The trend today is to celebrate the grotesque. The popularity of body modification via piercing, scarring and tattoos have become main stream with shows like "Miami Ink" and "Taboo" exploring this once underground sub-culture. On the other end of the spectrum our freakish obsession with extreme plastic surgery and "enhancement" has ushered in reality TV shows like "Extreme Makeover,” “Dr. 90210” and “I Want A Famous Face." All I can say is Yikes!
Recently, a guy from Canada named Rick Genest took the art of body modification to a whole new level and got a lot of media attention doing so. His tattoos, or rather, the skin that covers his entire body which is completely inked, is allowing him to become an “it” model. Some of you may know him from Lady Gaga’s “Born this way” video, but if you really want to focus on the artistry and stylized distortion of this man's body check out gobeyondthecover.com. It will blow your mind!
What do his mother and grandmother think? Who wants to fall in love with this man and how do children react to him when they see him? The bigger question is: what does his choice to make himself into something unrecognizably human say about what we want these days? Has style also fallen under the sway of our macabre cultural fascination with the grotesque? SkullS & cross bones gear, fashion icons like Alexander McQueen follow suit and then literally follow suit! How far does it go? Does a culture infused with death and decay say something about where we are headed?
