High Voltage Tattoo is a graphic perspective on today's global tattoo culture by Kat Von D, star of The Learning Channel's L.A. Ink and one of the most talented and popular artists working today. Designed in a style that is reminiscent of a handmade Gothic journal with its red padded cover, ornate typography, and parchmentlike pages, it throws the door wide open to tattooing culture in the way only an insider like Kat can.
High Voltage Tattoo traces Kat's career as an artist, from early childhood influences to recent work, along with examples of what inspires her, information about the show and her shop, her sketches, and personal tattoos. The book goes deep into tattoo process and culture: readers can see up close the pigments, the tools, and the making of complex, even collaborative, tattoos.
With a foreword by Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx, the book features images and stories about celebrities, rockers, pro skaters, and everyday citizens, including Slayer's Kerry King, Anthrax's Scott Ian, Margaret Cho, Jackass' Bam Margera, David Letterman, and many others. It profiles and showcases the work of artists Kat has selected from all over the world, her interviews with people who have compelling tattoos and stories, and amazing images of extraordinary tattoo work. Numerous portfolios throughout the book showcase a range of relevant subjects, from the black and gray portrait work for which Kat is famous to a popular tattoo theme, such as the rose or biblical images. There is a knockout ten-page full-body spread of Kat—clad in a yellow bikini and seven-inch, rhinestone-studded red stilettos—that catalogs in detail all her personal tattoos on her front, back, left, and right sides—even her hands and head.
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Kat Von D is a world-renowned tattoo artist. The owner of High Voltage Tattoo and Wonderland Gallery and the star of The Learning Channel's hit global show, LA Ink, which ran for five years, she is the author of two New York Times bestsellers, High Voltage Tattoo and The Tattoo Chronicles. She continues to add to her spectrum of passions through numerous creative outlets, including a makeup line with Sephora as well as an eponymous clothing line. She also set the Guinness World Record for doing the most tattoos in a twenty-four period in 2007. Her tattoo shop and art gallery are located in West Hollywood, where she happily resides.
It's a funny thing about biography pages on websites...they never seem to achieve their goals. Ostensibly, the facts presented seem to attempt to give you some idea of the artist, where they are from, where they are going, what they believe to be valuable, etc. These pages are intended to let the visitor know better the person behind the work, but they usually fall far short of communicating any real sense of the person's character. They read more like a bland political pamphlet than an insight into someone's personality, and in doing so, nothing more than a contrived sense of image is conveyed. It is with this in mind, and in the spirit of trying to do better, that, when asked, I gladly accepted the chance to write this little note and hopefully help those who are curious to know more about my friend Katherine.
I guess it makes sense to start with the basics. Born on March 8, 1982, in the town of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, she moved to the United States when she was 4, settling in Colton, California. Her father, René Drachenberg, and her mother, Sylvia Galeano, were both born in Argentina, though René's family origins are German and Sylvia's are Spanish-Italian. Kat's paternal grandmother played a significant role in shaping her artistic development, particularly in playing piano and exposing her to the great composers, which, as anyone who knows her can attest to, led to her love for the works of Beethoven. Kat maintains a strong relationship with her parents and her siblings--a brother, Michael, and a sister, Karoline--and finding the time to spend with her family is a priority. Growing up in the Inland Empire, a collision of influences led Kat into our world much earlier than most; her first tattoo came at age 14, an Old English J on her ankle, a memento of a love gone-by. Shortly thereafter, realizing her natural art ability, in early 1996 her friends asked her to pick up the machine and get to work on them (her first effort was a Misfits skull with a homemade rig); the tattooing wasn't easy, but she knew it felt right and she knew she wanted to pursue it.
In 1998 she began working in her first professional shop, Sin City Tattoo, a local place in her neighborhood. A year and a half later, she moved on to Blue Bird Tattoo in Pasadena, California, for a year, and then on to Red Hot Tattoo in Arcadia, California. A little under two years later, she started working with the talented bunch at Inflictions, a shop out in Covina, California. This was a great period of growth in her work and led to her eventually moving to True Tattoo, for a chance to work with Clay Decker and Chris Garver. Any tattooist worth their salt can see what an honor and an opportunity this was, and any one who had known Kat over the course of her career up to that point knew that not only did she deserve the chance but she was also sincere and talented enough to add to the already high standards of that shop. In addition, it afforded her the opportunity to live and work in Hollywood, the heart of the city that she loves: Los Angeles. With this group, and the quality of the visiting artists and the additions to the lineup over the years, True Tattoo has become one of the shops that any real enthusiast (whether artist or client) must visit, a place where something great is always happening.
