It seems that decades ago the subject of tattoos was a taboo. This means that if a person had some type of ink on their skin, possibly bosses would not hire him. The political family (parents of their sentimental partner) would treat one badly or make life impossible in any way that is treated. Times have changed but we must emphasize that many people still have prejudices about this issue.
Perspective changes
In recent centuries tattoos have been misunderstood by the bad reputation they have taken, by the mafias above all, causing tattooed people to be frowned upon in the street.
But today the taste for art on the skin is slowly taking up again, and I’m not talking about the typical anchor or pen.
Nowadays the art in the skin has evolved a lot, the artists of this century have created many new styles that have given a new face to this art.
Most people know what the process of getting a tattoo is. It is quite basic. Based on a drawing or image, an artist puts ink on someone else’s skin. The main objective is to get the ink in the deepest layers of the skin.
Venezuelan tattoo artist
As usual, we continue to bring the testimony of people in the artistic world, the world of tattooing and on this occasion, we bring the tattooed Venezuelan Pierre Marcel.
Pierre Marcel is 31 years old and has been working as a professional tattoo artist for five years. He currently works between France (corpus memori – Nantes) and Germany (Múnich Ink – Munich). Pierre is Venezuelan, born and raised in Caracas.
Surfing was my life in Venezuela, now in Germany, it became a trip that I do from time to time, but I know that I will return to the coast in the future.
He left the country in February 2013, just before the death of Hugo Chávez. He studied electrical engineering at Simón Bolivar University. Pierre’s story began almost as a game, because he really enjoyed doing airbrushing and drawing simply because it was very pleasant.
As a graduate in Electrical Engineering, Pierre was teaching at the School of Art and Design of Alicante. This took up a large part of his time and to some extent, in the long run he was forced to put aside his facets as an illustrator and painter. But the need to perform as an artist was soon felt and Pierre ended up finding in the world of tattoos the possibility he was looking for.
Although today he dedicates himself to tattoos, he is an electrical engineer. He loves physics, electric shocks, the theme of clean energy, free energy, frequencies, etc. On the other hand, he also likes to paint murals when they give me the opportunity to do sports.
According to Marcel, art means life, feelings, emotions. Without art all thoughts would be black and white, there would be no creativity, music, poetry. Through art it is possible to know the history. Art is what motivates us to play creators and be curious to master the indominable, like flying.
A little deeper
He has long been interested in the world of tattoos. When he arrived in Germany, he was looking for an extracurricular activity that would give him a distraction from all the torment of having emigrated from his country. In the end, it turned out to be a very interesting work where he could get peace and quiet.
He had always seen in this world, another form of artistic representation only applied in a different medium and although as he confesses, the adaptation process was not easy since developing the appropriate technique takes considerable time, he has managed to do so.
Solkes: So far it has been the hardest and easiest?
Pierre Marcel: The hardest thing, I would say, is the path of learning, since it is a world where you yourself have to improve through your own criteria, there is no official training for this work, so it seems to me a more challenging big yet. I’ve been on this subject for 5 years and I’m still learning a lot, especially when I travel to other countries, cultural and technical influences change, and meeting other artists helps you see your different nuances as an artist.
It is clear that tattoos are not for everyone. Some people love them, and there is no problem with that. They say tattoos can become addictive, and once one is done, you’ll want 20 more.
Solkes: Do you remember the first tattoo you did?
Pierre Marcel: Yes, of course, I think everyone remembers every first experience, I did it myself.
Solkes: Do you have tattoos, how many, meanings?
Pierre Marcel: I really do not know how many I have, and meaning, as I say some yes, others, just because they are considered Skinart “skin art”, most are gifts from people with whom I have worked.
Solkes: What do tattoos mean to you?
Pierre Marcel: For me, tattoos are simply art on the skin, then each tattoo will have its meaning and concept. A tattoo no matter what it means (since the meaning is given by the interested person), it should look good on the skin, that it looks good with the body, and that it has its own optical beauty, which is where many people do not understand this point.
Matter of tastes
Solkes: Who inspires you as tattooists and why?
Pierre Marcel: Well, I don’t have any tutor as such who instructed me, I don’t consider myself a fan of anyone or anything. I know many very good tattoo artists, I admire and respect their work, but there are many variants in this world that, depending on your artistic eye, you will have a different opinion of what a tattoo is and what is art on the skin.
