Piper was incarcerated for twelve years, and the whole time, he tattooed. He reflects on it in his new book, American InkSlinger.
Piper was incarcerated for twelve years, and the whole time, he tattooed. He reflects on it in his new book,We're in the midst of our summer membership campaign, and we have until August 25 to raise $14,500. Your contributions are an investment in our election coverage – they help sustain our newsroom, help us plan, and could lead to an increase in freelance writers or photographers. If you value our work, please make a contribution today to help us reach our goal.
In the years after he was released, the collection remained in storage while he rebuilt his life and his artistic aspirations. For Piper, many of the designs and their connotations provoked ambiguous feelings, references to a life that he didn't live anymore. He wasn't sure that he felt comfortable being represented by them.
The book's written portions delve into the prison tattoo game, an intricate world that few people on the outside ever get to know, even if they have a lot of body art. Artists on the inside are highly sought after as well as highly at risk for punitive consequences, not to mention they also have to learn machine mechanics and draftsmanship in a virtual vacuum. In Piper's case, he lucked out early on with a cellmate who happened to be a fellow artist.
Machine construction was far from the only hurdle. Raids and searches by the guards, especially for known tattooers, were a constant threat — one that could send an inmate to solitary confinement for several weeks as well as take up to fifty days of good behavior from their sentence. With so much risk and work entailed, those on the outside might wonder why an imprisoned artist with so much at stake would continue to do it at all.
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