Exclusive interview with boris tattoo

  Hello Boris Tattoo! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. It really means a lot having you here. Please start by telling us something about yourself and your background. I'm Hungarian, I lived in Hungary. I spent my childhood in the communism, when tattooing was forbidden. In 1989 changes arrived, communism ended and the first tattoo studios have opened up. It was mysterious, mystic and because when I was young, I loved to draw as a hobby, I felt like this is something I would like to try. At age 20, when I was enlisted in mandatory military service, I did my first tattoos in the army base. I am a first generation tattoo artists in Hungary, I didn’t had to learn only tattooing, but also figure out what to work with and where I can get it from, which was really complicated at the beginning of the 90’s. In the first couple of years I learned by myself, as autodidact, then in the following two years I visited some western european conventions and as a visitor I tried to learn tattoo artist’s secrets through close observation. :)

Q: Tell me about the creative process.
A: As in Hungary there were no tattoo artists, there was no tattoo art, I had to figure out by myself, what works the best on the skin and the best tattoo style that would be closer to my personality. The creative process of tattooing, starts for me when the client gets in touch with me for the first time. I place great emphasis on the conversation with the client and when I feel I see clearly his/her request, then I give my knowledge and my own imagination.

Usually I need a few keywords to get my imagination start. Depending on the request, on the pattern, I often start with a smaller, thumbnail- like sketches and if the composition works fine in that size, I make the design in a larger size. Sometimes I make photos for it, sometimes I search on google for photo references and use them to make the design. But I handle the pattern-design only as draft all the time, despite that they are very well developed and understandable. I do keep the right for any changes till the design gets on the skin, as sometimes the body itself, the form of the body requires it. The scheme is made on paper, on monitor, in plain flat, but the art gets its final form on the body due to it’s spatiality.

Q: Your color work is impressive, I get lost in all the different color shades, textures... Do you prefer color tattooing?
A: Thank you very much. Yes, I place a fairly great emphasis on making large tattoos, because I think the biggest challenges and the most evaluable arts are the ones which are made in great consistency and in large parts on the body. So, do I like more, the color or the black? For many years I preferred color tattoos, but I could and liked to do black tattoos as well. Despite this, basically I still think till this day, that there is much more potential in color tattoos, there are more possibilities to express the meaning of the tattoo in color. Nevertheless, in the past years I made some larger and more exciting black and grey tattoos, which are really close to my heart. To tell you the truth, it is hard to choose, usually I leave the decision to the client, how they want the tattoo to be made, what they would like, I make both with pleasure.

Q: Tattoo artists should be responsible when it comes to their client's health. Do you have any advice for all those who are getting tattoos for first time? The ultimate DON'T (s)?
A: The quality and the condition of the skin has a serious effect on the outcome of the tattoo. On the client’s skin quality, their lifestyle can be perceptible very well. So with healthy lifestyle, proper eating, drinking the right amount of water, the skin also can be brought or kept in a good condition till our appointment. I recommend to take the right amount of vitamin. For example I recommend to all of my clients before their appointment, to take 3000-5000 mg vitamin C in the form of pills. They can start to take it for example 3 days before the appointment day, and due to this, the skin will be less hemophilic, also it will be more flexible, firmer, so it is easier to tattoo it, much easier to make a good tattoo on it. In fact I think that would be the most important thing I would tell my client.

 

Q: Being a tattoo artist could be a fun profession. You meet a lot of different people every day. Any cool memories to share with us? Like the funniest client or the most bizarre tattoo request ever? :))
A: Well, this question is... :-) it’s really fun. Yeah, we can say it’s a fun profession. We meet different people every day. I work on one client a day, but probably in a food store we can meet 100-1000 times more people, so 100-1000 times more funny stories happen. In fact I don’t remember the funny stories, I remember the pleasant hours I spend with my clients, talking, getting to know each other. I think this side of the tattooing is much more memorable than extreme cases when the stories turn into funny or ridiculous.

