Whang-Od as National Artist: Does the 95-year-old 'mambabatok' deserve such recognition?

There's an online campaign pushing for Apo Whang-Od, known as the oldest living 'mambabatok' or tattoo artist of Kalinga, to be declared as a National Artist. She's already in her nineties but her eyes are still sharp and she does the tattooing perfectly. Okay, maybe not perfect, as the lines she creates are obviously not perfectly straight, but that's the beauty of it. It's not made by a machine, and it's purely Filipino.

Whang-Od creates tattoos with a mix of soot and water which will then be applied to the skin through a stencil and then be pierced to the skin using a stick with a thorn end. She has been visited by many local and foreign tourists in her small village in Buscalan to have her make them tattoos and has been featured on CNN and the History Channel.

The tattoos are not simply for aesthetics as they have historical and cultural significance. "If you haven't got a tattoo you aren't a true warrior,"says Whang-Od. Those who have an eagle tattooed on their chest beheaded a Japanese enemy during World War II.

Watch her video story below.

Please feel free to share this post with the hashtag #WangOdNationalArtist if you think she deserves such an honor.

Comments

Check out this insane music box powered by 2,000 marbles

The brainchild of Swedish musician Martin Molin, the Wintergartan Marble Machine , is a bizarre music box that allows the user to play tunes using a hand crank and 2,000 steel marbles. The Rube Goldberg'esque contraption features a vibraphone, bass, drums, cymbals and other instruments that play a score programmed into a 32 bar loop comprised of LEGO Technic parts. It's mesmerizing, and you can watch how they built it over here . [h/t: MailOnline ]

Oil paintings that look like watercolors

Julian Meagher is an artist from Sydney who paints watercolor effect with oil. His paintings often revolve around Australian masculinity, juxtaposed by pop-culture references. Julian has an interesting back story. He's been a full-time artist for ten years, but prior to this he worked briefly as a doctor. The first few years was tough for him, and there were times he thought he should have sticked with his original profession. "It still feels weird to say I'm an artist," he told The Sydney Morning Herald . "You say that at a dinner party and you get weird looks. People think being an artist is a romantic, alcohol and passion-filled job. But it's not, and the idea of people seeing my work still scares me." Julian is a twice recipient of the New Work Grant from the Australia Council of the Art and has held solo exhibitions across Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Miami and Los Angeles. Be sure to check out his website for ...

Hirotoshi Ito creates creepy, yet enchanting stone sculptures

When I found Hirotoshi Ito's flickr stream about four years ago, my eyes widened and my jaw dropped. I've come across some amazing sculptures before, but Hirotoshi's work is one of the most memorable I've seen. The Japanese artist, also known as Jiyuseki, takes ordinary rocks found in a river bank near his home and adds his own bit of weird and funny alterations. He usually spends up to a month carving and decorating each of his stone pieces. As he chisels, Hirotoshi retains the original shape of the rock, then he adds accessories such as zippers, dentures, coins and other materials to complete the illusion. His creations are somewhat creepy, but they also bring laughs and smiles to the people who see them. You can learn more about Hirotoshi and his work on his website .

finding cain

Search This Blog