I met
Derek Ostrander earlier this week outside of
Macy*s flagship store on 34th Street.
Derek is an illustrator who also works on visual installations for the department store.
It was this tattoo that prompted me stop and ask what it was about:
Derek explained that he was 19 or 20 when his friend Jay Ferrara, who is also an illustrator, inked this on a kitchen table.
The tattoo in question is based primarily on those that are sported by the
Arashikage clan of
ninjas and, more famously, a character named
Snake Eyes, from G.I. Joe.
At the age that he got this, he thought it was particularly cool.
On a deeper level, the symbols represent hexagram #64 in the
I Ching. A simple meaning is translated as thus:
Fire over water:
The image of the condition before transition.
Thus the superior man is careful
In the differentiation of things,
So that each finds its place.
A fuller explanation, from which this was excerpted, is
here. Earlier this year I posted another
I Ching tattoo
here.
Thanks to Derek for sharing this tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!
Today is the offical day of the Juxtapoz 15 year anniversary and we are hosting this event along with our sponsors Sanctioned, G Shock, Metro PCS, Power House, Marley Coffee, Factory Place UpperPlayground and others.. This is an Adults ONLY event.
