Posts tagged safe piercing

Point 84: Looking back at Performance Art

The following pages feature articles from issue 49 of Piercing Fans International Quarterly, 1992. Over 25 years have passed, but the art was as vital then as it is today. Used with the permission of Gauntlet Enterprises.

Cover of PFIQ issue 49 with Spike the Holocaust Girl photographed by Christine Kessler.
Back cover of PFIQ Issue 49 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 Dikon Lewis.

Paul King

Image from David Wojnarowicz photo series Silence Through Economics.
In demonic drag Paul King torments Andrew Fucker during the San Francisco performance of Man’s Ruin.

Motivation and presentation may have changed, but the act of the artist using bodily fluids and perforated flesh as a vehicle of expression is nothing new. In the 70s, artist/groups such as Marina Abromovic and Coum Transmissions, later known as Throbbing Gristle, incorporated blood letting in their performances. In the 80s blood performances attracted greater atten tion. The artist Stelarc suspended himself from a crane over the streets of Copenhagen, held by giant hooks through his flesh.

Portraying the human body as “obsolete,” he gained international notoriety. The collaboration team of Ron Athey and Rozz Williams, known as Premature Ejaculation, was filleting and nailing themselves—and a few road kill—for Los Angeles audiences. On the subject of nails, performance artist Bob Flannigan would hammer the head of his dick to a board and then pry the nail out. AIDS activist/writer/ performance artist David Wojnarowicz utilized similar techniques when he stitched his lips shut as a visual testimony to the concept “Silence = Death.”

Through literature, music videos, high fashion, media sensationalism and governmental hysteria, the sub-culture of permanent and performance piercing has penetrated the mainstream. Don’t be surprised when Barbie starts sporting a “belly button ring.” Increased public attention, both negative and positive, has enabled cutting edge artists like Ron Athey to break from the underground circuit to “proper” performance theaters. Performing in established art environments with greater budgets, the artist can more accurately and elaborately bring their vision to stage.

Performance piercing in the 90s originated in the nightclub. At L. A.’s nightclub “Fuck!”, friends of the promoters included S/M practitioners, who started bringing their sex lives to the dance podium. Performers such as Elayne Binnie, Ron Athey and Crystal Cross were at the forefront.

Fetishism and exhibitionism were the primary motivations. Initial responses ranged from shock and revulsion, to admiration and lust. Most of what you see in nightclubs these days has become narrowly focused on shock value.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good shock more than anyone. However, one cannot rely on sticking needles through flesh to be shocking forever. At some point the shock fades. With repeated exposure even a strong image will lose its power. Just think of TV violence. Unfortunately for most viewers, there’s little variation available. Play pierced lips and ball dances are becoming as passé as navel piercings. It’s difficult to pinpoint where content and progression began to evolve with the individual performer. The process seemed to evolve unconsciously through the repetition of recurring fetish themes.

I was doing shows in nightclubs and as demonstrations for S/M organizations. I became detached; mechanical. The repetitive action of sticking needles through skin had become monotonous; perhaps I had just come to realize that action alone is empty. I began to incorporate my darker feelings into the pieces, creating a sort of psychodrama. Oftentimes I had preexisting relationships with my collaborators and assistants. When I allowed my feelings for the person to fuel the inspiration, the pieces developed depth. My work was now the expression and release of love, obsession, fear, insecurity and vanity. I used images of operating rooms, dungeons and dark basements. Bodily fluids, such as vomit, blood, piss, spit and tears are my favorite medium.

The first work of mine that contained any real substance was “Fuck Art…This is Love.” My partner at the time, Bud Cockerham, was an artist who is HIV positive. I delved into my unconscious fear of watching someone I love being reduced, wasted, and destroyed. I focused my anger at the idea of making love becoming synonymous with cross contamination. Intimacy was death. My anguish materialized. The piece takes place in a plastic-encased operating room. The

audience’s view is clouded and nightmarish. Masked , goggled and garbed head to toe in surgical scrubs, I catheterized him, infused his scrotum to monstrous proportions, sutured his lips shut, carved “HIV+” into his chest, and sprayed him and the enclosed room in his blood. In later performances this image was pushed and the ending changed. I introduced another character who is HIV-. Both drenched in their own blood, they make love through a polyurethane wall.

