Body art becoming more acceptable
| JEFFREY WILLIS Assistant State/Local Editor As a kid growing up, most of us dove into a box of Cracker Jack hoping for the prize of a temporary tattoo. And now that we're older, not a lot has change, although the tattoos aren't temporary any more, and body piercings have also been added as a way to decorate our body. The new rush in popularity of body art is because "it's just gotten acceptable. It's gotten mainstream," Don Ohlsen, owner of the Flyin' Gypsy Tattoo Studio, said. "You know that you've got to kind of take it to the Axl Roses , the Chers, the Dennis Rodmans. They've brought it and taken it right in front of the public." Chris "DeSade" Beck, a body piercer at the Flyin' Gypsy Tattoo Studio, said that "there's a certain attraction about two people who have piercings. Say if a girl gets her nose pierced and that's the only piercing she has besides her ears there's something attractive about that." Beck said that the renewed popularity is also due in part to a renewal in the interest of the history behind the body art. "Most of (the body piercings) started back in African tribes and Egyptian tribes," Beck said. Ohlsen said that tattooing "is actually mankind's oldest art form." Tattooing "dates back over 3,000 years B.C. They recently found a perfectly preserved, mummified corpse of a guy in ice, and he had very distinct markings, tribal markings, what his craft was, where he was from. High priestesses have been found mummified with very elaborate tattoos," Ohlsen said. "When tattooing came to America in the late 1800s, it was the elite that brought it over here from France, and from England and from Japan. It was the elite that brought tattoos," he said. "And then it kind of fell out of popularity, and that's when it kind of developed its mischief, drunken sailor kind of image." Tattooing "is the last of the old fashion trades," Ohlsen said. "The process of putting a tattoo in the skin probably hasn't changed ever," Ohlsen said, "but the way you care for it, and the equipment as far as needles and the way they're made and set up and the electronics, itself, has kind of made it more sophisticated." "Tattoo pigment is actually dry. It's in a dispersion fluid," he said, And as the tattoo heals, the body absorbs the dispersion fluid of alcohol and distilled water. "What's left is an actual dry pigment suspended between the layers of skin," Ohlsen, who has been giving tattoos for 20 years, said. "You've got your dermis layer of skin which is the always changing and flaking layer of skin. You've got three layers of the epidermis which are your permanent three layers of skin, and under that, you've got fatty tissue," Ohlsen said. "A tattoo sets between the second and third layers of the dermis, and the top layers of skin act just like a window pane to look through," he said. Unlike what most people think, Ohlsen said, getting a tattoo doesn't hurt. "It's more irritating and annoying. It's an annoying process to get a tattoo," with only minor bleeding occurring, he said. The most popular tattoo is the rose, Ohlsen said, and the most common place to get a tattoo is on the upper arm. The only follow-up care is to moisturize the tattoo and keep it clean, Ohlsen said, and the area should be healed in about a week. However, Beck said that body piercings don't heal as quickly. |  LYNN MAY/Art Editor "Most piercings take between six and eight weeks to heal as long as the person that is pierced takes very good care of what they had pierced," Beck said. Before you get anything pierced, he said, you must consider how long it will take for that area to heal because certain areas such as the tongue may swell up for several days forcing the person to disrupt their lives. The person also needs to be aware of any polices that their workplace may have against body art, Beck said. Once the person decides to get the piercing, they need to make sure that they choose a reputable business, Beck said. Make sure that the place is clean, that the employees wear gloves, that the equipment is sterile, that you feel comfortable, that you are given follow-up care instructions and that all of your questions are answered before the piercings, he said. Ohlsen added that when getting a tattoo the costumer should also look at the artist's portfolio of work. Once the person decides what to get pierced, the area is cleaned with alcohol or it it's in the mouth rinsed thoroughly, the area is then marked, hemostats are put on the area to hold it and a needle is then pushed through the skin followed by the jewelry, Beck said. "The most painful part of the piercing itself is the hemostats, putting the hemostats on," he said. "Because the needle is so quick, it goes through in seconds, and you really do not feel the needle. The basis of the pain is the healing process. The hemostats sort of numb whatever you get pierced. After the blood rushes back into it, you get the pain," Beck said. If the person decides to take the piercing out, there usually is slight scarring, he said. The naval is the most common body piercing followed by the tongue, Beck said, and "just about every inch of your body can be pierced." The price range for body piercings being near $45 and goes up to about $80, Beck said. And the range for tattoos vary form $40 to about $100 per hour for custom work, Ohlsen said. There is no state law in Alabama dealing with age on the subject, but to get pierced or tattooed most businesses require that you must be at least 18 and have a picture ID, Beck said. Ohlsen said that both body piercings and tattoos are "very much an art collection." And he added that his career had been "20 years as an artist whether I'm doing it on skin or paper." As far as a person having too much, Ohlsen said, "never." |