So much for the basics of her biography, let's move on to the what I think really matters, who I feel she is as a person and who she is as my friend. From the moment we met, I knew she was a bright, talented girl with a true affinity for tattooing, and our six years of friendship have offered me a view of her life that not only confirmed my initial impressions but also exceeded my expectations. As many of you who have tried to arrange an appointment with her know, she's booked completely, with a long waiting list; but what most people aren't aware of is that long before she appeared on television, she was one of the busiest artists in Los Angeles. Her work spoke for itself, and each piece she finished brought in fresh interest, this in addition to her comfortable bedside manner had her working at a pace that few equaled. To this day, I'm regularly astonished at her work ethic and enthusiasm for every piece she does, as well as her endurance, which, I say with lack of any exaggeration, is extraordinary. She is generous to a fault, incredibly loyal to her family, friends, and those in our business who treat her fairly; and despite all the bullshit that is part and parcel of this industry and the demands she is under, she is generally in a good mood and always finds the time to be there for you if you need her. I am glad to know her and proud to call her my friend.
I'm not sure what I was expecting when I ordered Kat's book. I saw how much work she put into it on LA Ink, so I preordered it. I expected some biography on her, maybe some stories, and some pictures of tattoo artwork.
This book has all of that, but it is so much more! Kat tells her story from her birth in Mexico, childhood and adolescence in California, running away at age 14 to Georgia, to her start in tattooing, going to Miami Ink, and being offered her own show, LA Ink.
She also includes photos of her favorite tattoos she has done and the stories behind them, as well as other tattoo artists and some of their tattoos. She has tattoo myths and etiquette. The artwork in this book is inspiring. Although it is a biography of Kat, it is more like an art book. I read it cover to cover and studied a lot of the tattoo photos closely.
The book itself is very nicely put together. The front and back covers have a sort of padding, and the pages have the look of old parchment. This is a wonderful book and well worth the price. I paid $23 (including shipping) for a preorder and the book retails for $29.95. However, I wouldn't balk at an even higher price for the book. It is that well put together and beautiful. I have never done a review on a book before, but this influenced me to write one.
Well I guess I should start off this review by stating emphatically that I don't have any tattoos, nor do I ever intend on getting one. Not that I have anything against tattoos, it's just that they aren't for me, although I do appreciate the incredible amount of talent behind a lot of the great tattoo artists of the past and present. Now having got that out of the way, I absolutely love some of the intricate designs and artwork that goes into a lot of the tattoos that I have seen. Especially those I have seen on TLC's L.A. Ink: Season 1 and LA Ink: Season 1, Volume 2 reality series. Of which we all know Kat Von D is the owner of the tattoo shop High Voltage and star of the series.
I was surprised to learn that she had a book coming out and learned about it after watching the episode where she talks about it and finally gets a foreword for it by none other than boyfriend and heavy metal god, Nikki Sixx, guitarist for the incredibly talented band, Motley Crue. Ever since then, I have been anxiously awaiting January 20th, 2009 in order to get my copy, which I am proud to say I have and already read through it twice.
Kat is very open and honest in this book about her life growing up and all the trials and tribulations that she, and her family, went through as she went from sweet little girl to, how should I put it, not so sweet little girl. At least in the eyes of her parents and certain other people in her life. Not that everyone felt that way, but I am quite certain there were more than a few.
I really enjoyed the variety of personal photographs from her early years, and in one instance early seconds of her life that were included in the book. It really added something personal to the book and I felt really allowed the reader to have a quiet personal moment with her.
The artwork that is displayed prominently throughout this book, both from Kat and a slew of other artists, is simply breathtaking and quite beautiful especially when you are also able to read the stories behind the artwork. From early childhood drawings, I especially liked the one of Catwoman, to her latest tattoos, Kat Von D shows you in a modest, very personable and quite energetic way why she is without-a-doubt one of the best tattoo artists alive today.
This book showcases some of Kat's favorite tattoos and the amazing stories that go along with them. Some are quite funny, while others are tear flowing sad, especially the one about a man losing his best friend, his best friends wife, and their baby, all in the same day. He memorialized them with a beautiful black and gray tattoo on his side. This is just one example of the stories in this book and the amazing artwork that Kat has done to bring them to life.
It is also painfully obvious that Kat herself is an amazing human being in the way she looks at life through her tattoos and the almost worship like appreciation and respect she has for other artists in her field. Of which she so graciously names several and, in some cases, showcases them and their artwork towards the end of her book.
Even if you are not into tattoos, this book and the life of Kat Von D is such an entertaining and enlightening read, that I would strongly recommend that you pick it up and read it. If you do have a tattoo, you and it (your tattoo) just won't ever be complete until you also have a copy of this book.
Shawn Kovacich Creator of numerous books and DVD's.
This book is packed full of interesting facts and pictures. I read it all today; I couldn't put it down. I appreciate the different sections; it is not super long. She has a lot of experiences to share for someone of her young age. I love the show, so I had to pre-order the book. I was not disappointed; every time I pick it up I notice something new.
