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Ariana Page is a very…unique artist, due to the fact that she suffers from a condition known as dermatographia (the immune system exhibits hypersensitivity, via skin, that releases excessive amounts of histamine, causing capillaries to dilate and welts to appear (lasting about thirty minutes) when the skin’s surface is lightly scratched). She draws various patterns on her body and then takes pictures of herself, thus works of art are born.
Comments
80 comments
March 8, 2008
Hey! Check out how cool my disease looks!
March 13, 2008
That last one looks like my thigh right now, because the cats keep landing and taking off, with their usual delicacy of claws.
March 13, 2008
Thats uncalled for, it must be quite annoying to have that. But I think its really impressive what you did with that. Im surprised at how detailed the lines are.
March 13, 2008
Man she would make me a frickin great assistant. Middle of nowhere with nothing to write on. Hmmmmmmmmmm. Walkin post-it note lol.
March 13, 2008
This is some really wild stuff! I’d love to see more.
March 17, 2008
I find this useful when you can’t find a pen and need to write down something really quick.
March 17, 2008
Eww, that’s cool yet quite horrible.
Imagine what she looks like after sex XD
March 17, 2008
wow……………..and I thought only my skin did that
March 17, 2008
I agree that it’s a unique condition. I disagree that having this condition automatically gives her the moniker of ‘Artist’.
Labeling her such is an insult to true artists everywhere (I assure you I am not one). Connecting the moles on her legs? Writing sentences? Is she considered an artist because her doodles are fleeting?
If thats the criteria lets all grab a camera and start posting pictures of our turds. Each one is unique to it’s creator. And they are usually temporary, flushed away. Some even go to great lengths to master this form of expression, I.E. tubgirl.com
March 17, 2008
Sean’s an ass don’t listen to him.
March 18, 2008
I agree with you to some extent. Modern art ’splatters’ and ’strokes’ (i.e. ‘expressive art’) just angers me. Expressing yourself is great, but doing so in a way that is aesthetically pleasing is the essence of art. I like many modern arts, just not the purely expressive types. anywho, back on topic.
I would call this art, it’s an interesting and new idea. Writing sentences on the legs is a beautiful and clever thuoght, IMO. I don’t want the picture in a museum, but I’d consider it art.
March 18, 2008
Hold her in your arms and you can feel her disease.
March 18, 2008
i wish i had that disease
March 18, 2008
Yes.. what is a true artist…. Allot of modern artists should be lined up against a wall and shot… their art contributes nothing to art or society. My proof, who was that artist who displayed a blank piece of paper as art, an consequently sold it to some one who had more money then sense, im my opinion they should be shot too…
March 18, 2008
@sinner: in my opinion, those who spell ‘a lot’ as ‘allot’ should be berated and ridiculed.
March 18, 2008
Art is one of those things that each person has to decide the worth of. There are famous artist out there that just don’t move me at all. This woman is expressing herself in a medium that is unique to her. She has taken a negative thing in her life and turned it into something beautiful to share with all of us. I never knew of this condition and now I feel I’ve been educated in a wonderful way.
March 18, 2008
And we’re doing this, why?
March 18, 2008
i have that too!
March 18, 2008
I have Dermataographia er whatever she calls it. I’ve been told it’s called Dermagraphism. Sean, you’re a complete tool. Please tell us more about your unique cynical views. You are the first one to think of those insults. I personally think this is a wonderful thing she’s done. It’s embarrassing to show people this but she’s made something positive out of it.
March 18, 2008
I love it! Its very beautiful! =^.^=
March 19, 2008
I have this disease, and trust me it gets annoying sometimes. But I really like how she’s using it to her advantage.
March 21, 2008
I wonder if that itches?
March 21, 2008
YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
March 21, 2008
Yes, it itches. It can be somewhat controlled with antihistamines. Hers must itch almost unbearably (as she obviously is choosing not to medicate herself). When this happens to my back it feels like someone is stabbing me with tiny needles. I admire the way she has turned this around. The condition can be very embarrassing, especially when I get the hives over my face or neck. You can’t even change your shirt without your arm breaking out in hives… and lord help you if you SCRATCH the itch…
March 25, 2008
Thats awesome, she should’ve showed her face, her body is beautiful
March 25, 2008
uhhhh kinda gross :(:( i wouldnt be doing that to myself i had that kind of condition .. that would bug me BIG time !!!!!
