Body Art Magazine
Body Art Magazine is a British magazine, considered by many to be one of the highest quality body art and modification periodicals ever published. The first issue was published in 1991, and it ran to 23 issues, the last one being printed in 1996. It was edited throughout its lifetime by Henry Ferguson. The publishers also created a 'body jewelry catalogue,' which was much more than a catalogue, but also glossary of different piercings, along with pictures.
The magazine was of extremely high quality, and it also contained probably the widest range of modifications of any print magazine —everything from body painting to piercing and tattooing to suspension and extreme genital modifications like genital beading and bisection. The magazine also featured reviews of books and conventions and a section for letters from readers.
The magazine featured articles about, and interviews with, many important practitioners of the time, including Mr. Sebastian, Micky Sharpz, Jack Yount, Elayne Angel, Alex Binnie, Jim Ward and Steve Haworth. Many of the issues contain articles by the anthropologist Ted Polhemus, discussing modifications in various cultures. His Nature's Rivals series, started in issue 9, makes for a very interesting read. Natures Rivals focused on an area of the body each issue, and illustrated the ways it has been modified in different cultures at different times.
The magazine didn't just cover body modification as we know it today; it also ran articles on body painting, pubic hairdressing, corsetry, henna 'tattoos', fingernail art, and foot binding.
While some of the information contained in it is dated (for example the suggestions on stretching piercings), the vast majority of the content shows techniques that are still in use today, such as those used for genital beading. Many of the articles feature procedures that were still in their infancy at the time, such as transdermal implants. One issue even features some great pictures of a bipedicle flap procedure, with commentary from the doctor who performed it.
