Blood and Lightning - by Dustin Kiskaddon

About the Book

"Any tattoo is the outcome of an intimate, often hidden, process. The people, bodies, and money that make tattooing what it is blend together and form a heady cocktail, something described by Matt, the owner of Oakland's Premium Tattoo, as "Blood and Lightning." Faced with the client's anticipation of pain and excitement, the tattooer must carefully perform calm authority to obscure a world of preparation and vigilance. "Blood and Lightning, my dude," the mysterious and intoxicating effect of tattooing done right. Dustin Kiskaddon draws on his own apprenticeship with Matt and takes us behind the scenes to the complex world of professional tattooers. We join people who must routinely manage a messy and carnal type of work. Blood and Lightning brings us through the tattoo shop, where the smell of sterilizing agents, the hum of machines, and the sound of music spill out onto the back patio. It is here that Matt, along with his comrades, review the day's wins, bemoan its losses, and prepare for the future. After tattooing more than five hundred people, Kiskaddon is able to freshly articulate the physical, mental, emotional, and moral life of tattooers. His captivating account explores the challenges they face on the job, including the crushing fear of making mistakes on someone else's body, the role of masculinity in evolving tattoo worlds, appropriate and inappropriate intimacy, and the task of navigating conversations about color and race. Ultimately, the stories in this book teach us about the roles our bodies play in the social world. Both medium and object of art, our bodies are purveyors of sociocultural significance, sites of capitalist negotiations, and vivid encapsulations of the human condition. Kiskaddon guides us through a strangely familiar world, inviting each of us to become a tattooer along the way"--

Book Synopsis

Any tattoo is the outcome of an intimate, often hidden process. The people, bodies, and money that make tattooing what it is blend together and form a heady cocktail, something described by Matt, the owner of Oakland's Premium Tattoo, as "blood and lightning." Faced with the client's anticipation of pain and excitement, the tattooer must carefully perform calm authority to obscure a world of preparation and vigilance. "Blood and lightning, my dude"--the mysterious and intoxicating effect of tattooing done right.

Dustin Kiskaddon draws on his own apprenticeship with Matt and takes us behind the scenes into the complex world of professional tattooers. We join people who must routinely manage a messy and carnal type of work. Blood and Lightning brings us through the tattoo shop, where the smell of sterilizing agents, the hum of machines, and the sound of music spill out onto the back patio. It is here that Matt, along with his comrades, reviews the day's wins, bemoans its losses, and prepares for the future.

Having tattooed more than five hundred people, Kiskaddon is able to freshly articulate the physical, mental, emotional, and moral life of tattooers. His captivating account explores the challenges they face on the job, including the crushing fear of making mistakes on someone else's body, the role of masculinity in evolving tattoo worlds, appropriate and inappropriate intimacy, and the task of navigating conversations about color and race.

Ultimately, the stories in this book teach us about the roles our bodies play in the social world. Both mediums and objects of art, our bodies are purveyors of sociocultural significance, sites of capitalist negotiation, and vivid encapsulations of the human condition. Kiskaddon guides us through a strangely familiar world, inviting each of us to become a tattooer along the way.

Review Quotes

"In Blood and Lightning, we don't just enter the silent and physical spaces within the world of tattooing, instead the spaces are lived, examined, and connected to our humanity. Kiskaddon shows how tattoos, like history and storytelling itself, can evolve depending on the body or the world they occupy." --Devin Katayama, Senior Producer for NPR's Throughline

"Blood and Lightning is a crisply written study that immerses the reader in sensory detail. Dustin Kiskaddon takes full advantage of his unique methodological strategy, making his own body the field for data collection in order to provide an intimate portrait of a work world in a strange historical moment. Kiskaddon's first-hand perspective adds depth and dimension to the sociology of tattooing and the sociology of work." --William Ryan Force, Symbolic Interaction

"Blood and Lightning: On Becoming a Tattooer reminds us that profound human experiences such as joy, connection and regret can emerge from the small and mostly invisible dynamics of social interaction. Dustin Kiskaddon has created an excellent read for anyone interested in tattoos, body labour, embodied knowledge, ethnography and the sociology of everyday life." --Kelcie Vercel, The Sociological Review

"Blood and Lightning is a landmark study of the craft of tattooing that is consistently compelling and rewarding." --Michael Welch, Chicago Review of Books

"Blood and Lightning is a stellar and vivid depiction of an industry that has long been mythologized in popular culture. Kiskaddon's memoir offers a candid perspective on both the business and creative sides of tattooing. As it dives into a cultural rite of passage, Kiskaddon's work also excels as a character study." --Booklist

"Blood and Lightning is an illuminating peek behind the doors of a tattoo shop, digging into the realities, ethics, and philosophy of altering the bodies of strangers." --Ashley Holstrom, Foreword Reviews

"Even readers who, like myself, have never gone under the needle will find themselves lured into the world that Kiskaddon unveils....Kiskaddon explores how tattooing intersects and resonates with many of the deepest themes of humanity, including art, commerce, race, identity and bodily autonomy." --Paul Constant, The Seattle Times

"In this book, Kiskaddon covers ground that few researchers have been willing to traverse. Moreover, he is a scholar/tattooist, a combination rarely seen in the serious literature about tattooing." --David C. Lane, author of The Other End of the Needle

"Kiskaddon's sensuous ethnography takes us behind the scenes in the mecca of tattooing--Oakland, California. His richly detailed prose sings as he describes his apprenticeship: learning the right touch, both needle-to-skin and with other members of this 'cool' shop. More than any other ethnography I've read, this one breathes on the page: we inhale the sharp snap of isopropyl alcohol and the tang of sweat, while early Black Flag pumps out the speakers, thumping over the hum of machines, phone calls, and pain-filled exhalations of the clients." --Jennifer C. Lena, author of Entitled: Discriminating Tastes and the Expansion of the Arts

"Very thoughtful and knowledgeable; pulled me in right from the start." --Stephanie Tamez, Tattoo Artist and co-owner of This Time Tmrw private studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn NYC

"Written in an easygoing style, Kiskaddon's narrative ends up as much a workplace memoir as an anthropological study, where the work being documented is both tattooing and ethnography itself, with frequent references to taking field notes and finding ways to get interviews (paying for a tattoo turns out to be the best way to get a tattoo artist to talk for two hours). It's a charming and thoughtful slice of life." --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Dustin Kiskaddon is a cultural sociologist whose work can be seen on Instagram, @Dustin.Kiskaddon. After nearly a decade of teaching and a few years of professional tattooing, he now uses his expertise in culture, the economy, and technology to conduct applied research.