TATTOO (con) ARTISTS TAKE TO THE SCREEN
July 18, 2011
Discovery and TLC have the worldwide tattoo community up in arms over the launch of the new TV series “Tattoo School”. Cleo Black takes a closer look at what’s going on behind the scenes...
From an outside perspective, the world of tattooing and those who collect body art work has been one full of the unaccomplished dregs of society. Drug addicts, thieves and generally people one would not want at one’s high tea party or ladies’ luncheon. We start bar fights, have dirty fingernails and NO work ethic, and want to marry your innocent sons and daughters and turn them into wayward hussies and brawlers with our tattooed charms. At long last, a feeling has begun to inch its way into the corner of my mind that this unfair stereotype is beginning to change. Society as a whole was is starting to accept permanent body art work for what it is: art. Tattoo culture has been around longer than most of the great painters we all base our perceptions of art on, and tattoo artists study for years to perfect their technique before even being allowed near their canvas of human skin. For centuries this art form has been evolving into what it is today, and we as a community are fiercely protective of what it has become and its proud history across the world.
As one such fiercely protective tattoo collector, I feel it’s my personal responsibility to promote safe tattooing by talented, experienced and well trained artists. Nobody likes being parted with a few grand for a huge back piece, only to have it look like the kids spilled paint on your back in five years time, not to mention risking possible infection by blood borne pathogens, or an infected and puss covered ink job. And this is why an extremely large portion of the tattoo community worldwide was outraged to hear that TLC would be launching a new show on July 14 this year at 9pm, called “Tattoo School”.
“Rookie students, models risking their skin to first time body artists, a rebellious instructor and unconventional training… who will bear the drama of competition and survive?”
Now I can’t speak for the entire body of tattoo artists and collectors worldwide, but personally there’s not a snowballs chance in HELL that I would let anybody from a “school” with a slogan like that anywhere near my skin with a needle. Lisa Fasulo, owner and “teacher” at the tattoo school in the states claims on her blog that she’s been receiving hate mail for years now, but that the amount has flared up drastically with the news of the upcoming TV show...maybe that’s a hint honey. “How dare I teach someone how to do this ancient art form? How dare I give someone the chance to support themselves doing an honest and fulfilling job? How dare I teach people how to tattoo safely and responsibly instead of kitchen sink scratching? And on and on they went.....I never took it personally though, since these people never met me or my family. The notion of tattoo school has never been a popular idea, so I guess my partner and I are sort of pioneers.” In this collector’s opinion, Lisa Fasulo needs to get her head out of her...erm, kitchen sink,(if you know what I mean) and listen to what the rest of the world is saying.
I spoke to some experienced, hard working and extremely talented artists, as well as some collectors about their thoughts and feeling s on the subject: Candice Van Niekerk, a collector (for the moment...an apprentice as soon as humanly possible) and extremely accomplished fine artist; Ali Tambelini, a collector for years who has had her share of botched ink jobs; Damian Martins, an artist and owner of Living Art Tattoos(JHB); JayJay Waller, a young collector and Waldo Del Rocca, an apprenticing artist and owner of Lighthouse Supply (professional tattoo supplies) in Cape Town, who is opening up a shop with two established artists later this year.
(QUESTIONS MARKED BY A * ARE FOR ARTISTS ATTENTION ONLY)
*3) WHERE DO YOU WORK AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN TATTOOING?
Waldo- “I am currently busy opening a new studio with two other well known artists in Cape Town, Cape Electric Tattoo. I have been working in the industry a collective of 3 years and have roughly done about 15 tattoos only, I’m still a apprentice really... 3 years down and I can openly admit I know nothing, not nearly enough... and now this bullshit about 2 weeks school and you are a artist? Please.”
(Above: Damian Martins, just another day at the office. Chest image by Shaun Lindgren, text by...Marissa Noordegraaf at Tattoolya)
Damian-“I work from and own Living Art in Kensington JHB...been tattooing for three years.”
