Going back to July, I was on the DeKalb Avenue subway platform in Brooklyn when I passed Naomi and had to stop and talk to her about her forearm tattoo:
Being a big fan of books, I recognized this as the cover of Maya Angelou's children's story Life Doesn't Frighten Me. Of course, while talking with Naomi, she reminded me whose art graced the cover.
The book is beautifully illustrated with the art of Jean-Michel Basquiat, a popular New York artist whose paintings exploded into popularity in the 1980s.
She told me she got this more than fifteen years ago from a tattooist named "Batman" who worked out of Sacred Tattoo at the time.
She explained, "I really like Basquiat and then I saw the cover on the book and I really liked the book and thought I have to have this done."
Thanks to Naomi for sharing her tattoo with us for the first post of a new year!
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I like Naomi’s tattoo a lot! I think it looks really whimsical and fun, but also is able to convey a much deeper meaning. Although we don’t know Naomi’s whole story, I think this tattoo could be relatable to a lot of people, helping them to appreciate and enjoy the tattoo. I like that the tattoo combines two aspects of Naomi’s life—her love for the original artist, Basquiat, and her enjoyment of Maya Angelou’s book. I also think the artists did an amazing job replicating the original art.
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