakir Musafar: I am presently 83, born in 1930 in Aberdeen, South Dakota (which was then on the Sissiton Sioux Indian reservation). I have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1955.

SD: Can you tell us where you came up with the name, “Fakir Musafar” and why?

The original Fakir Musafar as depicted in a Sunday comic strip.

FM: In 1977, Doug Malloy and then icons in the tattoo industry (like Ed Hardy and Sailor Jerry) decided to hold the FIRST international tattoo convention in Reno, Nevada. There was no piercing industry then as such, only Jim Ward and me. We were invited to participate and bring a spectacular show for the closing event. Doug asked me to do all the practices I had adopted from other cultures: bed of nails, bed of swords, etc. for the show. But he felt my regular given name was not memorable enough for the event. Not good for publicity. So he asked me if I had a special pet name I could use. I respected and honored a 12th century Sufi called Fakir Musafar who said to get close to the divine, you should pierce yourself. I adopted that name for the show; after the event the name was remembered and stuck.

SD: Fakir, you are known to a lot of us fellow body piercers as the Father of the Industry, what are your thoughts regarding that statement?

FM: Jim Ward is actually the Father of the Modern Piercing Industry (he commercialized it) and Doug Malloy is the Grandfather (he championed it). My job has been to educate. I am widely known as the “Father of the Modern Primitive Movement.” Piercing and a whole lot more, espousing a whole different attitude about “body.”

SD: How do you feel about the fact that many people think of you as a role model or icon?

FM: Because I was a pioneer and brought something new into our Western Culture, I became an icon. I was #1 in this regard and my teaching was by example not proselytizing. I was driven by an urge to share, not ego driven.

SD: What specifically in other cultures prompted you to want to learn more about your body and at what age did you start the exploration?

FM: I grew up surrounded by Native American culture, friends, customs and vibes. This was more comfortable for me than Western Christian Culture of the white settlers in South Dakota where I lived. Later, I found that Lakota Sioux and Mandan customs and beliefs were much the same as Hindu and Sufi customs and beliefs. My early explorations began at age 12.  See attached my story from “Bodies Under Siege.” I had my first out-of-body experience at age 17 trying the bondage trancing ritual of Eskimo shaman.

Photos taken by Doug Malloy of the entertainment at the Reno ITTA tattoo convention in 1977 where Fakir made his public debut.

Belly dancer stands on Fakir’s back while he lies on swords
Fakir lies on a bed of nails while Sailor Sid hammers a wooden block on his back.
Fakir tows the belly dancer from the room on a luggage cart attached to the deep piercings in his chest.

SD: When or how did you discover that through pain, one can connect with inner self and conscience?

FM: At age 12 to 16 by trying some of the practices like Sun Dance of the Lakota and Ball Dance of Hindu devotees. Later in life when I visited other cultures, especially Hindu culture in Malaysia, and tried their body rituals with hook pulls, Kavadi and suspensions. However, PAIN is NOT my God! The notion of “pain” only exists in Western Culture.

SD: Who specifically would you consider to have had a large influence on your life direction in regards to body enhancement and manipulation and why?

FM: My own inner self, then by examples of other seekers via body ritual, the inner understandings of other cultures.

SD: I read in another interview with you in which was mentioned that “you had befriended some of your local Indian tribesmen and started to learn about them as people and their culture.” What was it that prompted you to participate in your first ceremony with them, and what was it?

FM: I was bored and wanted to experience something outside the limited  dimensions  of the culture I was living in.   I did my first permanent body piercing at age 14, my first mini Sun Dance ritual and out-of-body experience at age 17, my first tattoo at age 19 (self-made).

SD: Were you accepted entirely by the Indians that you were around or were there some that didn’t want the outside influence from you?

FM: Yes, I have always been understood and accepted by the Native American tribes where I lived. Later by other Native Americans and Tamil Hindus in Malaysia and some Sufis. I connect with them all on an energetic level. They can usually “read” energy.

SD: How would you describe pain? How are you able to overcome it so easily?

FM: Again, PAIN is NOT my God. The idea and emotions behind the word “pain” are strictly a Western, Christian and modern notion. Pain is merely intense physical sensation. Proper mindset and training, as in some other cultures, allows one to accept ever increasing sensation and convert it into an ecstatic state. There are physical changes, like release of endorphins, followed by trance and freedom of consciousness from the material world. What is called “pain” can open doors to “bliss”. One can only learn this through personal experiences. In my case, body rituals including those of body piercing, tattooing, suspensions and pulls.