Science fiction convention to be held online for first time
| JEFFREY HAHNE Assistant Intigue Editor From Oct. 31-Nov. 3, the Sci-Fi Channel will be the host of the first ever online science fiction convention, SCIFI.CON. SCIFI.CON will give science fiction fans the opportunity to chat with celebrities, watch movies, attend a costume ball, play a variety of games and purchase sci-fi products, all from the comfort of their own home. SCIFI.CON will take place on the Sci-Fi Channel's website, http://www.scifi. com, "The Dominion." "This is the first-ever online science fiction convention, and we would like it to become an annual event," Sean Redditz, online products manager for the Sci-Fi Channel, said. Because it is on the Internet's World Wide Web, people all over the world have the opportunity to participate in this ground-breaking online event. SCIFI.CON has already registered over 1,700 people for the convention, but Redditz said registration is not required. "Registration is free. It entitles the person to message-board access and their own web page in the convention," Redditz said. The website currently has a schedule of guests as well as a list of what programs are needed to attend the convention, such as a web browser and an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) client. The convention will also have movies running constantly. Nosferatu, Metropolis, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Gulliver's Travels and Night of the Living Dead are just some of the movies that will be shown. The movies will be shown in the Theater Pavilion, one of five pavilions in the convention. The other pavilions are the Fan Pavilion, the Game Pavilion, the Gallery Pavilion and the Market Pavilion. |  The Fan Pavilion will be the convention floor and will include booths designed by fans and professionals strictly for the convention. The Game Pavilion will offer game reviews as well as games that can be downloaded or played. The Gallery Pavilion will include online works of art, and the Market Pavilion will include general science fiction merchandise from books and music to movies and apparel. Science fiction celebrities will have live chats during the convention. Some of the celebrities are Henry Winkler, executive producer of Sightings; Stan Lee, founder of Marvel Comics; Arthur C. Clarke, science fiction author; Howard Gordon, writer for "X-Files;" cast members of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Colin Baker, who played the sixth Dr. Who. "The chats with the larger celebrities will be moderated, but the smaller celebrities shouldn't require it," Redditz said. During the same time as the online convention, the World Fantasy Convention is being held in the Chicago area. SCIFI.CON will have a representative relaying information from the Fantasy convention to the website. "We are trying to give something back to science fiction fans through an online convention," Redditz said. "The convention is for everyone, from the low-tech web users to the high-tech web users," he said. |
Exhibit will give viewers look at other side of gridiron
| WILLIAM BRINKLEY Staff Writer Behind The Glass will have a sporty look to it this week. The Auburn cafe is having a photography exhibit featuring Auburn football. The exhibit is called Sideline Images: Auburn Football In Pictures, Rod Popwell, owner of Behind The Glass, said. It features the photography of local artists Vicki Bolling, Mike Cortez and Steven Dekich. This is a change of pace for the local cafe, which normally exhibits fine art. "We're more fine arts. We've had a show about once every two months for nine years," Popwell said. A couple of reasons for the change include trying something new and a love of Auburn football, Popwell said. Originally, the exhibit was going to highlight events like game-day preparations rather than on -the-field action of Auburn football. It does contain those shots but has many action shots from the games, as well Popwell said. "We thought it was going to be more behind-the-scenes. Now, it's turned out to be more of your action shots on the field," Popwell said. One of the more notable action shots is Frank Sanders' catch against Alabama in 1993. "The first photographer, Vicki (Bolling), came up with the idea," Popwell said. | Bolling's shots stayed with the original idea of the exhibit. "Cheerleaders, crowd, band and the coaches Ñ that's what really interests me," Bolling said. The other two photographers took more of the action shots, Bolling said. "We're all together in the exhibit, and we complement each other. They get more into the action shots, and I don't," she said. The exhibit contains pictures dated from 1989 and took over two years to compile Bolling said. The photographers did all the work in their leisure time, she said. "I think it's interesting that none of us are full-time photographers. We do this in our spare time," she said. Bolling and the other photographers had to sort through thousands of photographs for the exhibit. "I know for me, at least 400-600," Bolling said. The exhibit opens Oct. 23 and will be in display from 8-10 p.m. Head football coach Terry Bowden will be there to sign copies of his family's book, "Winning's only Part of the Game: Lessons of Life and Football." "The opening on Wednesday is going to be fun. I just hope we have enough room," Popwell said.
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