Monday 15 October 2012

SAVED FROM THE FLAMES : A tale of fresh flesh with tattooer Erik Reime -






FRESH INK: SAVED FROM THE FLAMES

A tattoo coming-of-age story by Christine Leonard


Ascanius shows off his fresh ink at artist Erik Reime's Copenhagen studio.

Here there be dragons...



A long-observed rite of passage in many cultures around the globe, coming-of-age tattoos are something to which many young people look forward. Receiving one’s first line of ink is an indelible way of marking the passage of time and the endlessly transformative nature of our physical existence. What better way to commemorate something, or someone, of importance than to express one’s inner being and reflect a new level of self-actualization? And, what better way to piss off the parents? Ideally, a person’s first visit to the tattoo parlour will be a positive adventure that yields a deeply personal and well-rendered example of the art form, not to mention a good drinking story. On the other bicep, we’ve all heard the horror stories about the guy with the ballpoint pen and the rusty pin. So, do your research, ask around, consult your astrologer and scour the chasms of your soul until your ultimate tattoo presents itself.


Some time ago a co-worker approached me with an interesting dilemma. Her teenage son was bound and determined to get a tattoo. Not an uncommon affliction, but naturally his mother was concerned. What will his future in-laws think? What if he wants to get a job at a bank one day? Suffice it to say that, the demonic designs he had been twisting in his mind weren’t exactly pretty. My question to her, “What’s your ethnic background?” Having just recently attended the Calgary Tattoo & Arts Festival, I was able to pass along the business card and website of Copenhagen-based tattoo artist Erik Reime, who just happens to specialize in bestowing legendary Viking imagery.


“Jonas (Ascanius) wanted a tattoo from the time he was twelve,” Terry Rahbek-Nielsen, his mom, relates. “He would spend hours drawing his tattoo – usually a monstrous face with fangs and horns. And he wanted it to cover his entire chest. We tried for years to talk him out of it using all the arguments parents use – it’s permanent, you will be sorry when you’re 50 — and of course he ignored us and planned his tattoo. He pointed out more than once that when he was eighteen there would be nothing we could do to stop him.


“We heard about Erik Reime (from the author), how his work was done freehand, and that he used themes from Danish Viking mythology. We looked at Erik’s website and liked what we saw. Erik’s work is original, and his dragons are gorgeous. Nobody else in Calgary was likely to have a tattoo like the ones he makes.”
The summer Jonas turned eighteen, the family planned a trip to Copenhagen. Reime was in residence there at the time, so it seemed fated that the tattoo would be done there. Relaxing the mood by making a graduation gift out of the experience, the Ascanius family contacted Reime via email, booked an appointment and, soon, Jonas and his sister, Amalie, found themselves at Rådhusstræde 15 at the artist’s shop, Kunsten pa Kroppen Tattoo Studio.


“He was going to get a tattoo whether we liked it or not. It just seemed fitting that he get a unique tattoo from a really wonderful artist and that it could be something relevant to his life and heritage… that we did it while visiting Denmark was a great bonus! Erik’s studio is in downtown Copenhagen, up several flights of stairs in one of those skinny old buildings,” she relates. “Erik drew the outline on his arm and the thing (dragon) looked HUGE to me. I was trying to convince Jonas to go for something small and discrete… Once Erik started actually doing the real tattoo, the sight of this (very sweet) man drawing blood from my son was just a little creepy. Jonas was fascinated; I was, according to him, distracting and not in a good way. So, they sent me away. When I came back an hour later, Jonas’ tattoo was all done and Amalie had one as well – a sharpie version.”


Born in Norway and educated in Denmark, Reime is highly-praised for his brave Viking patterns and world-binding dragon motifs. The first tattooer ever accepted into the BKF — the Artists’ Union in Denmark — he avoids stencils. Instead, he uses his skill as an artist to draw elegant yet austere black and white designs directly onto the client’s body by hand. In some case, Reime uses a technique he developed, based on Japanese and Polynesian traditions, where needle bundles on the head of a stick are used to tap (or tatt, tatt, tatt) ink into the skin. The results are stunning. Mute touchstones, ancient symbols, prehistoric totems from our foggy past are given new meaning, and strength, thanks to the artist’s eye and the temporal fragility of the living flesh.


“For me, the challenging issue is that these are permanent markings someone puts on their body that have a certain significance at a certain time in their lives,” Jonas’ mom concludes. “People change and grow and what was significant when a person is young may not be so when they are older. And then there is the issue of our bodies changing over time; that perky little butterfly on someone’s 20-year-old behind may be a little less perky when their behind is in their 50s! (The forearm was a good choice, though. It’s not too likely to sag!) I love the originality and significance of Jonas’ tattoo. As a piece of art, it is wonderful and unique… I am still very glad he didn’t get some gross-looking nightmarish creature embedded on his chest!”


By Christine Leonard


Monday 1 October 2012

ALBERTA BOUND TATTOO & ARTS FESTIVAL PREVIEW : Steve Peace interview

Preview 2012:  

ALBERTA BOUND 

TATTOO & ARTS FESTIVAL

  -- Interview & Article by Christine Leonard

 

ONE OF THE WORLD’S OLDEST ART FORMS 

RAISES THE BAR 

ONCE AGAIN

Say “sayonara!” to Sailor Jerry, the modern tattoo parlour doesn’t rely on crudely drawn catalogues of nicotine-stained flash art to earn its bread and butter. Pushing the dimensions of this age-old form of body modification into new realms, today’s tattoo artist deals in transcribing their client’s dreams into ink-under-skin reality. Having come further in the past hundred years than it has in the entirety of its 6,000 year history, the art of pushing pigment into the epidermis still has its share of perilous pitfalls. As far as the reputation of the barb-wired and be-anchored goes, society’s attitudes have been slow to evolve. As it stands, even the most accomplished and talented of ink-jockeys must defend their honour against ill-reputed tattoo schools, who churn out graduates on a bi-monthly basis, not to mention racks of soft-coeur industry zines that read like a high school drop-out’s yearbook of regrettable fascinations.