SD: Do you wrestle with the fact that most people want their piercings for simply aesthetic reasons and miss some of the important ritualistic meanings in them?

FM: Yes, I have a problem with this. These people lack the education, training and guidance to understand tattoos as “magic marks,” piercings as movers of energy and body rituals involving intense physical sensation as doorways to spirit.

Fakir and Jim Ward sundancing for the
documentary film Dances Sacred and
Profane, Wyoming, 1982. Photos by
Charles Gatewood.

SD: When, why and how did you decide to start your piercing school?

FM: After we launched the modern body piercing movement in the 1970’s, the sexual and spiritual aspects stayed pretty much intact until the mid I980s. Then body piercing became popularized, commercial, and mainstream. By 1990, the beauty and intent of the practices got somewhat lost, as well as the skills and practical knowledge to do safe and reasonable piercing. I started Fakir Intensives in 1991 as an educational enterprise to counter this trend.

SD: Were there many obstacles to overcome in doing so? If so, what were they?

FM: Everyone who could get a clamp and needle thought they were a piercer. Many mistakes were being made with BAD outcomes. The energy movement and spiritual aspects of body piercing were being mostly ignored. Out of conscience, I felt I had to do something to counteract the mad rush to “mutilate” and “decorate.”

SD: What piercers are you most proud of teaching and seeing their success?

FM: At Fakir Intensives, we have trained and educated some 1200 piercers since 1991. Many of them are now captains of the industry with some of the the best long term successes in the industry. Fakir trained piercers are in studios all over the U.S. and the world. We set the standards which others try to match. I am especially proud to have been a part of the establishment of the APP and of the Fakir Intensives instructors who are now on the APP Board of Directors.

Jim Ward rigs Fakir into the cage-like Kavandi for
a ritual, Valhalla Ranch, California, 1983.
Photo by Mark I. Chester.

SD: Is the piercing school successful?

FM: Of course. We have become a de facto standard in the industry.

SD: Are you surprised at the immense popularity of piercing today?

FM: Yes, never thought contemporary culture was ready for it. But a bit disappointed by some of the results.

SD: What advice would you say to someone who wants to get into piercing but isn’t quite sure how?

FM: Get educated on the skills, health, safety, energy movement and spirit of the craft. Yes, it is a craft with a little bit of magic thrown in.

SD: What are your thoughts on some of the heavy body modification that is going on today?

FM: Yuck! Much of it was misappropriated from other cultures and has gone “off the rails.” Respect for the originators and Mother Nature is very much needed or there will be a lot of physical, psychological, social, and spiritual damage.

SD: What are your ideas for your future in the next 5-10 years; what would you like to be doing or accomplishing?

FM: I only hope I have been a positive influence on something newly brought in contemporary culture.

SD: Is there anything that you would like readers to know about you that isn’t common knowledge?

FM: I am an ordinary man who simply heard the sound of a different drummer.

See BODY OF GOD:  www.hulu.com/watch/531912

Annie Sprinkle with Fakir as photographed by Charles Gatewood for his book Forbidden Photographs

Point 83: Point of View

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EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN

Left: A carnival or
circus performer from the 1890s
The amazing Mr. Lifto performing with the Jim Rose Circus.

Remember grandma’s junk that you couldn’t give away ten years ago and ended up sending to the Salvation Army or the dump? Just look at the prices they’re charging for it now that it’s become “collectable.”

Some of us who are a little older may even have seen a revival in popularity of the fads and fashions of our youth. Anyone for disco, bell bottoms, platform shoes, lava lamps, mood rings?

There are a lot of things in life like that somehow come full circle. Assuming you live long enough, it’s bound to happen to you too.

Piercing as a performance medium isn’t anything all that new, come to think of it. Just how many hundreds of years have Indian sadhus been working some dusty street corner, a skewer through their cheeks or hooks in their flesh, begging a few coins from passersby?

While today’s performers may not be doing anything new, there can be no doubt as to the great range and variety of imaginative ways in which they are incorporating piercing into their acts.

Some of this issue’s featured performers use their piercings to perform amazing feats of strength or endurance to entertain and astonish their audience. Take, for instance, the Torture King or Mr. Lifto (shown here). This tradition has roots among traveling circus sideshow acts: human and animal freaks, fire eating (see Chuk’s story in this issue), and sword swallowing, to name a few. In this type of performance, the body and its limits tell the whole story. We are compelled to watch these variations on the human condition, to find bits of ourselves in the “Other.”