*4) TELL ME ABOUT YOUR TRAINING, ALL THE DETAILS; HOW LONG YOU APPRENTICED, WHAT YOUR DUTIES WERE, WHEN YOU WERE ALLOWED TO FISRT TATTOO CUSTOMERS AND HOW YOU FEEL ALL OF THE ABOVE AFFECTED YOU AS AN ARTIST-
Waldo- “Well, I’m still learning, I’m still a apprentice and will stay one till my mentors and I feel confident enough to brand myself as a fully fledged tattoo artist, I’m lucky as I have more than one mentor. My training has involved kissing ass, cleaning dirty equipment and shops, drawing, drawing and drawing, putting in YEARS of hard work, sucking it up and being humble, pride in my pocket, chin up and chest out, taking absolute pride in what I do. I honestly don’t think you ever stop learning as a tattoo artist, it’s the same with any art, every day, every drawing and every tattoo you learn something new. It’s never ending... all of this has made me a more humble artist and more so understanding the permanence of the trade, of what you do. Its fucking hard work, and it takes dedication, I lifetimes commitment. “
Damian-“I apprenticed under a veteran tattooer, John Olding, at JCT Tattoos for just under a year before taking it solo. I was responsible for all floor scrubbing, sterilizing, drawing up and dealing with the clients...I would just sit next to John for hours and watch him, picking up techniques and styles you can’t learn from a book. I didn’t actually start tattooing human beings until I had learned everything I possibly could about tattoo culture and safe, clean tattooing. My teacher was really old school...tattooing is a proud tradition for him so he made sure my work was something to be proud of.”
*5) AS AN ARTIST, WHAT ARE YOUR PROFESSIONAL OPINIONS ON THE IDEA OF LEARNING TO TATTOO IN A SPACE OF 80 HOURS, AND THE DANGERS YOU FEEL ARE INVOLVED-
Waldo- 80 hours? That’s a normal weeks working hours in a corporate environment... it’s a goddamn insult. You can’t even learn enough about cross contamination in 1 year let alone to tattoo in 80 hours. The repercussions of this is beyond what anybody could imagine, the spread of disease, all forms of Hepatitis, HIV and the list can go on, it could seriously turn into a epidemic. Brain surgeons or dentists study for 4 to 8 years, average tattoo apprenticeship is 2 – 6 years for a reason. It is a medical procedure to get tattooed, we are talking about needles, blood, blood borne pathogens, medical waste, inserting a medium and substance under your skin, this is no joke.
Damian-“Personally, I feel that 80 hours isn’t even enough time to learn about sterilizing things properly...never mind getting near a body with a needle. Shows like Miami or LA Ink have brought tattoo culture under a spotlight...but those guys are well trained experienced artists who have been working for years. TLC clearly does NOT understand the health risks here...”
6) GIVE ME YOUR OPININS ON THE FOLLOWING TEXT...THIS IS DIRECTLY QUOTED FROM “TATTOO SCHOOL’S” WEB PAGE-
What does the tuition include?
* A professional tattoo machine.
* 80 Hours of tattoo instruction with certified, experienced, award winning, tattoo instructors.
* FREE lodging for 2 weeks.
* Dozens of willing, prescreened human models for you to learn and practice on.
* Use of all our equipment at our State of the Art tattoo training facilities.
* Informational binder with all the important contacts and sources for all things "tattoo related".
* DVD of machine tuning produced by the TLC staff.
* Tattoo techniques textbook
* Tattoo License permit (as per county)
* Certificate of Completion upon course graduation.
* Tattoo Learning Center T-Shirt. (well, I mean if they’re throwing in a T-Shirt...)
* Transportation to and from the student housing daily.
* DVD with digital pictures of all the tattoos you completed while at school (enough for a beginning portfolio).
*** LOTS and LOTS of nurturing and emotional support that makes us the finest tattoo school!
Ali-“I don’t feel that the 80 hours of tattoo ‘instruction’ is sufficient time for someone to become qualified as a tattoo artist...definitely not enough time to gain enough experience in terms of different techniques, let alone to practice each technique to perfection. I feel that tattoo knowledge is gained more from practical experience than from text books, and I think it’s impossible to learn every tattoo technique and perfect it in 80hours, it’s not just a standard simple thing, where the ‘syllabus’ is the same for every student. Tattooing is about individuality, and not everyone is cut out for the industry, not everyone is disciplined enough. This show is enabling anyone to do it, and making it easier for people who are going through a ‘phase’ to be allowed to butcher people’s skin. Man... I was tattooed by a ‘tattoo artist’ who paid to learn how to tattoo, and now I’m spending a lot of MY money having her f*ck up fixed. What TLC is allowing is so irresponsible...”
(Above: Ali’s fixer upper...currently looking WAY better.)
(Above: beginning stages of Candice’s piece by Ronald at 1933 Classic Tattoos)
JayJay-I think it’s a f*cking joke! Come on... since they’re throwing in a T-Shirt lets ALL start tattooing! A DVD on Machine Tuning? Really? You can’t walk off the streets and be a tattoo artist... you as a person need art/tattooing be a passion not a hobby. Getting a tattoo is a life changing experience. This so called ‘school’ is retarded, who do these people think they are? This school should be shut down permanently and I hope a lot people agree with me.
