Pagan Fleshworks: The Alchemy of Body Modification [Paperback]

Maureen Mercury (Author), Steve Haworth (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2000

A groundbreaking work that sees the contemporary cultural trends of tattooing, piercing, implanting, and branding as a quest for a transformative psychic experience.

• Features unforgettable color photographs by Steve Haworth, the foremost body modification artist in the United States.

• Introduces a subculture that has gone far beyond the realm of simple tattooing.

Acts of body modification are deeply rooted in physical impulses that are obscured in our technological society. As we become more removed from the physicality of our existence, we lose touch with an essential part of our humanity. Body modification is a way of reconnecting to our bodies, to the earth, and to the divine.

Pagan Fleshworks reveals that the prevalence of body modification--tattooing, piercings, brandings, and implants--is the postmodern way to heal the body and enliven the soul. These "fleshworks" are the result of people creating their own rituals and symbols of meaning in order to feel a sense of the divine within. 

Maureen Mercury relates the various stages of obtaining fleshworks to the stages of alchemy, showing how fleshworks lead to psychic transformation--soul-making. Using mythological imagery and the stories of those who have chosen to modify their bodies, she identifies the signposts of our journey toward self-expression, exploring the connection between our desires and our outward life. More than 30 riveting color photographs by leading body modification artist Steve Haworth provide the perfect visual complement to this examination of the soul as it rises toward freedom. 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book will make you think."
(

International Tattoo Art, March 2001

)

About the Author

Maureen Mercury is completing her Ph.D. in depth psychology and has an M.A. in counseling psychology. Her earlier work includes an examination of modern male tattooing. Mercury also holds workshops that focus on the ritual piercing experience. She lives in Agoura, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Park Street Press (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892818093
• ISBN-13: 978-0892818099
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #938,858 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing photos, comprehensive scope, November 26, 2000

By 

Chiron (....) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pagan Fleshworks: The Alchemy of Body Modification (Paperback)

Many people today are interested in finding something more in today's hectic post-modern world. In this diverse and exceptionaly researched book, the author and photographer shows us one way in which some individuals find that elusive "deeper meaning": mody modification.

Operating on the premise that one's own body is yours and yours alone, and that the more profoundly affecting an expierience the better, the reader is taken on a step by step tour through this little known but very intriguing world.

There are photos galore, many of them (almost all) in color. Some are truly awesome and unforgettable; this earns its place, rightfully so, as a work of art.

Overall, this book is immaculate and a perfect addition to the bookshelf of someone looking for some variety and searching for something new, exiting and different.

Not to mention pretty damn cool!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marking the body to heal the soul, April 23, 2001

By 

Vargr "Vargr" (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pagan Fleshworks: The Alchemy of Body Modification (Paperback)

In this book, Maureen Mercury proposes that the growing popularity and acceptance of body modification in western culture is due to our need to recapture the personal rituals that we have lost. This book is not aimed at a neo-pagan audience, but at individuals who are looking for something deeper and more personally spiritual. I found myself agreeing with many of the ideas in this book. The photographs by Steve Haworth are outstanding as well. Place this one near the top of the list of the recent group of body modification books.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mind. Body. Soul., December 26, 2001

By 

S S (WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pagan Fleshworks: The Alchemy of Body Modification (Paperback)

I've read and viewed almost all of the formative works on body modification, and for the most part I've been left with a rotten taste in my mouth, and an even greater sense of dispair for the unmodified world around me.

But this book is a bit different, I suspected and hoped this would shine a different light on my culture when I first heard about it. Having Reverend Haworth's input made my hopes soar even higher, he being the frontman to all that is extreme body modification in the WORLD at the moment. There are quite a few piercer's in the world, but none with his intelligence or dedication to do surgical mods with such grace and fluence, he is THE Body Modification Artist of our times. And of course he's my COBM Rev. of choice, which may mean I'm a bit biased. :)

Nice pictures, not so artistic that someone who doesn't know much about modification won't know what's going on (such as with ModCon's photos which I have to explain in detail to people). The book as a literary whole is put together well, and gives a broad expanse of insight on body modification... showing it as human society's natural progression that we've followed since we first evolved, not as a fad meant to draw attention.

Pagan Fleshworks is a better book than most when it comes to this topic, it didn't change my views on anything and I didn't agree with everything written. But it wasn't the usual "in-your-face-this-is-what's-right"... that people who throw around their doctorates as a means of justification put out regularly.
It gives the mind room to interpet, and conceive it's own thoughts... because after all that's what this culture's about... freedom of choice and expression.

It's not a must have buy to me (even though I own it), but it certainly deserves a checkout from the local library.