“We like to think of tattooing as the second oldest profession,” muses Calgary Tattoo and Arts Festival coordinator Steve Peace. “Festivals like ours give people a chance to seek out a tattoo artist that’s really compatible to their own personal style, someone they can see themselves being comfortable working with for eighteen or twenty hours at a time. Price should be your last consideration and never pick your design off a wall. If your favourite artist is booked solid, you should definitely wait. Some people don’t want to wait for an appointment. If they did, there would be a lot less cover-up work going on. It’s a pain in the ass, so wait.



“Now, if you’ve got a piece you are particularly proud of, our tattoo competition is open to anyone. We have awards for ‘tattoo of the day,’ as well as a unique ‘tattoo challenge,’ where six artists will go head-to-head for a $1,000 purse.”

Peace and his fellow organizers, under the Alberta Bound banner, endeavour to provide a showcase of top quality artists combined with some of the best tattoo supplies available in the business. Competition is stiff, but a double-blind audition process and an apolitical stance to providing vendor and artist access assure fairness and objectivity in the process. This measured approach has earned Calgary’s colourful skin show a golden reputation amongst artists and enthusiasts alike, and not just because of the seasonally appropriate autumnal theme.

“Our desire to put on the best run, most organized festival possible to our exhibitors comes from our own personal experiences going to other shows around the world,” Peace explains. “I’ve taken a $49 dollar cab ride to get paper towels. That’s why we make sure to provide all of our artists with any supplies they may require, right down to gloves and sterile water. Our show is cleaner than your average tattoo shop and our booths are five feet larger than the booths you’ll find at similar shows. As far as our invitees themselves, we try to set the talent bar high. We can’t promote people who aren’t ready. There’s no politics to it. It’s up to the artist to work harder and get better.”

No stranger to putting the needle to the groove, Peace advises would-be grinders to develop their skills by diversifying their portfolios. Galleries across Europe and North America are opening their doors and their arms to tattoo artists who have made the leap from living flesh to linen canvas. As in previous years, the autumnal theme of 2012’s showcase will encompass a display of oil paintings and other non-human artwork generated by portrait, script, colour and grayscale experts who are usually known for their corporeal creations.

“A lot of artists are switching over to oil painting,” he confirms. “You can learn so much more about colour and composition by branching out and, in turn, you will bring that depth of knowledge over into your artwork as a tattoo artist. The results can be quite mind blowing.

“Lots of people who are attracted to paintings aren’t interested in getting a tattoo. Artists who can develop their own style and transition between the two are better able to support themselves in their professional careers. As an artist working in the field, I expect to tattoo just about every day, and then I go home and spend hours drawing designs for the next day,” Peace elaborates. “All of the work I do is custom. The top artists will always be spending as much time drawing as they do tattooing.”

Of course, it’s not all work and no play for the ink-slingers and their admirers. Peace believes that variety is the key to keeping the festival fresh and entertaining. And adding an adult aspect to the proceedings seemed like the perfect way to compliment this year’s contingent of international artists and bod-mod celebrities.

“This is our ninth year and the entire time I’ve done everything on the premise that we have to keep changing things up. One year it’s dodgeball, the next it’s classic cars, or roller derby, or Kat Von D. This is the first time we’ve attempted an Adults Night. It’s a special, eighteen-and-over evening where people can walk around with their drinks and enjoy entertainment that’s a little more adult in nature. That will run from four to midnight and then Megan Massacre of New York Ink will be hosting the after-party for our Adults Only Friday Night at the Palomino Smoke House. She’ll be performing a DJ set up stairs with her boyfriend, spinning records for the crowd. Meanwhile, downstairs we’re super excited to be presenting our special musical guests, Fucked Up, who will be featured at the Palomino Friday and Saturday night!”



Providing added value is just one of the ways Steve Peace and the festival presenters at Alberta Bound demonstrate their desire to give back to the community. The organization is currently undergoing a significant realignment that will see future proceeds distributed to those charities close to Peace’s heart.

“We’ve been lucky enough to attract an average of 10,000 people a year to our festival. Now that we’ve settled into our new October dates, we hope to be able continue as a viable annual event. I’m already working on our line-up for our tenth anniversary festival,” he surmises. “We’re still going through the registration process, but, by this time next year, Alberta Bound will be a different company. We’ll be opening our doors as a non-profit enterprise and, this way, people will know the festival operates under that official status. We’re planning to work closely with foundations which provide art supplies and tuition to children in [developing countries]. I’ve travelled to countries like Cambodia, where the kids beg for Bic pens so they can draw. I’m really looking forward to being on-side with charities that are making life better for those kids and providing them with the necessities of life.”

The Alberta Bound Tattoo & Arts Festival runs from October 12 to 14, 2012 at the BMO Centre. After-parties will be hosted at the Palomino on Friday, October 12 and Saturday, October 13 and feature Megan Massacre of New York Ink on Friday night (upstairs) and Fucked Up on Friday and Saturday (downstairs).

Originally published in Beat Route Magazine October 2012
By Christine Leonard
Photos: Andras Schram
Original Tiki Tattoo by Jime Litwalk (CTAC Oct. 2012)