Mic Rawls in a Paul King performance Halloween night in New York.

“Puff-n-Snuff” is playtime in my darkest fantasies. The piece is a tribute to the bogeyman, killer clowns, Texas Chain Saw Massacre and of course, Dennis Cooper. It’s a snuff (murder) fantasy. The killer clown has two victims in a basement, mummified and tied to ladders. Hundreds of pictures of one of the victims are obsessively scattered all over the walls. One of the pictures is placed over a victim’s face. The clown straps on a dildo harness equipped with a 10” steel knife and proceeds to fuck one of the victims to death. A sterile piercing needle is attached into a battery powered drill which the clown presses through the victims’ cheeks. The clown then uses a circular saw to rip through arms and gut the abdomens of the victims. The lights dim while the clown writhes in organs and masturbates with the intestines. Don’t worry; all mutilations, except the drilling, are  stunts.

My recent work has gotten lighter, even playful. In the piece “Man’s Ruin,” co-creator Brian Murphy and I brought to life the elements of the traditional tattoo flash of the pin-up girl sitting in a martini glass framed with playing cards and dice. The image pays respect to vice and the sorrow it brings. The piece is staged as a game show hosted by a Las Vegas devil boy and devil girl. Flashing lights, blaring trashy rock, outrageous costumes and props set a dream-like mood. We tempt the contestant with the vices of sex, money, drugs, liquor and vanity. Every time he reaches for his desire we “hook” him. The viewers are the game show’s audience. Their cheers and cries egg us on to hurt him more. One by one, fishhooks pierce his finger webs, cheeks, scrotum and legs which are then strung up to a frame in the image of giant dice. The game continues until he dies. The show ends with rock-n-roll drag-queen nurses body bagging and toe-tagging the loser.

Owning my feelings and fantasies, confronting social taboos and phobias is my work’s passion. Catharsis became the mother of invention. The audience doesn’t always understand the artist’s motivation or the message; with art that isn’t always relevant. Whether awe-inspired or repulsed, rarely is one unmoved. v

Point 84: Piercing with Steve Joyner

Reprinted from Inkspired Magazine issue 22, 2014, with permission of the publisher.

Story: Sean Dowdell

Photography: Sean Hartgrave

Number of years piercing: 27

SD: What do think is something positive that the comes from the piercing industry, if anything?

SJ: It is adding cultural diversity to our society. It can give individual meaning as an outlet of expression to people.

SD: What would you like other piercers to know that they might not know about you?

SJ: Not a damn thing! Just kidding…! know that I have worked hard to push our industry but at the end of the day, my door is open to anyone who would like to talk to me about piercing. I love teaching and talking to everyone and learning myself. I’m more sensitive than people think. I don’t like arguing or arrogance.

SD: Being a veteran piercer, what advice do you think that most new pierc­ers should be aware of as they climb into our industry?

SJ: Piercers need to SLOW DOWN. Take the time to learn A-Z correctly. They need to go through a real apprenticeship and take it for what it is meant to be.

SD: Is there anything you wish to learn or get better at in the piercing industry?

SJ: Oh yeah! There will always be more techniques and newer equipment. I would love to learn to do hand poking tattoos. I am on my way to learning as well!

Point 84: Volunteer Thank You

by Caitlin McDiarmid, APP Administrator

This year’s volunteers. Photo by Shanna Hutchins

2018 is over and the planning for 2019 is well underway, with only 10 months between conferences.

I was extremely proud of this year’s crop of Al D. Scholars. Not only were they exceptional workers, but they really crammed in as much education as possible with their busy schedules. They made friends with each other and with the larger volunteer group. By the end of the week, they understood fully the gift of service and working with a team which had now become their family.

Our Al D. Scholars this year were: Anji Amarjargal (San Francisco, CA/Mongolia); Àngel Armengol Docio (Barcelona, Spain); Zakk Boyer (Fayetteville, NC); Becky Crossan (Stockton-on-Tees, UK); Txas Norris (Oviedo, Spain); Debbie Moore (Cork Ireland); Jon Salzer (Atlantic Beach, FL), and Daniel Wright (Liverpool, UK). Thank you for your courageous work and your willingness to be open to what seems like a chaotic mess (the volunteer experience), but has its own rhythm and makes beautiful music if you let it.