He is fortunate to have several artistic figures that have helped inspire him as an artist. Not all tattooists of course, several in the world of graffiti he met in Caracas. Perfect example is his cousin, Andrés, currently a tattoo artist at LTW tattoo Barcelona.
He helped him understand the lifestyle of a tattoo artist, his aspiration for art and the way he lives, helped me understand that this world has nothing to do with the world of office and engineering. His other cousin, Daniel, also motivated him a lot to polish his artistic abilities, since he has long been his motivation to spend hours and hours drawing in his room.
Among them, many other people who, with care and dedication, develop their art in their own way. Like her sister, she is dedicated to photography, design, and does not stop learning different manual methods, such as screen printing, shirt prints, etc.
They are people, that despite being on different artistic themes, their dedication and motivation, is what motivates me to move forward.
Solkes: What are the most complicated tattoos to perform?
Pierre Marcel: I think it’s a relative question, every tattoo has its difficulty, its technique, and its adaptation to the body part. For an artist who is dedicated to black and white, obviously it would be more complicated to work with colors, and vice versa, as well as making a simple line well done can cost a lot of work for someone who does not get used to doing them. Personally I think that color tattoos in realism are not my specialty, not because I consider them more difficult, but I don’t find them a particular taste in doing so. This is an artistic work, the artist decides what he wants to do, because he likes it, not because it is easy or difficult.
The tattoo is one of the oldest types of arts that exists. Ancient civilizations used them to distinguish social classes, or privileged, Maori culture used their tattoos to recognize their most recognized soldiers, more tattoos had more battles they had won. Other cultures used them to recognize women who were committed to a man, in short, they had endless meanings.
Abrupt truths
It is a verifiable reality: we all or almost all know someone “not too happy” with his tattoo, which hides him from the sight of others because he is ashamed. Someone who is thinking of removing it with a laser, or even covering it with another design (what in the terminology of the tattoo is usually called a “cover”, an English word that means “cover” or “cover”).
For this reason, he is quite emphatic in the fact that when he notices confusion in the person who wants to get a tattoo, he tells him not to hurry to get a tattoo and to take his time. He tells them that when they have a better idea, he can gladly check back.
On other occasions, people come with a photo without knowing the possible meaning, or they do it just because it is “cool.” In those cases he tries to have a conversation with the client to really know his intention, on several occasions the client goes home with a totally different tattoo than he wanted, but at the same time with a big smile.
Solkes: I wanted to ask you, what do you think is your style in terms of tattoos?
Pierre Marcel: I love black work, everything related to black, I feel that it is the base color of this work, and you can really achieve a game of contrasts and lights based on skin tone, making it a job clean and pretty The work of lines, geometry, abstract art, Maori, Polynesian and realism also do it with pleasure. I also gladly make any other request as watercolor, if Japanese, if I’m interested in the idea.
Solkes: So far what has been the funniest, most uncomfortable or interesting experience while doing a tattoo?
Pierre Marcel: Ugh, well look a lot of things happen hahaha .. Since the person starts crying for fear or pain, to faint. But these things happen with those people who don’t take a tattoo session seriously. That is, if someone comes to a session of 4 hours or more, I always recommend sleeping well and eating well on the day of the appointment, and no alcohol or dumbfounded a couple of days before, nor train the day of the appointment, so that the body is not tired. It is painful, but everything is based on the mental control you have, obviously if it is your first time, the confidence you have with the tattoo artist, and the kindness that this artist has when tattooing also influences a lot. Eye, not all people who tattoo can be labeled as tattooists, there are many fans also tattooing cheaply in their homes, making those experiences less pleasant.
Supporting
The most exciting part of his job as a tattoo artist is to leave a mark on the person who gets a tattoo. That each person has a particular design and train if thought behind this ink that will be attached to their body.
There are many who only tattoo because they want to earn some money regardless of the meaning or intentions the person may have. But, for P. Marcel it is really important to listen to the person and create something together so that they can enjoy it for the rest of his life.
Marcel assures me without hesitation for a minute that all people who want to dedicate themselves to this should take this profession like any other profession. With all the commitment you deserve, that way you will be able to see the results and the work will give you the pleasure of the achievements.
Pierre is a charming person. He is always willing to lend a hand, to support another in his dreams or projects. He thinks that people can be helped a lot at the level of self-confidence and identity. When speaking with him, his thoughts were very clear: in the art world, it is a matter of love and motivation to achieve things.
