Scab Vendor: Confessions of a Tattoo Artist

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Audience Member Yeah a random white boy from New York is responsible for the tattoo craze of the early 80's. He was just inspired by other countries tattoos he definitely didn't just steal ideas from local artists. This movie was at my local library and I wish it wasn't. Its boring, uninspired and this guy jerks himself off for an hour. Oh and if you watch the movie with it's subtitles, any time another language is being spoken the subtitles will say "(foreign language)". The text is translated on screen from the movie but is covered by the subtitle "(foreign language)" so you cant read what they're saying half the time. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/25/25 Full Review Wayne K A beautifully animated and intricately detailed insight into the career and mind of one of the most fascinating people you’ve never heard of, Scab Vendor follows Jonathan Shaw, tattoo artist, writer and bestie to the stars as he recounts the highs and lows of his life so far. A man of eclectic talents, interests and acquaintances, we see him throw himself into various lines of work, experiencing both the positive and negative effects of such a lifestyle. His work as a tattoo artists helped break the stigma around the practise and bring it to the mainstream, but this obsession left him lonely at the top and spiralling out of control. The film is narrated by Shaw himself, and what’s so great is his shortcomings and failures aren’t sugar-coated. His greed, unethical business practises, relationship drama and substance abuse are presented without excuse or watering down. The artwork that punctuates many of the scenes are strikingly beautiful and haunting at the same time, as real life figures become grotesque caricatures, like when you used to draw moustaches and monobrows on the people in high school textbooks. Even if you don’t like the man, Scab Vendor will give you a reason to admire him, and even if you have no interest in the tattoo industry, it’ll make you understand why it became so wildly popular. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/23/24 Full Review Read all reviews

Scab Vendor: Confessions of a Tattoo Artist

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