Sacred Amanita Tattoo

Transcription

1 Sacred Amanita Tattoo I was born and brought up in a small Russian town. I have enjoyed drawing since I was a child, went to art school, but neither my family nor friends ever considered drawing as a profession. Expecting to find a real grown-up job in future and having a gift for maths, I finished physicomathematical college. Then I entered the Aerospace University and studied to become an air transport engineer. However, while attending lectures and drawing pictures in my notebooks, I came to realize that although it was interesting, it wasn t for me. With a diploma in engineering and rank of lieutenant of the Air Force, having got married and moved to the administrative center, I started working as a designer. Graphics, web, interfaces I tried myself in many trades looking for the one to take full advantage of my drawing skills, but always got bored. I started attending art school again. I tried collages, sculpture, acryl and oil, photography, animation I participated in several local modern art exhibitions. it was exciting, but it didn t allow me to earn enough to provide for my family. One day, a guy (who I barely knew) said, Dude, I like your drawings, come over to my place, I ve got tools we ll make tattoos! It took me 312 a second to make a decision, and the next day I was in a cramped kitchen of my new friend holding a tattoo machine in my hands and tattooing my first line on his leg. The same moment I realized it was what I wanted to do! My life s changed greatly since then, and the tattoo is in the core of everything. Two years later, I moved to the cultural capital of the country, Saint Petersburg, and now, as part of the Bang Bang Tattoo family, surrounded by amazing tattooists, I do what I truly enjoy doing. In my tattoos, I try to express graphically those images or ideas which fascinate me at the time. Geometrical and traditional patterns, sacral geometry, ethnic art, Tibetan iconography, natural forms the list of things to study and get inspired by goes on. I apply different techniques in my work, such as a mix of dotwork, graphics, shadows, black areas and detailing. I study Tibetan painting (thangka), get inspiration from nature and traditional art of the peoples of almost all countries. Nature is God and what can be more interesting than God? Everything around talks about Him and I m trying to express it through my art. Making this expression as pure as possible is my goal. 313

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8 INTERVIEW WITH Mike Amanita What is a tattoo for you? For me, tattooing is more than just a job and more than just a hobby. It s how I express myself, it inspires me to be better everyday both as a person and as an artist. I get to meet a lot of interesting people and travel to different countries. A tattoo is a great thing! Do great artists feel great works? Do you feel that magnum opus? Yeah, they sure do. A true master always knows a good work of art when he sees it, even when it s not his style. Besides, a tattoo can never be considered in isolation from its owner a great tattoo is the one that fits. Do you have certain rituals when you are tattooing? Apart from some safety precautions, there are a couple of things I always do. I light a few incense sticks and turn on some good music to suit my mood at the moment. sort of a plan on how to paint my body and I m gradually moving in this direction. Why those guys? Because when I see their work, I understand that each of them are interesting to me both as an artist and as a person. Do your own tattoos tell a story? And if so, what kind? Of course they do. Tattoos always tell something, reflecting some sides of their owner. I have goddessmother Kali tattooed on my back. On the right hand there is Fudo Myo-o, the king of light, the protector of the Teaching of Buddha; on the left is a datura, a sacred plant of Shiva, the god of time and destruction, the protector of yoga. I have a lamp with a hedgehog and a mouse looking at it it s about my wife and I. I also have a bunch of small tattoos and each one is a memory. Any tattoo, even the tiniest one, imprints the feelings you have while being tattooed. Its image is what will remind you of a certain event in your life. Each tattoo is a sacred action, a celebration, despite all the pain that accompanies it. When do you say no? Have you ever been in situations where you strongly urged against a tattoo? It happens, but not often, as I don t work in a street shop and I don t have to deal with random people. My clients come personally to me, they know my terms and understand why they come here, so I can t say I often have to say no to people. However, sometimes it so happens that I don t really like the client s idea or the client himself/herself. This is when I can refuse. How will the tattoo scene look like in 10 years? mes older. Basically, they are grown up, successful people years of age. What kind of job would you be doing if you hadn t become a tattoo artist? Who or what inspires your work? My work is a graphic reflection of my inner state. And it s affected by everything, by the whole world music, nature, people, art. What do you really hold respect for when you are marking a piece of skin? First of all, I talk with my client to figure out what he/she wants. I try to understand what kind of person he/she is. It helps me understand the idea and develop the story of the tattoo. The technical side of tattooing is the shape and size of the tattoo and its dynamics it has to do with the build and skin type of the client, so I pay attention to that too. Is there an ultimate moment, total surrender to your own art? The wave you absolutely have to surf? Creative work requires a special mood. I would call it inspiration or concentration. Of course, you can make yourself draw what you have to. That s what distinguishes pros. They can pull themselves together and do it. But what I really like in the end is what I ve done out of inspiration. I m in control of zeal, technique and quality, but I can t make myself generate an idea. I can try to create the right mood, like think about something, listen to music, read books, go to museums, but the image will appear by itself, by intuition. Who is tattooing you? Currently, my tattooists are guys from Saint Petersburg and good friends of mine Alexander Grim and Sergey Ambroz. In the future, I d like to get a tattoo from Thomas Hooper, Jondix, Gue Le Tattooer and Nazareno Tubaro. I have Hard to say. Lately, tattooing s changed greatly. There appears to be new techniques and new equipment that allow realizing projects that once seemed impossible. On the other hand, there are some fundamentals that remain the same. Ornamental and Japanese tattoos will never die. Apparently, time brings changes, neo old school, new tendencies in ornamental and Japanese tattoos have appeared. But basic elements that inherent in them are traditional, these are designs which are centuries old. I can also tell for sure that in ten years tattooing will be even more popular. Are tattoos a youth thing? I think it s vice versa. In all traditional cultures tattoos are used for initiation, when a boy, upon getting his first tattoo, turns into a man. In Oceania, it s believed that a God doesn t see a man without a tattoo. Turns out a tattoo, as part of initiation, was the prerogative of young people, while at the same time it symbolized adulthood. Nowadays getting a tattoo is still a rather painful process, and it is also expensive, so it requires maturity from its owner-to-be. Speaking about my clients specifically, their age varies from 22 to 40, someti- Who would you be if you were a whale I d be swimming, enjoying my life. If I weren t a tattoo artist, I d be doing something else, and I d do my best to be good at whatever I was doing. But luckily, I am a tattoo artist. Please name 3 adjectives that describe yourself. Cheerful, bold, bearded. What s your favorite music? It s different in different periods of my life, different seasons. But more often it s dark ambient, ethnic music (mostly traditional Indian music). What is your biggest weakness? It s a difficult question. Any character trait of a man is part of him and he needs it for some reason. Without it, he would be a completely different person. Do you have a personal hero? Shiva is my personal hero. If you had one wish free what would it be? I wish I had an infinite will power. What is your personal motto? We ll all die, so everything s for the better. Bang Bang Custom Tattoo Shop Fontanka 38, St. Petersburg Russia mike@amanita-tattoo.com