Spider Webb (tattoo artist)

Joseph Patrick O'Sullivan (March 3, 1944 – July 2, 2022), known professionally as Spider Webb after the character from the 1937 serial film Tim Tyler's Luck,[1] was an American tattoo artist.[1][2]

Spider Webb
O'Sullivan in 1978
Born
Joseph Patrick O'Sullivan[1]

(1944-03-03)March 3, 1944
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
DiedJuly 2, 2022(2022-07-02) (aged 78)
OccupationTattoo artist

Biography

He was born in The Bronx, New York, the son of Tecla Baranowicz and David O'Sullivan.[1] At the age of fourteen, O'Sullivan had visited a tattoo artist in Coney Island, New York for which he got his first tattoo on his arm.[1][3] He learned about tattooing for which he had pursuit.[1] O'Sullivan served in the United States Navy from 1962 to 1966.[1] He also attended the School of Visual Arts, where he earned his bachelor's degree in 1970.[1] He then emigrated to Mexico to attend Instituto Allende, where he earned his master's degree.[1]

O'Sullivan served as a tattoo artist in Mount Vernon, New York for which he had established a tattoo parlor store.[3] In 1976, O'Sullivan was a part of a protest of tattooing being banned by New York for which according to the Courier-Post, he had shown his work somewhere near the Museum of Modern Art.[4] He had stated that "Tattooing is perfectly safe".[1] In 1978, O'Sullivan was arrested for tattooing without a license.[1] In 1981, he had shown his work again from 1976 for which pornographic actress and sex educator Annie Sprinkle had taken part in what he was doing.[1] O'Sullivan had a legal case about his tattooing work for which New York had let go of the prohibity.[1] He was also an author of two books.[1]

O'Sullivan died in July 2022 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at his home in Asheville, North Carolina, at the age of 78.[1]

References

  1. Genzlinger, Neil (July 12, 2022). "Spider Webb, Tattoo Artist With a Defiant Streak, Dies at 78". The New York Times. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  2. "Tattooists really get under your skin". The Tampa Tribune. Tampa, Florida. October 13, 1978. p. 115. Retrieved July 13, 2022 via Newspapers.com. closed access
  3. Taylor, Angela (March 25, 1974). "For a Growing Number of Women, It's a Form of Permanent Jewelry". The New York Times. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  4. "Police web –– his tattooing is illegal". Courier-Post. Camden, New Jersey. August 5, 1976. p. 38. Retrieved July 13, 2022 via Newspapers.com. closed access


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