I want to thank LeRoi and Tether for contributing to the Al D. Scholarship fund; and PunkMedics for sponsoring five full “Forever Learning” Scholarships in Rick Frueh’s name; and NeoMetal for sponsoring one “Live Long and Prosper” Scholarship in Mark Siekierski’s name.

Jesse Enz, Shave Seven Wolfe, Danny Greenwood

Once again Piercers contributed to the No Excuses fund and sent Maggie Kellett and Victoria Rothman to Conference.

This year we invited back a few of the scholars from previous years who had received outstanding reviews: Jess Farrar, Nicole Holmes, Alicia Lowe, Erica Martin, Saku Penttilä, Michelle Rose, Cas Willems

We had volunteers, who have been with us for a bit, return to continue in service: Dae Jedic, José Carlos Calvo, Charlie LeBeau, James Biggers, Jason Heeney, Nathan Lee Grosvenor

The following love volunteers completed training, enabling them to become official volunteers this year: Megan Naito & Vivi Madero

Our AV crew was: Brian Moeller, Allen Falkner, Lani Soleil, Jesse Enz, Aiden Johnson, Paul Rainer, Shana Gyure, Michelle Rose

The AV shifts might be short but these folks handle one of the most pressure filled roles of Conference and we thank them for their hard work.

Julie Taylor had some additional challenges with the new location of our Registration. She met them head on, and along with the Volunteer Underground and other volunteers, was successful at getting both new and returning attend- ees down to the Event Center on our busy first days.

The Super Volunteers are our most experienced volunteers – and it shows. I am continuously impressed how fast they breakdown the 10 plus pallets and get everything sorted and organized for Conference. I’m continuously so happy that I don’t have to micromanage my team – that they have grown into brilliant mentors in their own right.

Our Classroom Supers: Seven Wolfe, Ryan Clark, Mike Mc, Marita Wikström, Zach Fitzgerald

Our Booth Supers: Casey Hosch, Danny Greenwood, Mark Montgomery,  Ken Seyler, Dianna Brown, Andru Rogge, John Robberson, Andre Berg, Jezebel Voulé, Jacob Spjut,  Kenny Hughes, Luz de Luna Duran

Our Registration Supers: Kendra Jane B., Theo Sheffler, Anna York, Badur Ramji, Stephanie Hill, Ismael Vargas Guerrero, Logan Wright (trainee)

Shorty is both a general volunteer and is the exclusive assist on the app. This year was the first that we didn’t have a paper program and Shorty’s an integral part of the success of the app.

I need to thank my Conference Managers: Will Spencer & Gus Diamond they were exceptional and took on even more work – as we all missed having Sarah Wooten as part of the mix.

Thank you Rob Gold for managing the Volunteer Underground this year – it’s a lovely thing to see how many different ways people can be of service.

Ed Chavarria and Luis Garcia – you continue to serve this organization in many ways and I consider you my friends and mentors.

Special thanks to Darrin Walters for not only bringing and paying for Ronald’s Donuts every morning… but taking me to the doctor to check my peepers.

Cale Belford is the Mentor to the Mentors – the leader of the group and the Mentor Program – and continues to do an amazing job. I heard more positive comments about the Mentors this year than ever before – thank you for making Conference a more welcoming and supportive event. A special thank you to Cale Belford for giving her all to the program.

This years’ Mentors were:

Aaron Solomon, Adam Richins, Aiden Johnson, Anna Beall, William Barron, Becky Dill, Blake Williams, Boge Gonzales, Cale Belford, Christy Lillard, Cozmo Whitest, Desi Arellano, Devyn Porter, Fernando Chavez, Gregory Charles, Hall Boyer, Jeremiah Currier, John Robberson, Johnny Velez, Josh Parkhurst, Julie Taylor, Kelly Carvara, Kris Heming, Krystal Klos, Lena Cemal, Mark Montgomery, Matte Erickson, Mike Mc, Nathaniel Tinker, Pablo Perelmuter, Pat Pierce, Perry Doig, Rich Hartwick, Rob Gold, Rob Hill, Ryan Clark, Shawn Porter, Shelby Richins, Jay “Stray” Johnson, Tanner Bennett, Tobias Vallone, Vanessa Jo, Whitney Thompson.

