Fakir Musafar

Fakir Musafar (born Roland Loomis, August 10, 1930 in Aberdeen, South Dakota) is considered the father of the modern primitive movement. [modern primitives by Scott Treleaven - October 18, 2000] He has experimented on his own body with body modification techniques such as body piercing, tightlacing, scarification, tattooing, and suspension, and has documented, shared and taught others as part of his life's work making him an underground icon in BDSM, kink and fetish communities.

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Early life

At age four Musafar experienced dreams of past lives. ["Voices from the Edge" (1997), David Jay Brown & Rebecca McCLen Novick ] He gave himself his first body piercing when he was twelve. He performed the O-Kee-Pa suspension in 1966 or 1967. His first public appearance as Musafar was at the First International Tattoo Convention in Reno, Nevada in 1977.

Career

Musafar has documented and shared his explorations in writing, speaking and teaching others "body play." In the early 1990s Musafar appeared in mainstream media shows like NBC's Faith Daniels Show, CBS's People Are Talking, CNN's Earth Matters and Discovery Channel's (Beyond Bizarre). In 1998 Musafar produced documentary segments for London Weekend Television's Southbank Show and Playboy Television's "Sexcetera." In 2000, 2001 and 2003 he has appeared in documentaries for The Learning Channel (Human Canvas Part I and Part II), TBS, FX Channel and Discovery Channel plus a major appearance in the 2001 documentary film "Modern Tribalism". In 2004 became a spokesperson for the National Geographic Channel's Taboo (TV series) and has expressed "radical contemporary" views on body rituals on the Travel Channel's "Eye of the Beholder" series hosted by Serena Yang.

Musafar's writing and photography appears in Theater Journal, Bizarre magazine (fetish and SM exploration), Skin Two and PFIQ (Piercing Fan International Quarterly). He has lectured and performed at London's Institute of Contemporary Art (Rapture Series, 1995); Copenhagen's International Seminar on BODY:Ritual-Manipulation (1995) and Lisbon, Portugal's Festival Atlantico (1997). His photographic art was recently exhibited at the Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles.

In February 1999 Musafar presented "My Reality, Your Reality, Reality of Those you Treat" as an invitee to the annual conference of the American College of Psychiatrists educating on body modification and shamanism. His performance group performed "Metamorphosis" at the 1999 Los Angeles Fetish Ball as well as for close friend Annie Sprinkle's Benefit Show at the Cowell Theater in San Francisco after her houseboat and archives were destroyed by fire.

Musafar continues to speak at colleges and universities and to New Age and other special interest groups. Musafar is a Master Piercer and shaman with over 40 years experience in the body arts. He is also the founder and director of the School for Professional Body Piercing, the first in America. [Voices from the Edge (1997), David Jay Brown & Rebecca McCLen Novick ] Starting in 1948, he championed the ancient practices and modern techniques in general use today and co-developed the established techniques of contemporary body piercing. Musafar's Body Piercing and Branding Intensives school is amongst the best in the world.

Musafar is featured in the "Modern Primitives" issue of Re/Search Magazine and in the full length documentary "Dances Sacred and Profane". [modern primitives by Scott Treleaven - October 18, 2000 ] [ [http://www.dancesfilm.com/ Dances Sacred and Profane ] ] He also appears in the movie "Modify."

Musafar was featured in the full length documentary film about Charles Gatewood - "Dances Sacred and Profane". The "sacred dance" segment comprises Gatewood's conversations with Musafar, as they talk about body manipulation as a spiritual practice, and "the historical drive to find transcendence through pain". The last section of the film follows Fakir's preparation and enactment of the "SunDance", a spiritual ritual in which Musafar is suspended by steel hooks through his chest.

Musafar's partner is artist, author and educator Cléo Dubois who often travels, lectures and performs with him.

Bibliography

* Fakir Musafar: "Spirit + Flesh",Arena Editions, 2004, ISBN 189204157X

See also

* Domination & submission (BDSM)
* Risk-aware consensual kink
* Sadomasochism
* Safe, sane and consensual
* Sexual Fetishism

Notes

References

* [http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/taboo/ National Geographic documentary Taboo]
* [http://www.bodyplay.com/fakir/ Biography]
* [http://www.bmezine.com/news/people/A10101/fakir2.html Body Modification E-zine interview]

External links

* [http://www.fakir.org/ Fakir Schools: Learn the Art, Skills & Magic of Body Piercing & Branding]