In the late 1980s, in the midst of New York City’s infamous tattoo ban, Sideshows by the Seashore on the legendary Coney Island Boardwalk began hosting an event distinct from its usual fare of sword-swallowers, snake charmers, and other marvels: the annual Coney Island Tattoo Festival. With New York’s tattoo artists driven underground and the art form publicly condemned as part of a dangerous fringe culture, this gathering in “the People’s Playground” served as a safe haven, drawing in tattoo enthusiasts from across the city and beyond. It also drew in a photographer from the Bronx who was fascinated by this world and the people who inhabited it. While not tattooed himself, for seven years Thomas Santelli served as the Festival’s designated “official photographer,” documenting this colorful event and the remarkable people who attended it with care and veneration. In this book, Santelli shares over 230 of his color and black-and-white portraits from the Coney Island Tattoo Festival, featured alongside cultural and historical commentary by the Festival’s creator Amy Krakow, tattoo historian Dr. Matt Lodder, and Brooklyn-based novelist Amy Shearn. Captivating and nostalgic, Coney Island Ink is a time capsule from a unique event in a one-of-a-kind place, a celebration of the irrepressibly resilient tattooing community, and a photographer’s tribute to everyone who graciously sat for his camera. “Having had the privilege of being Professor Tom Santelli’s colleague at the Center for Art and Design at the College of Saint Rose for more than three decades, I have long admired Tom’s unwavering commitment to both his artistic practice and the craft of teaching, as well as his lifelong passion for collecting culturally resonant objects. Shaped by a discerning eye and deep appreciation for visual culture, Santelli brings that same depth of perception to Coney Island Ink – a compelling visual chronicle of a once largely unseen and singular American subculture. Through these evocative images, he captures not only the character of Coney Island in the 1980’s, but also the individuality, spirit and cultural vitality that defines its enduring mythology.” —Paul Mauren, Sculptor, Professor Emeritus of Art, The Center for Art and Design at The College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY Thomas Santelli (b. 1952) is a portrait and fine art photographer. He has also worked as a layout/mechanical artist, an illustrator, a graphic designer, an art director, a musician, and a college professor (Professor Emeritus of Art—retired). Santelli attended the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan, New York; earned his BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York; and received his MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. His photography has been published in Photo Metro, The Total Tattoo Book (Amy Krakow, Warner Books), and Black and White Photography, Manifest Visions/An International Collection (James Luciana, Quarry Books/Rockport Publishers). Santelli’s fine art photography has been selected for numerous national and regional juried exhibitions, and he has work in many private collections. Permanent collections that contain his photographs include the Albany Institute of History and Art in Albany, New York; the Center for Photography in Woodstock, Kingston, New York; Wallace Memorial Library in Rochester, New York; and the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) in Dublin, Ireland