Waldo-“I’m going to do this line by line like word association... “
* A professional tattoo machine. –“Yeah right, imported from china, made by non-tattooers. People misjudge the importance of a quality handmade tattoo machine that works on the perfect geometry for precision results.”
* 80 Hours of tattoo instruction with certified, experienced, award winning, tattoo instructors.-“I think I’ve said it already...”
* Use of all our equipment at our State of the Art tattoo training facilities.-“State of the CON-art.”
* Informational binder with all the important contacts and sources for all things "tattoo related".-“What does that mean?
Have they taken 100 years of tattooing history and put in a binder? LIES ON TOP OF LIES.”
* DVD of machine tuning produced by the TLC staff.-“Very useful as coasters, I’m sure.”
* Tattoo techniques textbook-“Great if you’re stuck for toilet paper.”
* Tattoo License permit (as per county)-“This is a f*cking joke, because in some states in the USA you require over 1000 hours of tattooing as a apprentice in a legitimate shop before you would even be considered to receive a permit...”
* Transportation to and from the student housing daily.-“Don’t stop at the red light in front of the train tracks now ya hear?”
* LOTS and LOTS of nurturing and emotional support that makes us the finest tattoo school!-“You need to have balls of steel to be a tattoo artist and these scratchers (students) will learn that the hard way. “
7) TELL ME A BIT ABOUT WHY YOU CHOSE THE ARTISTS YOU DID FOR YOUR TATTOOS-
Candice- “Ronald from 1933 Classic Tattoos (JHB) is my tattoo artist... I worked with Ronald for quite some time and we are very good friends. In this time I got to see his level of skill and I now know that his work is exceptional and that he has a very good knowledge about everything tattoo related. I trust him with my life and I think that trust is the most important thing to have between an artist and a collector. Getting tattooed is a very intense and intimate experience... it can either be an amazing or it can be horrible, so choosing an artist carefully is a good idea.”
JayJay-“- Well, I have 4 tattoo’s all done by different artist’s. My favourite one is the lily above my ankle, which was done by Ronald at Tattoolya. (Ronald now owns and tattoos from ‘1933 Classic Tattoos’ in JHB) It’s my favourite tattoo because I got it for my Granny who passed away last year March, and I chose Ronald because his artwork is amazing and he’s also been tattooing for years. He’s light-handed and doesn’t drill into your skin like a less experienced artist did to me once. I had the word LOVE tattooed over the scars on my forearm to represent the love I have for my mother. I was on Holiday in Cape Town and had heard good things about Ryan at Freestylers. I chose him because he’s done amazing work on my friends and I had a look on his webpage and I liked what I saw. ..His portfolio dated back years, so I knew that he was a very experienced artist not just some fool off the street. “
(Above: JayJay’s lily in memory of her Grandmother, by Ronald [previously] at Tattolya)
Damian-“I had my chest done by a good friend and great artist, Shaun Lindgren. His portfolio speaks for itself, and I know for a fact that he tattoos in a sterile environment, and has 10 years of experience...that’s something money can’t buy you.”
8) ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD?-
Candice- “TLC must die.”
Waldo- “Check out www.tattooacademy.co.za I feel that the South African (tattoo) artists should stand up against the tattoo schools locally too. They can fight TLC; our small industry in this country needs to be in solidarity against the problems on home soil.”
Damian-The tattoo community is STUFFED with talent waiting to come out...howerever there are also a bunch of sh*t tattooers who just aren’t up to scratch. What we need is for health boards to clamp down on artists and studios that don’t do things properly.”
Knowledge and experience just said a mouthful. I’ve been told that this article is pointless, a waste of my time...people in power don’t listen to people like us. I wasn’t raised to run away from a challenge, and challenge is EXACTLY what Lisa Fasulo and TLC have done to hundreds of years of culture, painstaking teaching and learning and the art of tattooing itself. I stand by all the opinions of the artists and collectors I have interviewed for this piece, and believe that if we speak loudly enough, they will have to listen. As someone who has endured hours and hours worth of ink and needles already, and will doubtless endure hours more in her life, I refuse to stand by and let something as priceless as art that lasts a lifetime be prostituted in such a fashion. Head on over to http://www.facebook.com/BoycottTattooSchool?ref=tsand join the “Boycot TLC’s Tattoo School Show ” group to show your support. And while you’re at it, head over to http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/boycotttattooschool/and let your floor sweeping, stencil drawing, hard working, ink loving, PROUD voice be heard by adding your name to the list of (currently) 10,016 people standing up for something they believe in. Let’s get this dangerous and insulting bollox off the air.
(Above: Waldo’s piece by David Chaston.)
Posted by Kosta Papageorgiou. Posted In : Campaigns