March 25, 2008
Its so great when somebody has a “Disease” or “Disability” and can turn it into something so positive.
March 25, 2008
WTF?!?
March 26, 2008
Hasn’t every little kid done that at one point or another? Scratched “Hi” on their arm, or drew a smiley face, etc. Unless my 3 friends and I just all happened to have this same rare disease. Anyway not trying to disprove her illness, just the originality.
March 26, 2008
Meh, it looks cooler when you cut deep into your wrist. But that’s me.
March 26, 2008
i really like it.
March 26, 2008
WOOOW !
thats one person, who shouldnt be getting a love bite !
March 26, 2008
life gave this woman lemons…
March 26, 2008
I think that its wonderful how she is using this to help develop awareness of this. I had never even heard of this disease until I saw this posting. To those of you commenting on cutting and all of that rot, opinion is opinion, but some are voiced out of spite and some are voiced out of true thought. Yours are spite and have no point but to cause pain. Grow up and learn appropriate places and times for such things.
March 26, 2008
This is absolutely beautiful. I love it.
March 26, 2008
I have this thing lol its good craic for freakin ppl out but ppl sayin “Oh it must suck to have it” isnt true. It doesnt really amke a difference lol.
March 26, 2008
I like how optimistic she is with her skin and how she uses it to her advantage.
March 26, 2008
Geez whats with all the white bread attitude? I think you’ve done something beautiful with your condition (not disease), and good on you for your ‘artistic’ expression.
The rest of you: Get a life..
March 26, 2008
This does suck to have. You deal with it and move on. Some days are worse then others. Tools, she didn’t cut herself or anything like that. She just scratched those areas on herself and it happened. Cutting is something different all together.
March 27, 2008
Yeah, I have this too. I didn’t realize it was actually a “condition”. Dermatographia itself literally does nothing but this (there are other more bothersome related conditions), but it’s pretty fun when you’re bored. As for the whole “she’s not a real artist” stuff from Sean, he’s right to the extent that they’re just doodles; the actual art about it comes from the fact that she has such a unique canvas at her disposal, which gives everything an interesting and unusual texture and allows her to incorporate her body into it. A good chunk of the artistic merit here comes from the actual photography itself, too.
March 27, 2008
PS
Beer bottle caps leave cool marks
March 27, 2008
Sean: art is something that people find beautiful. People find this beautiful.
March 27, 2008
that looks like complete shit. why would u do that.
April 1, 2008
I like the idea - I have mild psoriasis, and that’s enough to drive me nuts when it itches and burns - so kudos to you for coping with it
I love the image, it made me and my partner smile and we learned something new. Thank you.
April 3, 2008
Thats really lovely, very zen…
April 4, 2008
What Do You Use To Do It??
April 5, 2008
I have to say,
you are an absolute inspiration…
I’m dermagraphic as well,
and I’ve always looked at it as the BIGGEST inconvenience.
Just barely scratching your face,
and it whelps up to the point where it could be mistaken for a bear scratch.
But after seeing these photos,
it’s not such an inconvenience anymore.
But more of an art form.
Thank you,
Aaron.
April 7, 2008
guys, i kinda have the same thing,if i pinch myself for like 10 sec then a minute later, that happens.
is it just me? 0__o
April 9, 2008
Sure, maybe it’s akin to “modern art.”
Sinner, you said that modern artists’ art contributes nothing to society. This may seem like a stretch, but she’s displaying something beautiful out of her condition. She’s overcoming her humanity and making something awesome out of it, something that speaks of our nature. It definitely has relevance to society. Beauty out of illness, and not in an emo sort of way.
April 18, 2008
Dermatographismus isn’t “unique” or even that rare, I’ve seen loads of patients with it, even two of my friends suffer from it.
April 21, 2008
Eww..gross.
April 23, 2008
wow.. the poster child for “if god gives you lemons, make lemonade”
April 29, 2008
its cool that shes liking this, but what i see is yucky red marks on a neon white canvas! gross!
May 16, 2008
She’s absolutely beautiful…
like already stated,
When life gives you lemons….
May 23, 2008
Because you see the word “art” or “artist” does not give you the right to appraise her skin or form of coping as if she were putting herself up for sale as high art. Art is what it is….it is simply a form of expression. Art is the fish a kindergarten student draws with crayons and fingerpaint. Art is the still life that a college student spends three weeks on completing for their class. Art is the famous Van Gogh painting that hangs in a museum. There is no set definition for what is ‘good’ art or ‘bad’ art.
