Modern Primitives: An Investigation of Contemporary Adornment and Ritual

First published 20 years ago, Modern Primitives is still called "the bible of the tattooing-piercing underground." Here is a celebratory reprinting, complete with a new introduction by original editor/publisher V. Vale. 


Interviews with 15 tattoo and body modification artists. Modern Primitives examines a vivid contemporary enigma: the growing revival of highly visual (and sometimes shocking) "primitive" body modification practices – tattooing, multiple piercing, and scarification.