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

The Adorable Sculptures of Yen Yen Lo

These images are from a series of wall sculptures created by Yen Yen Lo . Here you can see her intricately textured ceramic pieces, looking downright adorable. Yen Yen Lo's eye for the unique and whimsical is delightful. Apparently they are not intended for kids under 16. Fifteen-year-olds cannot be trusted with fragile stuff. Get them a Funko Pop instead.

Enigmatic Shapes and Psychedelic Patterns

To say that I love Sanagi 's work is an understatement. Looking at her art feels sort of therapeutic, and I find her drawings refreshingly intricate. They're trippy, psychedelic, and resemble something that you might see under a microscope. Not much is Googleable about Sanagi, but that's fine. There aren't many artists these days that still pull off the whole mysterious vibe, so I commend her for that. By the way... they're all hand-drawn with pen and ink.

Brooklyn artist creates 'Star Wars' portraits using staples

There are so many kinds of artists as there are types of art. But James Haggerty is truly in a class of his own, since he is one of only a few masters that create amazing portraits using staples. "When my wife and I were expecting our first child I made a switch from using a paintbrush or etching needle in my art to using a common office stapler," wrote Haggerty in a blog post . "I think my staple mosaics are not a far departure from the etchings or cityscape oil paintings that I am known for. Staples, just like an etched line, can be bold and graphic or soft and subdued." With extraordinary patience and an organized plan, the award winning painter and printmaker from Brooklyn makes detailed mosaics of iconic Star Wars characters using thousands of multi-colored office staples. Haggerty starts each session by creating several ink drawings before transferring his favorite sketch onto a piece of painted black board. Once the design is etc...

finding cain

Search This Blog