Although what could be considered for many a marked departure from tattooing the concept of utilizing the human canvas to convey stories and or emotions holds throughout. The more ‘extreme’ side of body/art was brought into Western public consciousness largely through the Modern Primitive movement. The latest encyclopedia entry offers a quick overview of this concept as well as a short history of its’ philosophy
 
| ‘The modern primitive’s movement was brought to mainstream awareness through the publication of Modern Primitives in 1989. The twelfth book in the RE/Search series by Vale and Juno, Modern Primitives looks at tattooing, piercing, and other body modification practices, and links those practices to those of primitive peoples
 
For many people who bought this book, it was the first time that they saw photos of a white man’s bifurcated penis, Ndebeli women wearing collars around their necks, an Indian sadhu with coconuts sewed to his body, and Fakir Musafar hanging from meat hooks driven into his flesh. While Musafar was already publicizing these practices for a limited audience through the publications Body Play and PFIQ, it wasn’t until Modern Primitives was published that extreme body modification was brought into the public consciousness
 
The term “modern primitives” was coined by Fakir Musafar, known as the father of the movement, and refers to people who modify their bodies in a ritualistic fashion, using symbols, philosophies, and practices borrowed from non-Western cultures in order to achieve not only physical but emotional transformation…… | full article

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