Theo Sheffler and Anna York enjoying the annual Volunteer breakfast at Bouchon

To John Johnson, I am not sure how the Conference Committee will do with- out you, but I am happy to have you back in the trenches. You did all the crappy off-site stuff this year – thank you, thank you, thank you.

To Jezebel Voulé, thanks for doing all the extras – your help keeps me sane and your friendship means more than you know.

Everyday I thank my blessings and two of those are Kendra Jane B. and Marina Pecorino. Without their work for the APP I would be drowning and unhappy and so incredibly tired. This year I came into Conference well rested and with an ease I haven’t experienced in a long time and it was largely because of these two lovely women.

Next year we move to a new hotel and I was thinking about how most of the volunteers have never known anything other than Bally’s. This pondering led me to look at a short list of volunteers who have volunteered for ten years or more for the APP. I was happy to honor the following people at the Banquet Dinner: John Johnson, Tiana McGuire, Jezebel Voulé, Anna York, Will Spencer, Gus Diamond, Seven Wolfe, Mark Montgomery, Ed Chavarria, Elayne Angel, Bethrah Szumski, Paul King, Darrin Walters, David Kelso, Sarah Wooten

They have served the APP for 10 years or more as Volunteers, as Committee Members, and as Board Members. I honor you. I thank you. And the whole of the organization has benefited from your dedication and service. The 10 year volunteer pin presented to you at Conference is a token of our appreciation.

Danny Greenwood, Jesse Enz, Seven Wolfe, Casey “dilla” Hosch, and Theo Sheffler. Photo by Danny Greenwood

Point 84: Volunteer Appreciation Award: Theo Sheffler

by Caitlin McDiarmid, APP Administrator

Theo working Registration
Photo by Autumn Swisher

The 2018 Josh A. Prentice Volunteer Award winner was Theo Sheffler.

Caitlin prepares to present the award.
Photo by Shanna Hutchins

I love this man and my man loves him too. Theo is one of those volunteers that has been quietly serving our Conference and may not get noticed by many of the Attendees. He is one of the friendly faces behind the Registration Desk, but does so much more for our Conference.

He makes me laugh more than anyone else at Conference and although I don’t see him but once a year, he’s always there for me to give me a hug, make me look at some stupid video, or have a deep conversation about life, love, and chickens. He gets rated as one of the friendliest and most helpful volunteers from year to year by attendees and volunteers alike. He’s humble and reminds everyone always to take things less seriously. Before Theo asks me for something the first words that come out of his mouth are “Is there anything you need?” In some ways, Theo epitomizes the word “service.” This year someone put Theo in charge at Registration, and while I have been teasing him about it, the fact is that he’s perfect to be the Registration Manager. He’s kind and polite, knows how to diffuse frustration with humor and has an amazing work ethic.

He’s been volunteering since we were at the Tropicana and has not missed a single year. I was so happy to honor my friend and colleague, Theo Sheffler with this year’s volunteer appreciation award.

Point 84: The Banquet

By Kendra Jane B.

Photos by Shanna Hutchins

Ryan Ouellette & Kendra Jane B.

Banquet is always a bitter sweet evening for me. On one hand it is finally a chance to relax and enjoy the company of my friends and piercer family usually I have been too busy to get more than a passing hug from them until this point in the week. On the other hand it means in a mere 24 hours everything is over; the boxes packed, the booths gone, everything seemingly vanishes in a blink of an eye until the next year. So let’s relive the golden highlights just one more time as we take a look back at this year’s banquet dinner.

The few hours that we all spend gathered in one room each year changes lives, solidifies relationships, and acts as the culminating event of our Conference. Every year we take a moment in our evening to celebrate those who have joined our piercing family as well as to remember those that have passed on. This year that climax of our days together held special meaning for me. With the abundance of loss and grief for many of us, this year I chose to make a personal tribute to that loss by donating just over 26” of my hair. A special thank you to everyone that celebrated that with me.

