FEATURE ARTICLE—MARCH 2003
THE ULTIMATE TATTOO CONVENTION―?PAUL BOOTH'S TATTOO THE EARTH by Leo Zulueta
Photographs by Dianne Mansfield
On Thursday, August 1, we left the Ann Arbor/Detroit area, bound for the first Tattoo the Earth show at Rosemont Arena in Chicago. Since March, we have attended four tattoo conventions, Chicago being our fifth. At the Detroit show in March, Paul Booth invited the both of us to attend the TTE tour, which was both exciting and an honor. In April, we attended Dennis Dwyer and J.D. Crowe's show in Minneapolis. In May, we attended Steve Bonge's show in New York City, and in June we visited Toronto. Since Michigan is so centrally located, we drove to all of these events, which allowed us to enjoy the countryside. So, four and a half hours later, we pulled into the hotel. An Eminem concert was just concluding, so thousands of cars were leaving the arena parking lot.
As soon as we entered the hotel, we were greeted by Keone Nunes and Vaughn Victor of Hawai'i. They were hand-tattooing at the show. We also saw San Francisco's Paul Taylor, whom we saw in Tahiti and Samoa the last two years. Rori Keating arrived from San Diego. There was Scott Alderman, the show promoter, Paul Booth and Sara, hosts of the TTE tour, along with Filip Leu. We were happy to see Loretta, Filip and Titine, as we hadn't seen them since a short three-day visit to Lausanne in November of 2000. It was especially great to see Loretta. She hasn't been to the U.S. in 22 years.
TALKING WITH FILIP
After a brief visit with friends in the lobby, we were off to a series of rooms. In one corner, plastic covered the walls and floor. This was the site of the first art-fusion. By the time we got there, Filip, Titine, Paul Booth, Lior (Last Rites, New York City), Genziana (Italy) and Paul Taylor were well into the project. Working with charcoal on large pieces of paper, six artists rotated every three to five minutes for a total of two hours. In another corner of the room sat Scott with his laptop and printer, buzzing away on convention details. I noticed several of the signed fine-art prints, stored neatly, awaiting transport to the venue in the morning. I spotted a few of Filip's photo albums, and he gladly joined me to discuss technique. He described the incredibly short amount of time he needs for an entire backpiece, using a 45-needle magnum shader. Filip is always helpful in that way, and I am immediately reminded of how open the younger generation can be. This show was one of the most open shows we have ever attended, and Dianne and I have been attending tattoo events for over 20 years
JOINING IN
The next morning, it's breakfast with friends, then off to the Rosemont Arena for setup. Dianne is showing 20 of her digital works, and I'm doing my first art-fusion collaborative drawings. We are both quite excited. The arena venue is set up with the tattoo booths in the center of the floor and an art-exhibition area on one side. The stages are for collaborative tattooing. The art exhibition features paintings by Guy Aitchison, Filip and Titine Leu, Paul Booth and, of course, Dianne's photographs. All three days were action packed all the way. The general consensus was, everyone was busy and prosperous. People attending the event were thrilled by the accessibility of the artists. Rori Keating worked in my booth and was hard at work the entire weekend. I did a few tattoos on Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday I conducted a seminar where I met a man who is an art therapist for the Illinois state prison system.
On Saturday, I did my first art-fusion drawings on the stage of the arena floor. It was truly awesome and inspirational. I was quite nervous at first, but it's amazing how quickly I begin to flow with the other artists and started letting go. On Sunday, I did another art-fusion series of large charcoal drawings. It was so cool to draw with Filip, Titine, Paul, Guy and Timothy Hoyer. The stands behind us were full of spectators watching, photographing and videotaping the performance. It looked and felt as if the audience was watching a basketball game. People loved the creative process. The art-fusion concept is the brainchild of Paul and Filip and is being planned for the entire TTE tour. I find it to be a very innovative and modern concept with great possibilities. This event was more than the tattooing, it was about art and creativity. And everyone at any level could share and take part.
SEEING OLD FRIENDS
Ernesto and the Borneo Headhunters were there doing hand-work tattooing. Eric Perfect of Cadillac Tattoo, Philadelphia, was there with his wife, Valerie. Tom Painter from Virginia did ten tattoos on Saturday. Lucky Bastard was also keeping busy. It was great fun to visit with Anil Gupta and Pat Sinatra from New York, Joe Hegarty and Timothy Hoyer from Virginia, Sharon Brouse from Utah, Tim and James Kern from Illinois, Trevor McStay from Australia, Mario Barth from New Jersey, Jordi Marques from the Canary Islands, and our many, many other friends and peers. We had worked alongside Vatea, Aroma and Po'oino from Tahiti in Toronto, but missed them at this show. They had planned to attend, but were unable to. Jo-D, Mona and Bob, friends from Michigan, drove in to enjoy the show. So many people to meet and see, it was great. Quite a different feeling than other tattoo conventions. This show was alive with an enormous creative spirit.
