Katzen
From LoveToKnow Tattoos
Body modification is a growing trend as body piercing and tattooing gets more and more popular in mainstream culture. When the weird becomes normal, the weird has to go to greater extremes in order to compete. This trend brings us people like Katzen who have taken the plunge to become what they are in their imaginations.
Who is Katzen?
Katzen is the name taken by a tattoo artist and performing artist who owns her own tattoo studio in Texas. Katzen has turned herself into a living canvas, creating on her skin the appearance of a large, striped cat. Along with the stylized tiger stripe tattoos which cover her from head to toe, she also sports “whiskers” in her cheeks. (Katzen is the plural for “cat” in German.) Katzen is the first woman in history to ever have a full body theme tattoo.
Katzen is married to The Enigma, a sideshow performer who is tattooed to look like a living blue puzzle. Together, they form a team called “The Human Marvels”. According to Bella Online, Katzen is the original tattoo artist who worked on the Enigma. She did the outline of the puzzle pieces which form his full-body tattoo, starting in 1992. While working for Body Adorned, a tattoo studio in Austin, TX, Katzen did everything from simple “quickies” to complex celtic knotwork to vital, eye-catching effects to moody oil-paint effects. In 1999, she owned her own tattoo shop, Incredible Ink, with two partners. The shop was a custom one, where the artists would draw whatever the customer requested.
Why is Katzen?
According to an interview with Tattoos.com, from the time Katzen was a child, she dreamed of seeing herself with markings on her body. She didn’t know about tattooing then, but she knew she wanted to capture the feelings she had in her dreams - the feelings of independence and happiness.
Before getting into tattooing, Katzen was a contortionist, fire eater, and juggler, performing on the streets of Key West, Florida. She discovered that the natural high she got from performing was the best way she could find to achieve inspiration. Her own tattoo journey began about eight months after she finished tattooing the outlines of the puzzle pieces on the Enigma. She began her transformation with her legs, and slowly worked through the full body tattoo over a course of about seven years.
Other Full Body Modifications
Lizardman, whose real name is Erik Sprague, has spent years modifying himself. At this point, he has had an estimated 700 hours of tattooing, piercing in his ears and septum, and Teflon “horns” above his eyes. To complete the look, his tongue has been split (bifurcated), and four of his teeth have been shaped into fangs. To learn more about Lizardman, visit his website.
Stalking Cat, whose real name is Dennis Avner, was heavily influenced by the Huron and Lakota tribes of Native Americans in the community where he grew up. The beliefs he came to know and believe have spurred him on to spend over twenty years of his life transforming himself into his totem animal, a tiger. He began with tiger stripes, covering his body, at the age of 23. Besides the tattooing, he has undergone surgeries to further modify his appearance. He has gotten a cleft “feline” lip, a flat, upturned nose, and brown implants. He has elongated his ears and gotten piercing in his lips to which he attaches whiskers. To learn more about Stalking Cat, visit his website.
Human Enigma didn’t get his first tattoo until he was twenty. He began as a performing artist, swallowing swords eating fire and slugs, and doing feats of strength. He combined his background in music with his performance art and found that he had a following. Inspired by one of the villains that Spiderman battled, Human Enigma began his quest to turn his body into a giant jigsaw puzzle. Katzen was his original tattooist for the project, but since that time, he has had more than 180 tattoo artists worldwide work on his full body tattoo. He has added to his body modification with horn implants and pierced nipples. To learn more about Human Enigma and his music, visit his website.
Learn More
This page has been accessed 10,157 times. This page was last modified 19:27, 25 November 2007.
© 2006-2008 LoveToKnow Corp.