Q: "Boris Tattoo" is your tattoo studio in Vienna Austria. I bet that place is one of the best places in Vienna to get tattooed! It must be. You have really nice team, there are some cool resident artists like: Krisz Molnar, Betti and Gege. All of them have different styles, so I'm sure there's something for every client. How do you feel working with all of these great people?
Right now my studio can be found in Vienna, the capitol of Austria, but the team I work together with, worked with me much earlier already in Hungary too. With Krisztian Molnar we worked together in the late 90’s for 7-8 years. He was one of the first members of Boris Tattoo. After 8 years we went apart, he wanted to go on his own. Then years later, he came back to us and since then we have been working together again. Betti and Gege, they are a couple, our relationship with them goes back also for many years. Betti was aapprentice in our studio, what she does she learned it here. This nice progression that she achieved, probably can be attributed to the influence of the people surrounding her and to her talent together. I like to work with these people. We are together for a long time, we get along well, we understand each other, we cooperate with each other, we have good influence on each other. I think this team got combined like this, because each of its component is viable.

Q: Something that is also cool about your tattoo studio is the fact that you offer guest spots too. Actually, some of the best names out there, Dmitriy Samohin, Sandor Pongor, Otte Timar, Domantas Parvainis, Randy Engelhard all worked there. How do you select the artists? Do you have any special terms etc?
A: One of the reasons I moved my studio from Hungary to Austria was that I wanted to host those great tattoo artists I got to know during these years. For this a kind of enviroment a suitable market was needed. In Hungary I was working in a small rural town, where I would not be able to accomplish all this. My relationships with the listed tattoo artists goes back for years. All of them are very talented people. I got to know them on conventions or through the internet and I invited and hosted them in my studio to deepen our connection, not only professional, but personal too. I have to say that, working with them, I had to realize that a talented tattoo artist is not talented only because he/she pursue the maximum in the artistic field he/she creates, but each of them as a person being really unique, fascinating, their way of thinking, their human values made them who they are.

Q: You can proudly say that you have your own signed ink collection, under the brand "Intenze". Congratulations! Tell me more about this collaboration.
A: The joint work with Intenze... The joint work has a root going way back compare to when we actually started to work together. It must be known that I started to tattoo at the beginning of the 90’s. The founder and owner of Intenze, Mario Barth opened his first studio about 120 kms from me in the late 80’s. When I started, he already had a really good reputation. Due to the closeness of his studio, I met him. I knew his works from magazines, I liked them very much, but when I saw them in live, it captivated me even more. His thoroughly developed works, their technical perfection. Also his clients adoration towards him. So more than 10 years later, when I got a request from Mario Barth regarding a joint work together with Intenze, I happily said yes, because as I said, even at the beginning of my career I looked up to him, I recognized all he did.

As a color lover, it was one of my most memorable days of my life, when I spent a day at Intenze laboratory. That was when together with Mario we created the colors of the Intenze Boris Collection, included 19 elements. But this was only the beginning of the work. It is unbelievably interesting to participate in other kind of works of Intenze, like marketing or attend at their seminars as an instructor which are being organized during conventions, managed by Mario Barth. I think the secret of Intenze’s success beyond the charisma of it’s leader, is the excellet Intenze team behind him, together with the excellent work of the tattoo artists being sponsored by Intenze.

Q: You love to travel and share your knoweladge with the rest of the artists and the fans. Do you have any favorite tattoo convention? Also, don't hesitate to tell us which tattooo award is your favorite.
A: Yes, you are totally right, I like to travel very much and tattoo on conventions. I travel since 1996, first only as a visitor and a few years later as a participant. We can say for about 20 years now. My favorite convention? Honestly my favourite ones are those conventions where my friends from all over the world are attending too who I can see more rarely. Because a convention is always a good excuse to leave home and it is a good possibility go sit down with them, and share our thoughts. Before social media, it was much more complicated. Today I see daily what they do, in which direction their interest turns to. It was not like this the back in the day. However, it can not replace the magic of personal meeting. Favorite convention? The Berlin and London conventions are my big favorites in Europe, Paris is also excellent. In the US the Las Vegas and the Long Beach shows are the ones really close to me, but the Pasadena convention which was organized for the first time this year was also one of the best.