The show officially ended on Sunday night, and we drove back to Michigan. All the way home, we were buzzing with excitement. We both loved the sense of community expressed at this show. We kept referring to Woodstock and the first really big tattoo event we were privileged to attend at the Queen Mary in 1982. In fact, it was a lot like the Woodstock event of 30 years ago, the way it brought together young talent, while embracing and acknowledging what went before. Unlike many other professionally run shows where the artists report to their respective booths, keep their heads down and work all weekend, at this event the artists and the fans were all about helping one another. There was a sense of being part of something truly historic and special.
OFF TO ROUND TWO
Monday afternoon, and it's off to Detroit Metro for a flight to Oakland. We arrive Monday evening and take the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to San Francisco. At first it's aboveground, then enters a tunnel under San Francisco Bay. We arrive in 15 minutes. Our destination for the next few nights, the Serrano Hotel, is the location for Art Camp. The Serrano is a beautiful hotel, an old building, totally re-done with a very sophisticated, European feeling. We are greeted by many friends, and there is a strong buzz of anticipation of the next two days. Early on Tuesday morning, we see longtime friend Bill Salmon of Diamond Club, San Francisco. He is providing transportation to the art store for supplies. Then at 1 p.m., 60 of us from around the world meet with Paul and Filip and learn what to expect at Art Camp. Paul says, "The concept of Art Camp is to leave your egos at the door―?and play nice." Filip reiterates that we all have something to learn or teach during the next two days.
ART CAMP
Beginning in one corner of the room, we all introduce ourselves and talk about the medias we work in and the mediums we want to work in. Art Camp is divided into three rooms. One large room is devoted to acrylic painting and is supplied with many stretched canvases. Several large ones are mounted to the walls. The other big room is for charcoal and pastel drawings, with one side set aside for a very large clay sculpture. The two rooms and the halls connecting them are lined, ceiling to floor, with plastic―?to avoid tracking pastels, paint, charcoal and clay between the rooms. Music and energy flowed nonstop between the areas. The third, smaller room was used for life drawing.
We couldn't wait to get started, and by early afternoon all the invitees were busy making art. The energy was unbelievable. Mick from Zurich and Titine are helping with painting instruction. It's amazing how a large dragon mural takes shape in only a few hours. It was great to see how versatile many artists were with their multiple talents. I mainly stayed in the drawing room, as I was having so much fun creating on a large scale. It truly helped me loosen up. I had the opportunity to draw with Rori, Pat Sinatra, Robert Hernandez, Jordi Marques, Ethan Morgan, Tom Harley, Filip, Guy and Paul. Art Camp was two days of solid artwork, going for 15 to 20 hours a day. Here is a list of the people in attendance, and I hope I haven't forgotten anyone:
From Europe: Mick from Zurich; the Leu Family Iron (Loretta, Filip and Titine); also another Phillip, a friend of the Leus traveling from Switzerland; Flo from France; Michael Hubert from Germany; Sieto Van der Velde from the Netherlands, traveling with his brother; Robert Hernandez and Jordi Marques from Spain, a very good team from Italy; plus Giancarlo Capra, Elisa and Genziana; and Shad from Austria. From Japan and the Pacific: Horiryu, Horishio and Shige from Japan; Little Mick and Trevor McStay from Australia; and Inia Taylor from Aotearoa, New Zealand. From Canada: Kurt and Alex from Winnipeg and Scott from Ontario. From California: Kari Barba, Linda and Kari's family, Fred Corbin, Jack Rudy, Corey Miller, Ethan Morgan, Tom Harley, Bill and Juni Salmon, Rori Keating and Vincent Weiner. Besides Californians, there was, of course, Paul Booth and Lior (Last Rites, New York), Pat Sinatra (New York), Sharon Brouse (Utah), Joe Hegarty (Virginia), Aaron Bell (Washington), Timothy Hoyer (Virginia), Guy and Michelle Aitchison (Illinois) and Bob Tyrrell (Michigan).