Piercing as metaphor is often used in more high-concept performance art. Stelarc, Orlan, and David Wojnarowich are among the many high-profile artists who make statements using temporary piercings and/or body alterations. In this issue Justin Chin explores the notion of immunity and transmissible diseases by “infecting” himself with his own blood. Dave Tavacol gives us a glimpse into an unpleasant but not so far-fetched future, putting a piercing-related twist on cultural disapproval suggestive of The Scarlet Letter.

As many of us know, piercings can project one into an altered state of consciousness. The feats of Amazonian shamans, Indian fakirs and sadhus, and the grand spectacle of a tribal rite of passage all bear historical testimony to this tradition. Mr. Fab is one of a growing number of exponents of the neotribal performance path, using piercings to share these ancient experiences with the audience.

Drag queens are some of the most elaborate performers of all, using familiar paraphernalia to subvert our comfortable understanding of culture, gender roles, and socially acceptable behavior in a theater of the absurd. As Trauma Flintstone, Cirus, Mark Pritchard, and Fennel explain, piercing can be one more theatrical prop. Fennel’s performances play out a particularly astute perspective on a common breed of nihilistic club performance currently much in vogue. In classic drag oneupmanship, he gets even by beating them at their own game.

Many of the performance artists who appear in this issue have been a part of the Ron Athey show. These include Crystal Cross, Julie Tolentino Wood, Marina Vain (Spike), and Paul King. They utilize piercing as metaphor, crude spectacle, punishing absurdity, powerful, bitter humor, and panache to make strong statements about AIDS, gender, homosexuality, religion (especially Christianity), fetishism, and outsider status. Their ever-expanding international audience bears testimony to the fact that piercing and performance are a naturally matched pair, centuries old and yet still fresh, with the power to move the viewer to another state of awareness.

—Michaela Grey & Jim Ward

Point 83: Conference, 2018 from Editor Jim Ward

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It warms my heart to see this issue of The Point and brings back fond memories of issue 49 of Piercing Fans International Quarterly. Published by Gauntlet in 1996, it featured more than a dozen performance artists active at that time.

In 1996, suspension had not become the popular pastime it is today. Only one photo in the 64 page issue features it, but there were plenty of imaginative ways in which artists found to express themselves with piercings and blood.

The opposite page features the editorial Michaela Grey and I wrote for the issue. The names may have changed, but perfomance art is as vital today as it was in 1996.

The cover of PFIQ issue 49 with Spike the Holocaust Girl photographed by Christine Kessler
Back cover featuring Ron Athey in the “St. Sebastian Enlightened in a Zen Garden” scene of The Casting Out/A Crown of Thorns performance at L.A.C.E., Los Angeles, November 13, 1992.
Photo by Dkon Lewis.

Point 81: Profile of a Responsible Piercer

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The following excerpt is from Responsible Body Piercing, the Gauntlet seminar training manual written by Michaela Grey and Jim Ward and first published in 1995. Reissued in 2016, copies of this historic document are available from runningthegauntlet-book.com

AN INTRODUCTION

When Gauntlet first came into being in 1975, who would have imagined the phenomenal popularity body piercing would be enjoying less than 20 years later? In response to the huge demand, people calling themselves “piercers” have been springing up all over. From tattoo shops to beauty salons, almost every city and town now has at least one so-called piercer in residence. A few of them are good; some do poor piercings but are at least clean, and some are just plain dangerous.

Presumably you are reading this because you want to become a piercer yourself, and it is hoped that you wish to become a responsible piercer. We have chosen to call this manual Responsible Body Piercing, NOT Professional Body Piercing. It is very important for you to understand that NO ONE can make you into a professional after a short course of study, and, in fact, we make no such claims. Experience has proven it takes between a year and a half and two years of supervised training for someone with aptitude to become a fully-qualified piercer. Anyone who leads you to believe that you are ready to start a piercing business after taking a weekend seminar and doing a few piercings is dishonest, irresponsible, and unethical. Professional piercers, like good health care workers, good hair stylists, or any other professionals, are not created overnight. They must all train and practice under  the  supervision of someone with more knowledge and experience. In  time they will gain the skills and confidence  necessary  to   win the trust of their clients  and make the piercing experience as untraumatic and painless as possible.