She chooses to show the creative patterns on her skin, and she is met with ugly, negative feedback from people who don’t understand. Those without the condition (myself included) could not ever understand what she goes through daily, and therefore have little room to judge her as anything but creative.
It may not be Monet’s Water Lily series, and you may not LIKE what you see….but if you don’t, simply browse onto some other page. Don’t take the time to call her gross or weird.
Nobody with any kind of condition, especially one who is brave enough to post the effects so openly, deserves ridicule or harsh criticism from ignorant oafs looking to show of false intelligence.
This is beautiful IN ITS OWN WAY. Learn to appreciate that. Not everything art has to be slathered paint on a canvas!
June 10, 2008
art is beauty, art is life, art is fleeting, art is eternal, art is whatever you want it to be. if she wants to make marks on her body, then she can! the only thing that would worry me would be if she started slashing her wrists or something like that. i agree with a lot of the opinions i am seeing about art. i think fireworks are art, and in a way, they are. i think a birds nest is art, and again,it kind of is. art is what you wish it to be, it doesn’t have a fixed set of rules. artists throughout history have used what they can to create something beautiful to themselves, and sometimes, people only discover it when the see it years later. most of the time an artist only gets famous after death.if she does this and thinks it is beauty, then it is a kind of art! art is what we wish it to be.
“if life gives you lemons, make grape juice and then sit back and let the world wonder how you did it”
she is making the best of her situation, why can’t all people appreciate that?
June 10, 2008
To Whom it May Concern: Thank you, that’s what I wanted to say.
I’m an artist, and not all artists sell their work or try to make copious mountains of cash. Most just want to express themselves. I think it rocks that she took something unfortunate and made it into something beautiful. I wish I could find a way to do that with my disability. Her condition may not be “unique” or “rare” but what she chose to do with it is.
June 12, 2008
Shopped
August 8, 2008
yea, me too
October 18, 2008
You mean this isn’t normal? That happens to me. It’s not quite as pronounced, but it’s still noticeable. Someone will ask me why my face has a pink splotch and then I remember that I had an itch there 15 minutes ago.
October 22, 2008
shopped or not……..wow
October 27, 2008
cool, i was one of the first to be diagnosed with this disorder back in the sixties. i would like to communicate with ariana if she can take time to talk .
October 29, 2008
It is unusual, but she turned around an embarrassing condition and did something positive with it.
November 21, 2008
ouch does it hurt?
December 13, 2008
I think this is really rather beautiful.
January 4, 2009
Soul posted:
“Art is one of those things that each person has to decide the worth of. There are famous artist out there that just don’t move me at all. This woman is expressing herself in a medium that is unique to her. She has taken a negative thing in her life and turned it into something beautiful to share with all of us. I never knew of this condition and now I feel I’ve been educated in a wonderful way.”
I felt this should be echo’ed. It’s all that really needs to be said.
January 17, 2009
I can’t believe no one’s said it yet. Photo shopped!!
January 18, 2009
I actually have pretty much te same thing. My skin is hyper-sensitive.
I don’t think it’s as extreme as this case, but my skin is still very reactive to being scratched even very lightly.
January 23, 2009
I call Bamboon Tampoon on that!
February 6, 2009
I have the same condition and yes it does itch!
March 2, 2009
That’s awesome what she’s done with that. They look like white-ink tattoos.
March 5, 2009
That is some of the best scarification I have ever seen.
May 30, 2009
I was actually hoping to see the face of the fair skinned lady - nice post!
June 10, 2009
I’m sorry but I think that is disgusting! I can’t imagine myself touching it! I am not close minded! but oh my god!! What is this? What was your purpose when doing this? What are you doing to your skin?
June 14, 2009
I seriously think I have that disease.
June 16, 2009
I agree with ya, man.
June 16, 2009
sexy!!! and on THAT body, even more so…
June 18, 2009
It’s nice to see all the websurfers out there becoming art critics. It’s especially refreshing to see so many people criticizing someone for doing something truly original with the cards they’ve been dealt.
Not that Ariana needs defending, but she is a real artist:
http://www.arianapagerussell.com/
June 23, 2009
my skin does this too…i never looked at it as art though. its hard especially when i scratch myself [ LIGHTLY] it looks as if i was attacked by a cat, what is this skin type reffered as or does it have a name??
June 29, 2009
wow she hot