Marfa Carpenter / MCSq2
Q: Why do people still get tattoos? Poking needles into skin seems pretty old school.
Ha ha, you’re kidding, right? It’s THE Old School. Tattooing is pre-historic, far older than any written language. The oldest art on the planet is cave paintings that date to 40,000 years old, and the subject [is] people covered in markings. It’s primal, it’s tribal, it’s an embodiment of humanity’s struggle, pain, healing, and rising above.
Q: Is a great tattoo art, or is it personal adornment?
This question will have a separate, individual answer for every one of the eight billion people on the planet. Today’s grand masters are creating some of the finest art ever transcribed on a living substrate, but on the far opposite side of the spectrum, sometimes those same masters get very drunk and tattoo each other in their hotel rooms, with the lights out in pitch darkness. If you have to ask why, I’m not going to explain!
Q: What are the skills a true tattoo artist always has?
No such thing as ‘always’. Tattooing, as well as being ancient, is global, and pancultural. The maori master carving a traditional moko facial tattoo is going to have a very different outlook and skill set than the trendy art student starting their apprenticeship in a swank hipster studio. I like to use the example of the Japanese apprenticeship, where the student will live with their master, the horishi. History is vital, to give a sense of the legacy, and the scope of sacrifice the elders made to legalize, sanitize, and elevate the craft to a true art form. Being versed in the myriad cultures and belief systems an artist will be expected to represent visually is a job in and of itself, as well as learn[ing] every facet of tattooing, from the grinding and mixing of pigment, jigging needles, fabricating tattoo machines or hand tools, cutting springs, tuning equipment, the biology of the skin, and of course all the medical and safety skills.
Q: Have you ever sent a client away for aesthetic reasons? Have you sent a client away for any reason?
A: Of course! Oh man, in this day and age, we’re turning away a lot of hate tattoos. For aesthetic reasons, we will refuse to do a product that we cannot guarantee, such as an all white tattoo, or lettering that we know for sure will close up and become illegible. Skin is a terrible substrate, it’s different on every person, it ages, it can be rather unhealthy, it will certainly expire.
Q: What do people really want when they come to you for a tattoo? A: Fuck if I know! The dynamic has changed radically since I began in 2000. Back then, tattooing was still illegal in a number of states. That client base were people who wanted to stand apart from society. Individuals getting individualistic tattoos. Strong tattoos. Hard tattoos. Today, with twenty four tattoo TV shows trying to steer tattooing the way the corporations drove the music industry into the ground, I have no fucking idea why people are getting tattooed, or how they choose an artist. Clients will refuse to look at our portfolios! What are they using as a gauge? I have no idea. Check out tattoo artists’ posts across social media and see if I’m lying. We still do get collectors who know what quality looks like and will travel to see us. We still get vanguard individualists who know what their strengths and convictions are. And a good client is a little piece of heaven walking around on two legs. But those people are fewer and much further in between.