We use our Banquet Dinner to honor some of the deserving souls in our industry. This made it an extra special place to honor a new me. We also take time to celebrate all of the new Members since the last Conference, and to thank all of our volunteers for their hard work throughout the year. We celebrate and acknowledge those vendors that are leading our industry with both technical and creative innovations. I would also like to take a moment to thank our Sponsors once again that make our grand prize raffle draws at Banquet a highlight for the entire week.

  • Anatometal
  • Sleeping Goddess Jewelry
  • Industrial Strength Body Jewelry
  • Piercers.com
  • Auris Jewelry
  • Gold Heart Woodworks
  • NeoMetal, Inc
  • Alchemy Adornment
  • LeRoi Inc.
  • Glasswear Studios

We would also like to thank our Banquet Sponsors; Alchemy Adornment, Industrial Strength Body Jewelry, LeRoi Inc., and Steri-Wash.

All of that plus the chance to take some great pictures in the photo booth or belt out a tune at karaoke! This year’s party was one that will not be quickly forgotten. It truly was a golden night.

Mike Hernandez & Sky Renfro
Gus Diamond and Badur Ramji
Ryan Ouellette & Caitlin McDiarmid
Cody Vaughn & Jim Ward
Elvis
Badur Ramji, Shorty, Jason Heeney, John Robberson

WINNERS’ CIRCLE

Some of the top prize raffle winners:
Mark Montgomery, Christina Blossey, Tommy Mocek,
Theo Williams & Derek Lowe

Point 84: Membership Infographics Explained

by Marina Pecorino, APP Membership Administrator

The following infographics were presented in the annual Members’ Meeting at Conference. There’s a lot of information here, so I’d like to take a moment to make sure the full breadth of our recent growth is understood.

It’s important to note that our membership changes almost daily. Prior to Conference, the Membership Committee processed all applications received before April 1, 2018, and then went on hiatus until after Conference, so new memberships have a pre-Conference deadline.

However, the same does not apply for changes with existing Members. Keep in mind the nomadic nature of many piercers, moving to different studios, or relocating to different states and countries. These types of changes happen up to and even onsite at Conference.

It seems only appropriate to start from the beginning, so let’s look at the APP Membership Inception to Current graph. The golden columns show the total number of active Members at the close of each corresponding year.

This includes all membership types, and excludes our Corporate Sponsors. The blue line indicates the current active Members based on their join year. So, as an example, looking back ten years, 2008 ended with 254 total Members (a difference of 18 compared to the previous year), and only

16 of the Members accepted that year still maintained active membership at the time that these graphs were created. On the contrary, in 2017, the year ended with a total of 582 Members (a difference of 60 compared to the previous year), and 134 of those active Members (that’s 23%) joined last year! It’s pretty clear to see the incredible growth the APP has experienced over the last several years, with active Members more than doubling since 2012.

This brings us to the Pre-Conference Growth graph. This illustrates the number of new Members between January 1 and Conference of each corresponding year. Keep in mind  that  Conference  does not have a stationary date, so there is a bit of variation with the Membership Committee hiatus I mentioned earlier. Regardless, pre-Conference growth has almost tripled between 2014 and 2018.

Moving to the next set of graphs, we look at our memberships and  sponsorships by type. The first of this set is specific to individual Members and the membership type they fit into. Business Members—piercers with more than one year of professional experience, who meet both environmental and personal criteria—are by far our largest membership category, for obvious reasons. The second graph in this set includes all of

the information from the previous, but also includes Additional Location memberships and our Corporate Sponsors. The Additional Location memberships are used for Business Members who consistently work in more than one approved studio location.

The final two infographics show membership (Associate Corporate, Associate, Business, Business at Large, and Patron Members) by geographical location. The first shows all active Members in North America. California and Oregon have the highest number of APP Members, followed closely by Florida and Texas. The concentration of Members in these areas is somewhat predictable, based on the sheer size and density of populations in these states. The second map shows active Members worldwide. Despite being an international organization, APP membership is highest in the United States, but membership is growing elsewhere. Australia now has the third highest membership by country, most of which were added within the last three years.

The recent popularization and growth of our industry, in combination with the outstanding work of the Membership Committee, and our transition to an online membership system are all partly responsible for the recent prosperity of the APP. That said, the majority of the credit goes to industry professionals as a whole and the increasing demand for excellence. As professionals hold themselves and their studios to higher standards, and look to the Association of Professional Piercers for support, I’m confident that the organization and industry will continue to thrive.

