Well. Here we are. The seas of change roar at Speakeasy Tattoo, Los Angeles. This will be my official final blog post. I am reaching the final stages in this apprenticeship and my duties are now more and more tattoo focused as well as preparing for the art show on August 21st. Remember when the Emperor saw some young new force user and decided "oh well I need some of that, Vader? Eff that guy, he's done enough for me." Its kinda like that. I am guiding a new apprentice to the dark side, passing on what I have learned so ultimately the Emperor can take over and I go deal with the terrorist state of Alderaan.
So with that, we welcome Astor. Astor has certainly had a baptism by fire in his first few days, but that's how it is in this secluded corner of Los Angeles. So here is a little Q&A I did with Astor, give it a read, get to know him, for he will be taking over blog ranting from here on out. You're gonna miss me when I'm gone.
Q: Give a brief intro/what you’re all about
A: What’s up y’all I’m Astor, LA native and newest apprentice here at Speakeasy Tattoo. Few things about me, I collect carnivorous plants, in I’m a Virgo, and I have a habit of running into dangerous wildlife (especially when I’m not looking for said dangerous wildlife) wherever I go. You want to run into a tiger shark in the middle of the Sonoran Desert? I’m your guy.
Q: What got you into tattooing?
A: The year was 2007, and I was in an after school arts program which for legal reasons shall not be named here when a buddy of mine, a crusty 17 year old, came into class looking somewhat dispirited. When I asked him what was the bee in his bonnet, he responded that the previous night, he’d gotten hella crossfaded in his parents’ garage, and decided to give himself a tattoo, at which point, he pulled up the leg of his basketball shorts to reveal what he’d put on his thigh. In large, block letters each over an inch tall, he had written “FUCK THE POLESE”. Yes, polese. That’s when I knew, tattooing was something I really wanted to do. It’s taken me some 15 years to get to this point, but that tattoo has stayed with me the entire time. The best/worst tattoo I’ve ever seen.
Q: Who is your biggest artistic inspiration (can be one or many) not related to tattooing?
A: So many. Bernie Wrightson, Gustave Dore, Franz von Bayros, Takato Yamamoto, Aubrey Beardsley, Louis Le Breton (his illustrations for the Dictionnaire Infernal), Walton Ford, Pieter Bruegel the Elder… to name a few. If you have all day, I could go on. Does this blog have a character limit?
Q: Who is your biggest tattoo inspiration?
A: It’s hard to say. At this stage, I’m trying not to get disheartened by looking at the incredible masterpieces that other artists have created in this medium, but two that come to mind are Pony Reinhardt, and Massimo Gurnari.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Persnickety probably. I like dense compositions, finicky and purposeful linework, high drama, and a touch of erotic despair. I try to channel a bit of gothic decadence and golden age of illustration charm into what I do. Baroque, maybe?
Q: Favorite bands/musical artists?
A: Over the years I’ve tried to develop this thing called taste but truly I’m a 12 year old emo baby at heart so if I’m being real honest with myself and letting it all hang out I would probably have to say Placebo and Coheed and Cambria are my favorite bands.
(EDITORS NOTE FROM SWEEVE: okay maybe I wont be relinquishing the bluetooth speaker control after all)
Q: Favorite films or film makers and why is it David Lynch?
A: The fact that he refuses to engage in questions about his work and instead goes on lengthy screeds about the weird desk he is currently building is such a power move. I hope one day I too could have the sort of clout that is required to behave like that XD.
Q: What is most exciting about starting your apprenticeship?
A: Honestly, and this might just be the big nerd in me talking, but the whole process of tattooing, the nitty gritty how-to type stuff is really interesting to me, especially because it is such an ancient practice, even compared to say something like oil painting, and to become part of this ancient artistic legacy is really exciting. Also tattooing is something that is so deeply personal, getting to meet people and help them alter their self presentation like that is really exciting and honestly quite humbling.
Q: What scares you the most about starting your apprenticeship?
A: The logistics of it. I’m real dyslexic and have bad ADHD so keeping on top of things has always taken more energy and effort then probably does for other, non-neurodivergent people especially when executive functioning is in play.
Q: Anything else you wanna say? Now is your time.
A: Well I guess I could lay out spicy personal details or political opinions or whatever but I think I’m going to use this time to talk about one of my favorite creatures on this here planet of earth: sea cucumbers. Did you know that sea cucumbers breathe through their anus and are relatives of starfish? Well now you do. They are detritivores which means that a not insubstantial part of their diet is fecal matter. They are a crucial part of the marine eco system. They are also able to vomit up their respiratory system if being pursued by a predator and regrow whole organs, making them functionally immortal. Honestly the ideal existence, living in the ocean, eating shit, and vibing. That’s the way to be. They say ‘eat shit and die’? Not if you’re a sea cucumber. More like eat shit and THRIVE. Inspiring.
So everyone keep you eyes out for astor and what he creates. Check out his work below and check out his IG @astorbonder.
It's been real y'all.
