I was visiting my buddy Matthew one New York afternoon when I noticed his new arm tattoo.
“That’s fucking rad, what is it?” I said.”
“I just got it inked,” he said, and for a few blocks on 21st Street, he educated me on the seriously cool history of the Elephant Clock, the inspiration for the gorgeous piece of art slithering over his veins.
I couldn’t help but snap a few photos cause the afternoon light was awesome.
Suddenly, shouts careened over to us from across the streets. A trio of big dudes were standing on a flatbed truck — they’d just finished unloading some cargo — and they saw me, a nerdy Asian kid, taking photos of Matthew, a brainy Jewish kid.
“Hey homeboys!” (Seriously, who says that anymore?)
My old New Yorker instinct switched on. I was either going to a) ignore them or b) walk at a fast pace away.
Instead, I shouted back, “Hey guys, what’s up?”
Without a word, all three of them unfurled their super-manned arms and flexed.
Holy. Crap. They all had tats. On their arms, their legs, their necks, their backs. And they wanted us to come over. So we crossed the street and managed to mumble something like, “Nice stuff.” A real lame response to what was free admission to a veritable gallery of body art.
“That’s nice,” one of them pointed to the 13th century elephant that sat placidly on Matthew’s arm.
“It’s pretty cool!” I said. “It’s a clock from the Middle Ages. He just got it.”
They stared at me. Ok, that was a nerd thing to say, I thought to myself. I was ready to make a quick exit.
That’s when it all broke down. They asked where Matthew got his ink. What the clock meant. How the clock worked. They jumped down on the street so we could see their art better. They pointed to details that we missed. They explained the story behind some of the verses on their body.
“I did this myself, man.”
“It fucking hurt.”
“This is my kid’s name. He’s, like, everything to me, man.”
“This was 1998.”
“I don’t even remember this one.”
We became — we were — part of a tribe. For a few brief minutes, the walls broke down and we saw each other — beyond skin and fashion and even what we were doing that day. It was about some inner appreciation, some internal gear that turned us towards expressing stuff that meant a great deal to us in a state of permanence. Something common and wicked sweet.
They asked me to take a few snapshots. Then we were on our way.
I love New York.
Found this sweet description of the Elephant Clock on Wikipedia:
In addition to its mechanical innovations, the clock itself is seen as an early example of multiculturalism represented in technology. The elephant represents the Indian and African cultures, the dragon represents Chinese culture, the phoenix represents ancient Egyptian culture, the water work represents ancient Greek culture, and the turban represents Islamic culture.
Elephant clock tattoo researched and drawn by Sue Jeiven of East River Tattoo in NYC.