Point 84: New Members & Sponsors July 2017-July 2018

Business & Business Members at Large

  • Rafael Andrade
  • Tabatha Andreason
  • Ryan Archuleta
  • Desi Arellano
  • Brent Baker
  • Sabrina Ballard
  • Daniel Barake
  • Cody Bauer
  • Starr Belew
  • Robyn Campbell
  • Cory Carmean
  • Nick Christiansen
  • Jeffrey Clark
  • Corey Cochrane
  • Andrea Costantino
  • Mercedes Courtoreille
  • Ben Creehan
  • Gregory Daniel
  • Benjamin Davis
  • Diego de Esteve
  • Jenell Di
  • Renee Dietzler
  • Brandon Downs
  • Sabrina Egan
  • Joe Espin
  • Molly Ezell
  • Aaron Foster
  • Holly Foutch
  • Paul Fox
  • Russ Foxx
  • Nathalie Gauthier
  • Corinne Graves
  • Erik Grover
  • James Haessly
  • Suzanne Hallett
  • Hannah Kimber
  • Derek Hibberd
  • Ben Higgs
  • Mike Hill
  • Leanne Hughes
  • Ashley Jay
  • Dae Jedic
  • Matthew Jensen
  • Vanessa Jo
  • Sara Johnson
  • Cash Kasper
  • Carl Kimberly
  • Alexander Kirkiles
  • Nia Kulbaba
  • David Lallemand
  • Jess Lane
  • Audrée Laroche
  • Rachael Lebron
  • Alexandria (Lexie) Lipp
  • Cassi Lopez
  • Benjamin Lynch
  • Vivi Madero
  • Tristan Macumber
  • Gregg Marchessault
  • Matthew Masterton
  • Cody Mattice
  • Rochelle Montagne
  • Austin Moore
  • John Moore
  • Nicolas Moses
  • Arthur Moy
  • Marina Müller
  • Megan Naito
  • Jenna Nichols
  • Colin O
  • Ian Olsen
  • Jason Orenstein
  • Alana Paris
  • Aniela Payne
  • Daniel Pereira
  • Ari Pimsler
  • Antonio Pisasale
  • Sean Powell
  • Kaden Rasmussen
  • Della Scott
  • Eloise Ridgewell
  • Victoria Rose
  • Randee Saenz
  • Kelli Saez
  • Nate Saint Pierre
  • Claire Savard
  • Sara Schneider
  • Lucas Sheffield
  • Pete Sheringham
  • Shane Shields
  • Dylan Smith
  • Carrie  Sorrels
  • Kari Spector
  • Cherry Sutherland
  • Pineapple Tangaroa
  • Kaitlyn Taylor
  • Andrea Trester
  • Sergi Tinaut
  • Chad Vahila
  • Bella van Nes
  • Paulus van Nes
  • Cour Vest
  • Laura Estefania Vicat
  • Zack Watson
  • Jade Winston
  • Lindsey Wright
  • Eddie Zvolanek

Associate Members

  • Jessika Agee
  • KristaJae Amante
  • Amanda Badger
  • Eleanor Boyd
  • Jill Bressmer
  • Shay Britton
  • Nash Bryant
  • Margo Dellaquila
  • Tyler Drake
  • Zach Elkie
  • Tyler Grayko
  • Melissa Gutierrez
  • Heidi Hess
  • Shayne Holborow
  • Megan Jaqubino
  • Randy Kunkel
  • Christy Lillard
  • Natali Martin
  • Stacy Martinez
  • Kristina Outland
  • Jasmine Riggsbee
  • Devin Ruiz
  • Sprout Scheier
  • Gabrielle Schultz
  • Skye Smith
  • Anthony Spaziano
  • Anthony Swift
  • Tanner Thurman
  • Daisy May Turnmire
  • Nick Whitcher
  • Burr White
  • Samuel Wright
  • Scott Lilly Young

Corporate Sponsors

  •  After Inked, LLC
  • Alchemy Adornment
  • Propper Mfg. Co. Inc.
  • Rio Grande, Inc.
  • Sleeping Goddess Jewelry