Q: You are also part of the Worldwide Tattoo Conference seminars in Portland. This must be really exciting! Can you tell me more?
A: Yes, I participated in the first three parts of the Worldwide Tattoo Conference. Alex De Pase and Gabe Ripley created an excellent event with the Worldwide Tattoo Conference. I think everybody who attended in any of the events agree with me that it provides a uniquely extensive information to the audience and it’s performers lined up today’s best tattooers. By Gabe Ripley, not only the tattoo artists, but the background industry of the tattoo also appeared. From them, not only about artistic advice, artistic experiences the audience could learn, but through them, they could find out a lot about marketing and self management too. Thanks to the multifarious performers, we were able to get to know separately everybody's vision, their thinking, their attitude. Their visibility, approach, from which direction they turn to tattooing. That is why I think, this expanded the vision of each person in the audience, made them more opened, more responsive even to novelties, even to the redefinition of their own art. Primarily not from technical side, but more from artistic and personality point of view.

Q: Would you say it is a career highlight?
A: I think yes, by all means. A tattoo artist who is invited or who is presenting on event series like this, can be sure or can expect that his/her professional recognition will rise. From the other hand the Worldwide Tattoo Conference is also a business venture and as such, it wants to become successful. To achieve this, one of the criterion is the performer's a priory have to be well known and successful tattoo artists. So I think from one hand yes, that is right, the attendance increases the reputation by all means. On the other hand, on an event like this, as a performer can be only someone who is basically already professional and has the reputation.

Q: Boris, after so many years in this industry, so many great experiences and so much hard work, what's the next challenge? Do you feel like there is more to explore, more to accomplish?
A: There are short and long term projects which I keep in mind during my work. The past 23 years of my tattoo career I always looked ahead. I always had dreams and wishes which I wanted to accomplish, usually even more at a time. I always put more energy into those where I see more chances to realize and that is how I was moving forward continuously. After 23 years, is there anything which is a challenge? Of course there is, because I think all those people are lucky who succeed to accomplish his/her dreams, plans, to bring to reality those challenges which they set in front of them. However these successes give confidence, which is point forward and take further. A lot of things happened in the past 20 years. 3 years ago I turned 40. It was an interesting feeling, 40 years is a long time and unwittingly I thought about, I did sum-up what happened in the past 20 years. On the other hand it also scares me the many things happened and what else is waiting for me. I am very optimistic though and after all, the outcome was my sum-up that is when I started to tattoo 20 years ago, I had no tattoo knowledge, no relations, I was not known and I had no financial opportunities either. Despite all these, in the past 20 years, soo many good things happened to me, if I work hard, I do it with heart. I can bring my plans to success. After 20 years I looked back and I had to realize that today I have a professional knowledge, I have reputation, I have a lot of experience, large and tight relations-connections within the tattoo community, I also have much more favorable financial opportunities than 20 years ago. I don’t know exactly what will be the challenge of the feature, but one thing is for sure, my chances are much better now to accomplish everything.

Q: Many people nowadays are trying to get their name out, what is your advice?
A: I think there are two point of views which a tattoo artist must comply with, to be able to make his/her name known. The first and maybe the most important is to be excellent in tattooing. Have an excellent technique, have an aesthetic sense, build up such tattoos, motives, compositions, which will be noticed on one hand from the audience, on the other hand, if somebody wants to emerge of the crowd – the industry, the tattoo artists take note of him/her.

Nevertheless, for this it is not enough only to tattoo good, they have to manage themselves well, if they are good tattoo artists. By that I mean even on social media, or even within the tattoo scene, in the world of tattoo magazines, they can represent their work by reviving the attention of the bystander. This is not an easy task, because these days there are so many good tattoo artists and on the many different social media surfaces a lot of them appear and a lot of good appear, that I think this is a very-very hard task. But the one who is able to, has enough volition and ambition to reach his/her goal, I'm sure he/she will reach it successfully and will attract the eye of the industry by all means.