Youth Opinion : After Tattoos and Piercing Comes Branding
Scars created with heated metal irons have become the avant garde of body art, to the horror of many adults who see the process as not just painful but even more permanent than a tattoo. MARY WENTZ photographed and talked to some of the young men involved in branding about why they do it and whether they’ve considered the long-term consequences.
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JOHN DURANTE
Body piercer, 20, Venice Beach
Branding is just another step or another look to primitive body art. I see my body as a canvas. The way I decorate myself is my personal expression. I don’t see it to be a trend or a fashion statement.
Branding will never become trendy--it’s just too painful. Preparing for a brand is a mental thing. You must deal with the sensation. There is no anesthesia, no drugs and no alcohol. I get all my work done sober.
The design that we created is a dragon. It looks like a cave painting or pictograph. Dragons are a theme on my body. They have always been mystical creatures that wandered about and were never totally understood. Richard [Siburt] and I both relate to this creature. Dragons also bring good luck.
Now that we have both been through the experience we are closer together, there is a definite brotherhood between us now.
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RICHARD SIBURT
Tattoo artist, 21, Venice Beach
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Body art is a very personal and spiritual process. I think that I am on some kind of a mission.
Being branded was sort of a rite of passage for me--the pain endured--and also it marks a time in my life. I was scared before the brand touched my flesh. I didn’t know what to expect. I had been burned before but not like this. Having my friends there for support really helped.
It’s difficult to say if I will regret any of this art work at age 50. I can take the piercings out and they will heal, but branding is permanent. My mother’s reaction was, “It’s just you.” She will love me no matter what I do. My dad was angry; he thinks that I will get in with the wrong crowd of people, but my friends are great. Dad doesn’t have to worry.
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STEFFAN SANTORO
Acupuncturist and ‘branding professional,’ 29, Santa Monica
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Branding marks an experience. There is no ink or jewelry, nothing added, nothing taken away. The flesh is transformed and it stays that way forever.
When I decided to become a branding professional--to do this to other people--then of course I went through the experience myself. I learned all I could about fabricating the actual branding irons. I experimented on a lot of potatoes and corrugated cardboard before doing the procedure on someone. Nothing is actually like human flesh but these things approximate the characteristics of flesh.
Historically, people have been branded as a torture or punishment or a way of marking someone so that others would know of their crime. French criminals were branded with the fleur de lis.
Also, branding was used to show ownership of livestock or human slaves. The only history of branding that I have found that is positive is that some African American fraternities branded their fraternity letters on their initiates. This may be an example of empowerment, taking something negative from the past and making it their own.
I’ve branded more men than women. Historically, women are into blood rituals and the men are into fire rituals. When done correctly, branding is a safe procedure. Everyone reacts and scars differently.
Most important, do not attempt this at home.
