Manfred Kohrs

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Manfred Kohrs
250 px
Born 1957
Hanover, Germany
Occupation Tattooist; Art-Painter; Master of Economics (USUE)

Manfred Kohrs (born January 24, 1957) is a German tattooist and conceptual artist, who has been tattooing since 1974. He was a student of Horst Heinrich Streckenbach ("Tattoo Samy") (August 5, 1926 - June 27, 2001). Together they developed a rotary tattoo machine[1] from 1974 - 1978[2][3] and the barbell piercing in 1975.[4][5] In 1977 Kohrs founded the first German Tattoo Artist Association.[6] He gave up tattooing in 1990 and began studying economics.

Biographical and career information

Kohrs was born in 1957 and grew up in Hanover, Germany; from 1968 - 1974 he plays Rugby in Hanover-List.[7] From 1971 to 1973 he trained as a mechanic at the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft and subsequently completed his military service at the Aufklärungsgeschwader 51 of the German Air Force.

At the age of twelve he purchased his first tattoo and in 1975 he was tattoed by Herbert Hoffmann. The integrated nationally recognized tattoo artist Horst Heinrich Streckenbach took Kohrs in 1975 as a master student.[8] In 1976, he began tattooing professionally. In 1977 he opened his own studio in Hanover and in 1978 he built a new rotary tattoo machine.[9] It was invented by Samuel O’Reilly and subsequent improvements were made by the tattoo artists over the years.[10] Kohrs tattooed Rio Reiser, Klaus Meine, Rudolf Schenker and other several notable musicians, artists and celebrities of the time.[11]

In 1977 Kohrs was an early member of The National Tattoo Club of the World[12] which was renamed 1984 to the National Tattoo Association, (N.T.A.). In the same year Kohrs was the founder-member No. 25 of the European Tattoo Artists Association.

Tattoo of an eagle tattooed by Herbert Hoffmann on Kohrs' arm in 1975

In 1977, Kohrs invited all commercially registered tattooists in Germany to an information meeting in Hanover. "At that time there were throughout the country, only 14 self-employed tattoo artist."[13][14]

The purpose of this meeting were the establishment of a national association, and to introduce technical and hygienic standards. At that time, Kohrs and Streckenbach were the only German tattoo artists who used an autoclave for the sterilisation of equipment.[15]

Kohrs attended the first National Convention at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Denver, Colorado from 23–25 March 1979.[16] He made a slide presentation of tattooed people with Tattoo Samy.[12] The speakers on the convention were Terry Wrigley, Peter Tat 2 Poulos, Diane Poulos, Don Ed Hardy, Bob Shaw (who spoke about the importance of using autoclaves and hygiene), Big Walt Kilkucki, Painless Jeff Baker, Dave Yurkew, Arnold Rubin and Jan Stussy.[12] Kohrs, Streckenbach and Terry Wrigley (president of E.T.A.A),[17] were present in October 1980 at the first German Tattoo Convention at Frankfurt. Kohrs gave up tattooing in 1990 and began studying economics. Since completing his economics degree in 1996, he has served as tax consultant and lecturer in economics at a private academy.[18]

Documents

  • NTAA Dokument .jpg

    National Tattoo Club of the World, issued from „Philadelphia“ Eddie Funk,[19] 1977.

  • ETAA.jpg

    European Tattoo Artist Association, issued from Terry Wrigley 1976.

  • U.T.A.A. Mitgliedsurkunde 1977.jpg

    European Tattoo Artist Association, issued from Terry Wrigley 1977

  • Tattoo Meeting 1980 Frankfurt.jpg

    first Tattoo-Meeting Frankfurt 1980.