So what if you won’t be a professional by the time you finish this book. What is far more important is for you to start right now to be a responsible piercer. We encourage you to learn and practice your craft in an ethical, responsible, and, yes, professional way. Form in your mind an image of the professional you wish to be, and in time you will become that image.

This training manual is intended to provide a broad overview of the world of piercing, to teach the fundamentals of sterilization and hygiene, and to help you begin developing a safe and solid technique. It is beyond the scope of this text to make you a good piercer. That can only come with aptitude, practice, time, and patience.

The information herein is based upon the combined experience of nearly 20 piercers over a period spanning almost 20 years. And while these techniques are used daily in Gauntlet’s establishments, our piercers constantly seek ways to refine and improve them.

We all know there is a vast difference between just being able to do something and being able to do it professionally and well. Becoming a professional, “master” piercer—a title rapidly becoming meaningless because it is so abused these days—requires more than learning some basic information and techniques. A true “master” piercer always acts responsibly, i.e. safely, knowledgeably, and professionally. These are the traits and qualities you should cultivate and strive to assimilate. Unless and until they have all become an integral part of your being, you cannot consider yourself a professional, much less a “master,” piercer.

THE KNOWLEDGEABLE PIERCER

No matter what profession you pursue you will have to gain whatever knowledge is unique to it. Piercing is no different. Here are some of the things you will be required to know:

  • The names and locations of the various traditional piercings.
  • The best jewelry designs and materials for each.
  • How to prepare and mark them.
  • The appropriate piercing tools and techniques for each.
  • Their healing times and appropriate aftercare.
  • When a particular piercing isn’t a good choice for a particular individual.
  • Sterilization from A to Z.
  • How to deal with people, gain their trust, put them at ease.

THE SAFE PIERCER

Without question safety is the single most important requirement of any piercer. You simply must not put your clients or yourself at risk in any way.

  • Sterilization and hygiene must be strictly observed.
  • Never do a piercing that could endanger the piercee or install a piece of jewelry that is not appropriate even though the client might want it.
  • Never use an ear piercing gun to pierce anything. Period!
  • Absolutely never do piercing under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Likewise never pierce anyone who is intoxicated.

THE PROFESSIONAL PIERCER

With a solid knowledge of one’s craft and safe techniques and procedures, it is possible to be an acceptable piercer. To be a truly professional, “master” piercer requires the highest standards of character and conduct, qualities that go beyond the basics.

  • A professional piercer is ethical and honest. It is very important not to pretend to be something you’re not. Your clientele deserves the truth. They have a right to know the extent of your training and experience. Studying this manual does not entitle anyone to claim that they are “Gauntlet-trained.”
  • Arrogance and a know-it-all attitude are incompatible with professionalism.
  • The quality of a piercer’s work has a definite correlation to their motivation to pierce. Just as a physician who becomes a doctor for the prestige and money will make a poor caregiver, the piercer who is in it for a quick buck, or because it’s “cool” will probably not be very good at it.
  • Piercing requires patience and a willingness to listen to the fears of a client and respond to those fears in a way that will allow that person to relax and enjoy the experience. Although a good piercer will not always be able to connect with a client, they should make every effort to try and make the experience as positive as possible, or, if that isn’t possible, refer the client to another piercer. Whenever you are going to pierce someone, you should ask yourself, “Is this how I would want to be treated? Would I be comfortable in this situation”? Nothing will drive away business faster than a bad experience with you. And word of mouth can be your best or worst advertising.

These then are some of the most basic requirements of a responsible, professional piercer. Let’s now begin to look at these in greater detail.

Point 79: BPA: Charles Gatewood

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Paul King
APP Treasurer

The 2017 Body Piercing Archive exhibit at the Association of Professional Piercers annual Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas will feature the life’s work of the photographer and videographer Charles Gatewood. With over 250,000 images spanning more than 50 years, almost all of you are aware of his prolific work, whether you realize it or not.

Like most people, I was aware of his work long before I met him. It was in a bookstore in Long Beach, California in 1989, I first saw his photographs of Fakir Musafar’s O-kee-pa suspension and Jim Ward’s Sundance pull in Modern Primitives. Most are unaware that the book’s direction was largely influenced by Charles Gatewood’s contacts provided to V. Vale and Andrea Juno of ReSearch. Although I never personally identified as a “modern primitive,” the book formalized my desire for complete tattoo body coverage with coherent and graphic themes. This book’s influence cannot be overstated; it took fringe individuals and small communities and cohered them into a global movement with a far-reaching cultural impact.

