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

Weirdly Charming

If you’re a fan of art that makes you do a double-take, you need to check out Richard Brener . Based in the UK, Richard is an internationally collected artist who works primarily with ink, fineliners, and gouache. When you first see his pieces, they actually look pretty playful. Then you realize the entire canvas is packed with thousands of tiny, ghost-like shapes he calls "champs." They’re all squeezed together like commuters on a rush-hour train, and the level of detail is honestly mind-blowing. Richard spends hundreds of hours drawing these little guys over and over. It’s obsessive, very intentional, and a little bit wild. The cool part is that the longer you stare, the more the vibe shifts. Check out more photos below:

Organ donor signature campaign by Y&R New York

In general, people don't like seeing ads, but sometimes, when companies and ad firms go out of their way to come up with creative, inspirational and clever ways to heighten awareness for their campaigns, ads can be pretty amazing. Take, for example, these posters Y&R developed for Long Live New York . They're simple, yet brilliant, and they appeal to their target audience's emotions. They're now in NYC subways to educate commuters about the noble act of organ donation. [h/t: The Inspiration Room ]

Official LEGO Slippers

Everyone hates stepping on LEGO bricks, because they hurt like hell. No worries though. For genuine LEGO fanatics, they can turn to these official LEGO hyper-padded slippers. More info at Golem 13 .

finding cain

Search This Blog