MAKING ART TOGETHER
Long days turned into long nights, with everyone sharing and collaborating on each other's art. At one point, Paul looked around, smiled, and said, "And people thought tattoo artists couldn't work together!" It was a success beyond everyone's expectations. People had a chance to work next to artists they had only heard about and swap tips, stories and information. Everyone was learning and sharing. Jack Rudy was giving art lessons to Paul Booth's daughter at three in the morning. Art Camp was what every artist dreams of: a place, time, supplies and like minds sharing creative adventures. After two days at Art Camp, we are watched in amazement as a team moves the large six-foot by six-foot clay demon head onto a pickup truck bound for the Oakland Coliseum.
Then it's off to the Oakland Museum of Art to meet Ed Hardy and prepare for the evening's opening festivities. Horitoshi and family got things going with a hand-tattooing demonstration. The paintings of Filip and Titine, Ed Hardy, artwork by Paul Booth and the photographs and digital artwork by Dianne were all displayed in a great courtyard setting. At 8 p.m., Ed Hardy, Lyle Tuttle, Chuck Eldridge, Pat Sinatra, Guy Aitchison and myself spoke on a panel to a capacity crowd. We discussed a short history, contemporary views on tattooing and answered questions from the audience. It was fun being on a panel with Lyle. He offered some fun comments and left with a tattooed pig's foot from an audience member. It was good for the tattoo and art community to get together and meet the mayor of Oakland (introduced to us by Ed Hardy) and other luminaries. A big highlight was the museum announcing it was their biggest opening of the entire year.
THE COLISEUM
We hit the floor at the Oakland Coliseum Arena on Friday morning. Early on at the convention, Guy Aitchison and myself did a collaborative tattoo on Vincent Weiner, an artist who tattooed at my old studio, a few years ago. I had a great time working with Guy. The night before the piece, he and I met in the hotel room to draw for the next day. The initial drawing went down quickly, and I was amazed at how Guy developed it. He is a young artist that I've truly respected for years. I felt I learned so much to do that project together and was especially pleased when Vince won first-place tattoo that day!
For me, the convention was full speed ahead. I loved jumping in on such fun projects as the tattoo fusion with six different artists. Guy, Kari, Paul, Filip, Marcus Pacheco and myself tattooed three different clients. One of them was Kari's son, Jeremiah. It very nice for me to get to know Kari and her family after all these years. But the high point was the open spirit of sharing. It truly brought people together. All six of us drew an entire head design in less than ten minutes. I was amazed at how quickly six artists adapted to the available space. That is what amazed me the most. As the tattooing began, I began to feel the ease of the group as we collaborated together. Another interesting aspect of this large fusion was the fact that we all had the opportunity to use other artist's machines and needle arrangements. It was a unique and educational experience to see how other people run their machines.
During the Chicago show, we had the great idea to gather a group of older tattooists for an art-fusion team. Once we arrived in Oakland, there were many that wanted to do it, the team formed quickly. The criteria was, you had to have 20-plus years in the business, so the team ended up being Kandi Everett, Ed Hardy, Mike "Rollo" Malone, Jack Rudy, Bill Salmon and myself. We ended up doing a shorter session than usual, but everyone enjoyed the concept and had a lot of fun with it.
FOUR EXTRA DAYS
My son Anthony visited for a couple of days, and I also received a surprise visit by my sister Jayne. What a great show it was. What with all the momentum started at Art Camp a few days before, it was one of the most exciting shows I've ever been to. Monday appeared all too quickly. Not wanting it to end, we planned to spend four more days visiting numerous friends in the area. We took a train back to San Francisco and visited Bill and Juni's Diamond Club. The Horitoshi family was staying nearby, as well as the Leu Family Iron. As we entered Diamond Club for the evening, more art-fusion was going on. Small groups were passing along a pad of various sets of drawings, a sheet of water designs, dragons, and fire designs. Dandelion, Fred Corbin, Bill Salmon and Filip were playing music.
On Tuesday, we returned to Oakland to visit Corbin's shop, Temple Tattoo. It's a great-looking shop. Congratulations, Freddy! Jason, who was with me at Black Wave years ago, is working with Fred now, and it's great to see the shop full and buzzing away. Then we joined Hardy and Francesca's for a wonderful dinner with Michael, Kandi, Bobbi and Neal. Then it was back over to the city for two more days, where we spent a lot of time doing art and listening to music played by friends at Diamond Club. On Thursday, we spent the day with the Leus touring Haight Street, a true San Francisco classic. I hadn't been to San Francisco in ten years, so this trip was perfect. We would like to thank Bill and Juni for all their wonderful hospitality. A great way to close an action-packed week of tattoo and art.
―?Leo Zulueta