Spider Webb | |
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![]() O'Sullivan in 1978 | |
Born | Joseph Patrick O'Sullivan
[1] March 3, 1944
The Bronx, New York, U.S. |
Died | July 2, 2022 | (aged 78)
Occupation | 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]
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]