Erl circa early 1990s
(original name of bridge piercing was Erl)
Photo from Paul King’s private collection

Despite the inseparable association with Modern Primitives, these powerful ritual images of Fakir and Jim Ward were not created for the book. These were documentation from an earlier important film collaboration. The film Dances Sacred and Profane (a.k.a. Bizarre Rituals) was released in 1985. Originally, the documentary was to be focused on Charles Gatewood. However, in the process of making Dances Sacred and Profane, the film became much more a documentation of and promotion for Fakir Musafar. The 2003 film Forbidden Photographs is much more representative of Gatewood’s work and story.

Tattoo Mike of NYC, 1994.
Photo from the Paul King private collection

Arguably, the photograph Charles took of Bob Dylan on tour in Sweden in 1966 was his most important. This photo showed Charles he could make money off of his photography. In fact, he continued to make many thousands of dollars in licensing from that single Dylan image over the next fifty years! The photo also opened doors. From this single image, Charles eventually became a staff photographer for Rolling Stone Magazine and made many contributions from 1972 through 1975. He photographed numerous celebrities including: Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Sly and the Family Stone, Carlos Santana, Alice Cooper, Liza Minnelli, Slade, Joan Baez, Stiv Bators and the Dead Boys, Al Green, Ella Fitzgerald, The Hermits, Helen Wheels, Quentin Crisp, Abbie Hoffman, Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Jimmy Page, Robert Palmer, Brian Gysin, Nelson Rockefeller, etc. and he even landed a cover with Rod Stewart. Many of his photos reached iconic status, however, they usually did so without his name being associated with the image. In the late 1970s, Gatewood’s friendships with the tattooist Spider Webb and porn star Annie Sprinkle propelled him into the world of fetish and body art. Both of these wild personalities opened Gatewood’s eyes, further fueling his passion for sexual kink, that at that place and time very much included tattooing and body piercing. Spider and Charles had several tattoo book collaborations and even created a book proposal in the 1980s for the next big trend – “body piercing” – that was rejected by all the publishing houses as ridiculous. Of course, they were ahead of the times. It was through Annie Sprinkle that Charles met Fakir Musafar and Jim Ward.

Michaela Grey, San Francisco, 1991 (before she became APP president).
Photo from the Paul King private collection.

In 1984, Charles Gatewood published Wall Street, a book very uncharacteristic of his salacious and shocking subjects. This political photographic essay juxtaposes architecture against humans circulating the economic heart center of capitalism located in lower Manhattan. For Charles, the decade spent wandering the streets in the daytime capturing images of pedestrians and concrete angles was meditative, even therapeutic. These lone journeys offered some balance to the characters and experiences found in seedy bars, dark dungeons, and shooting galleries of the night. The wild success of the book gained Gatewood greater critical acclaim and prestigious awards as well as future book deals, exhibitions, and lecture opportunities.

In 1990, I was hanging out with Gauntlet piercers Dan Kopka and Elayne Angel at their condo in West Hollywood. One of them popped in an underground video. I still remember the grainy interview of a punk guy with a lip ring. At that time, such images were extremely rare and exciting stuff! Charles Gatewood’s videos will never be remembered for their crude production  value,  but rather for the rarity of the footage. Charles’ first piercing video, in 1986, Erotic Tattooing and Body Piercing, included a Jim Ward lecture in NYC. Upon release, Charles found there was a lucrative home video market.

Full disclosure, although I had met Charles several times in the 1990s, I was not friendly towards him. At best I was indifferent, but often I was dismissive. In my twenties, I had a very low opinion of fetish photographers. I would see my friends poorly compensated for their modeling and then their images would unknowingly get turned into greeting cards or plastered on buses as advertisement for STD treatment! I viewed fetish and body art photographers as sexual predators and economic exploiters of my community and friends.

However, during one of my countless used bookstore searches for piercing history in the early 2000s, I stumbled upon Charles Gatewood’s fine art photography book Sidetripping from 1975. My mind was blown! All my preconceptions of who Charles Gatewood was as a person and an artist were challenged. This astonishing work rivaled that of my favorite photographer Diane Arbus, except Gatewood’s book was also in collaboration with William Burroughs, a tremendous writer that greatly influenced me in my younger life! A life lesson learned, I reached out to Charles.

