I just recently received Kat Von D's biography/memoir/portfolio book titled High Voltage Tattoo. While it was very picture heavy, as I expected, it also had a lot of backstory. There was the story of how Kat Von D got into tattooing, her philosophy behind it, and the tattoos she has. There was also stories by the people who's tattoos feature prominently inside the book, from her friends to famous musicians and skaters. High Voltage Tattoo was a great book to read and look through, with high-quality images and great information from how to best take care of a tattoo to dispelling common tattoo myths.
This book took me a few days to flip through, which was more than I expected. I am also reading another book at the same time, Nocturnes by John Connolly, as well as all the random things going on in my life. I thought I could sit down with High Voltage Tattoo and read it cover to cover in an afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised. As I said above, there was a lot of story to actually read, where I had thought the book was just pictures. I enjoyed reading about Kat Von D's life and how she found tattooing. As a fellow tattoo-fan, artist and woman I understood everything she talked about, from art and love being a way of life to wanting to be an individual in a world where women are easily pigeonholed. High Voltage Tattoo was more than I bargained for, and I found a lot of inspiration for future tattoos in its pages.
High Voltage Tattoo is broken up into sections: Kat's story and starting her parlor, and then by tattoo style. There's a section for portraits, lettering, roses and nautical, and then some. Some pieces are familiar if you watch Kat's show, LA Ink, but there was a lot that was new to me.
Overall, I give this book a 4 out of 5. I did find a few typos (I am ALWAYS proof-reading), as well as some cheesy typography choices. Other than that, I was really pleased with this book and I am glad that I have it to add to my library.
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