Body Type
Posted by teenlibrarylit on March 26, 2008
Ok, so I loved this book. I think everyone in class knew I would. I loved it because there were some really great tattoos in here and many of my friends have gotten similar tattoos. Most of them English majors as undergrads have tattooed their favorite passages from various works from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Green to a passage from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. I always thought I might like to get something by Dorothy Parker, my favorite poet, tattooed on the inside of my lower arm. Her poetry can sometimes be a bit lengthy. I was afraid it would be too long and I wouldn’t be able to sit that long.
I also love this book from a graphic designers perspective. Typography is a big part of my job. It was really interesting how he knew that most of the people with the typographic tattoos were graphic designers or people who had some art training. Almost all graphic designers have their own personal favorite type. My favorite font is Minion. I have used it for my resume’ and almost any project where the type has not been designated by the template or the client.
I think that teens would find this book interesting for some of the same reasons I do. It is a great book from the art perspective and teens interested in art and type would probably like to see this alternative look at typography. It is nice that Ina Saltz names the type used in the tattoo. Also, most people get tattoos for very personal reasons and there is usually an interesting story behind someone’s tattoos. People’s stories behind each tattoo are given in small digestible chunks. They are all given in first person, which seems to be a common trait that most teens enjoy when reading a book.
I know the argument is that teens cannot get tattoos until they are 18 without a parent’s permission, so some as a book may see this book just for adults. Again, I disagree with this, especially when thinking about Body Type, because even though this book is filled with tattoos, it is more about the typography and the story behind why people chose to get these particular tattoos.
I’m actually excited to bring the book to work tomorrow and have all of the graphic designers check it out and maybe search for their favorite fonts.
Linda said
First, I’m going to bring the documentary Helvetica to class this weekend – have you seen it?
Second, could you see using this book in a literature class or even history class?
teenlibrarylit said
I have seen Helvetica. I almost referenced it in my blog post. I loved it. Also, I did bring the book into work and all the designers at my work really thought it was cool.
And I definitely could see this book used in both classes. It would be great to break out when teens are being forced to read Shakespeare and other works that they may find a bit dull. It is a really neat way to show that some people like these works so much that they had them put on their body permanently.