He invited me into his home. We had a casual friendship, I would see him maybe four to six times a year and always one on one. He’d make us tea, show me his latest art projects, we’d catch up on news. I’d dig for history lessons and he’d usually sell me something, or at least try to!

We shared the experience of having degrees in anthropology. Something that became apparent to me was at a public level his degree in anthropology was often toted as a strategy to contextualize and legitimize his work, however, his motivations and methods would be viewed as highly problematic by today’s rigorous academic standards. Charles was an experience junkie. He craved  thrills and excitement. In his own words, he was a “gonzo-journalist.” He wanted his pictures to go “POW!”

He was a passionate man, whose art and pursuits were driven by his thirst for excitement found in the new, the unusual, and the sexual. The camera lens allowed him access, power and privilege. Photography seduces many subjects and as a recognized photographer the aphrodisiac of the camera grew stronger. Rather than granting permission, models would actively seek him out!

Jack Yount, San Francisco, 1993.
Photo from the Paul King private collection

Like an old-time wheelin’ and dealin’ carnival barker, Charles drew in individuals and groups with his fantastic life stories and whispered back door offers of his photographic works at “below gallery prices.” He was a self- made and self-employed artist for 50  years! He prided himself on getting by without ever having to have a real job.

Fakir Musafar during the filming of Sundance Ceremony for Dances Sacred and Profane, Wyoming, 1982.
Photo from the Paul King private collection

Charles hoarded and thank God for that. His inability to let things go meant he had crates of magazine and newspaper clippings with jokes, photos, pop culture reviews, etc. referencing body piercing and tattooing. Although far from properly preserved, still, he had them while most of us were throwing these ephemera away. Much of the later  dated material, he simply donated to the APP/BPA.

Charles grew more familiar with my work and involvement with the APP. We agreed it would be amazing if we could put something together for the 20th anniversary of Modern Primitives. In 2009, Charles and V. Vale of Re- Search gave a well-received presentation  at  the APP Conference in Las Vegas. The breadth and quantity of his late 1980s and early 1990s video work is staggering and unique to the body piercing community. He has hundreds of hours of footage that includes Sailor Sid, Jack Yount, Ron Athey, Elayne Angel, Hanky Panky, Allen Falkner, Erl, Annie Sprinkle, Mr. Sebastian, the founders of Body Manipulations, Al D. (yes, the same guy as the APP Scholarship), Raelyn Gallina, and many  early  Gauntlet piercers, some even before they were piercers. While Charles managed to sell his entire photography archive, including personal journals, to the U.C. Berkeley Bancroft Library, their archivists turned down his video catalog. They could not mentally offset the poor production value and the cost of digitization against the historical importance of these recorded histories. Had the APP Board of Directors not stepped in, much of our shared history would have been lost to the dump!

On December 8, 2015, Charles Gatewood donated the Flash Video  collection to the APP and Body Piercing Archive (BPA). After he passed away, his estate turned over the remaining personal video archive, including interviews, recorded lectures, b-roll, unedited footage, etc. to the APP and BPA.  To date, the APP and BPA have digitized nearly 250 consumer and professional grade tapes! Charles and I discovered early on that we both had a history with alcohol and had sworn off the bottle decades before.  However, Charles suffered from chronic back pain. He turned to prescrip- tion opioids and cannabinoids for relief. He started cancelling our rendezvous. Eventually, the opioids took over contributing to a growing depression and organic dementia. I expressed my concerns to him, perhaps too little and too late.

Jim Ward doing the Sundance Ritual at Devil’s Tower, Wyoming during the filming of Dances Sacred and Profane, 1982.
Photo from the Paul King private collection

On April 8, 2016, he attempted to take his own life by jumping off his third story apartment balcony. The result was catastrophic injuries putting him in a coma and leading to his death on April 28. He did finally pass in peace, surrounded by folks that loved him. If the details of his death may seem too gruesome, please remember, this is a man that spent his entire career embracing the brutality of life. He would expect no less.

For further exploration of Charles’ career check out these retrospectives: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/05/arts/charles-gatewood-photographer-of-extremes-dies-at-73.html?_r=0 https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2016/04/29/charles-gatewood-groundbreaking-photographer-dead-at-73/ Informative article, despite the author’s naiveté of body modification practices and communities: https://alum- ni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/spring-2017-virtue-and-vice/finding-his-tribe-charles-gatewood-bancroft

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

1 Comment read From the Editor, Issue 73

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.