  • Kunstverein 1981 1.JPG

    membercard "Kunstverein" Hannover 1981, signed by Kohrs

Art and design

File:Skin stories - kunst galerei fürth 2015; Manfred Kohrs.JPG
Skin stories - kunst galerie fürth 2015

In 1975, on the German ZDF television show aspekte, Kohrs met the well-known German artist Prof. Timm Ulrichs.[20] In 1981, Ulrich was approached about Streckenbach to Manfred Kohrs in Hanover to be tattooed as part of an art project, the word "end" refers to an eyelid.[21] In 1981 Streckenbach created that conceptual art-project with Ulrichs.[22]
"Once the moment has finally come when the curtain falls for good, when my eyesight disappears and my eyes are closed for eternal rest, the pulled-down eyelid will reveal as a last, surprising theatrical coup the final punch line, in my view quite memorable: the “Last Picture Show”, presented with a weeping and a laughing eye, with a wink, the final performance of a life and a life performance intended to be spectacular and dramatic." Timm Ulrichs [23] In the years 1977 to 1981 created Kohrs some individual projects with the topic of tattoos. From 1978 Kohrs drew cartoons for various magazines.[24] Since 2011 Kohrs is President of the art association in Wedemark, Germany.[25]

The Tattoo Machine Manfred Kohrs 1978 K was in 2015 exhibited in a German Art museum.[26]

See also

Selected bibliography

  • Marcel Feige: Tattoo-Theo. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf 2001, ISBN 3-89602-355-1.
  • Marcel Feige: Das Tattoo-und Piercing Lexikon. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf 2000, ISBN 3-89602-209-1.
  • Marcel Feige: Ein Tattoo ist für immer. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf 2003, ISBN 3-89602-381-0.
  • Samuel M. Steward: Bad Boys and Tough Tattoos. Routledge London & New York 1990, ISBN 0-918393-76-0.
  • Margot Mifflin: Bodies of Subversion. powerHouse Books 2013, ISBN 1-576-87692-6.
  • Caroline Rosenthal, Dirk Vanderbeke: Probing the Skin: Cultural Representations of Our Contact Zone. Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2015, ISBN 1-443-87518-X.

References

  1. ↑ reinMein die überlokale Zeitschrift: Das Tattoo-Kunsthandwerk – eine Technik, die unter die Haut geht (German)
  2. ↑ Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, Ausg. Ost, S.2, 23. April 1981, Tätowieren – eine besondere Kunst / Manfred Kohrs (German)
  3. ↑ tattoo-manufacturer
  4. ↑ Marcel Feige: Das Tattoo-und Piercing Lexikon, ISBN 3-89602-209-1, S. 283
  5. ↑ ezetraining.com.au
  6. ↑ Offenbach-Post, Nr. 180, 1984 (German)
  7. ↑ Vereinsnachrichten des S.C. Germania List, Dezember 1971, Heft Nr. 33, S.10
  8. ↑ Cellesche Zeitung, 5. Mai 1984, S. 23 (German)
  9. ↑ Tattoo Nation - Tattoo Magazine, Issue # 1, July 10 2014, Page 35/64
  10. ↑ Tattoo Nation Nepal´s first Tattoo Magazine - july 2014, Issue #1, Page 35.
  11. ↑ National Tattoo Magazine, june-july 1978, S. 9 work by Manfred Kohrs of Hannover West Germany
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 nationaltattooassociation.com
  13. ↑ Frank-Peter Finke-Oltmanns, Tattoos in Modern Societies, dissertation 1996.
  14. ↑ German Federal Social Court (Bundessozialgericht), Case No.: B 3 KS 2 / 07 R Case of 28 February 2007
  15. ↑ Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung, Ausg. Süd, S.3, 24. April 1986, Manfred Kohrs - "Hautbilder" (German)
  16. ↑ Mississippi Gulf Coast´s Observer, September 2012, Volume 13, Issue 3, p. 36
  17. ↑ tattoo archive Terry Wrigley
  18. ↑ Caroline Rosenthal, Dirk Vanderbeke: Probing the Skin: Cultural Representations of Our Contact Zone, p. 177.
  19. ↑ About Crazy Philadelphia Eddie
  20. ↑ NaNa Hannover, Nr.36/37, -Portrait eines Künstlers- Manfreds Bilder fahren Straßenbahn, December 23. 1982.
  21. ↑ Dieter Fietzke und Hubertus Müll, 1990/97 Foto: Foto-Hoerner, Hannover © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2010
  22. ↑ sueddeutsche.de: THE END, Augenlid-Tätowierung, 1970/16. Mai 1981
  23. ↑ sueddeutsche.de
  24. ↑ National Tattoo Magazine, june-july 1978, S. 13 cartoon by Kohrs
  25. ↑ registered in Hanover court, VR 120263
  26. ↑ kulturringc.de. Skin Stories
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