-SWEEVE OUT
Welcome back y’all. Lots of new and interesting changes going on here at the Speakeasy Tattoo domain. I don’t want to spoil too much just yet but just know that times they are a changing as that one nasally guy says.
So I have been going over various artists which I consider to be my biggest influences. This week I want to touch on that but as well touch on what we call trends. It’s no secret there at there are trends in tattooing some of which stay some of which flash out as quick as they flash on to the scene. Currently weird doodle looking black work seems to be extremely trendy. Especially on Instagram. That and black old English lettering. Usually a year. Were you born in 1999? Get an old english 1999 tattoo on your chest. Not too big though....just like 3 inches.
For those of us that remember the 90s there was a trend called biomech. This is the type of tattooing that would usually make the wearers arm look like some sort of hybrid of an organic alien and a robot. For the most part this has gone out of trend but it still lingers on. Biomech would not exist were not for one insane Swiss artist. Known by his art at a glance by one name.
Giger.
You may not know who he is (whats wrong with you?) but you know his work. And if you know his work do you know how it changed not only the face of surrealist art but horror movies in general. 1979‘s alien directed by ridley Scott, for all intents and purposes was going to be a terrible schlock B-movie. Were it not for the incredible and unique visual langue brought to the truly alien world of the Xenomprph, Alien would be forgotten like Xtro. All from the nightmares of Hans Ruedi Giger.
And before we move on, it’s pronounced Geeg-ur not Guy-ger.
Giger was born in Switzerland in the heights of WWII, 1940. Luckily, Switzerland bolstered an impressive home army as well as literal defense traps that would make a ground invasion near impossible, so in spite of being dead center in Nazi occupied Europe, Hitler respected Switzerland’s neutrality. We can get into the complicity of the Swiss banks and their profiteering off the Nazi regime but let’s not go there today. His father was a pharmacist who discouraged any artistic path and in his youth Giger entered his compulsory military service, serving as what is known as a “Gebirgsjäger” (literary translating to hunter of the mountains), an elite infantry unit who specialized in mountainous warfare.
After his service he entered the Zurich School of Applied Arts where he studied architecture and industrial design, something where he could still channel his artistic skills but apply it in a more “legitimate” way. The shadow of the father looms heavy.
While he was enjoying moderate acclaim and hosted his first solo show in 1966, it wasn’t until 1969 that he began to see commercial success when the publisher of Switzerland’s first poster publishing companies began to distribute posters of his work.
In 1974, he was tapped to do production design for Alejandro Jodorowsky’s ambitious adaptation of the novel Dune. And while ultimately this production never came to pass some of his design elements were carried over for the 1984 David Lynch adaptation which subsequently went on to become one of my favorite movies of all time. And while David Lynch‘s version is certainly what I would consider a perfect film, it would’ve been nice to have seen Giger‘s design elements put to screen at the early date. Lynch's film utilized elements of Giger's designs but sparingly, not to the extent that would have been present in the Jodorowsky version. Ironically, Giger would later go on to express regret that he never worked with David Lynch, stating that Lynch's Eraserhead was the closest thing to bringing Giger's visions to reality.
It was in 1976, however, that Gieger got his real true break. The aforementioned movie Alien. I can think of no other film in movie history with a stronger visual language than that of the Alien franchise and that is directly a result of Gieger‘s work, based mostly off of his book Necronomicon. The Alien production wasn't just based off his work, he was brought in to bring his paintings to life.
Giger had a way to make the surreal and horrific beautiful. He’s cool toned acrylic and airbrush horrorscapes are truly something to behold in person. No reproduction of his work can do it justice by any means. When asked why he paints such a bizarre horrific scenes he explains that since he was a child he was plagued with horrific nightmares to the point of him not wanting to go to sleep. He found that painting these nightmares helped him control or feel power over them. The nightmares remained but now he was the master. Looking at his paintings one can only imagine how terrifying these nightmares truly would have been to a young child.
Giger is not without controversy however. Much of his work is extremely sexual in nature featuring what many would consider “deviant” motifs. Hell, think of the Xenomorph. The head is extremely phallic, in fact his original portrayal in the Necronomicon the head itself actually did take the form of a gigantic penis. The face huggers in alien as well have very obvious sexual overtones. It was with the band the Dead Kennedys and Tipper Gore’ PMRC “moral majority” that these sexual overtones were brought up in court. The album Frankenchrist featured a poster of Giger’s painting entitled....well.... I’ll just let Wikipedia’s description explain it to you “Penis Landscape, or Work 219: Landscape XX, is a painting by H. R. Giger. Created in 1973, airbrushed acrylic on paper-covered wood, it measures 70 by 100 centimetres. It depicts a number of penises entering vaginas, arranged in an alternating pattern. One is wearing a condom.” The resulting obscenity lawsuit would almost run Alternative Tentacles (the album label run by Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra) into the ground.
Regardless, Giger’s work has been featured in album covers from Danzig to ELO. Sadly, he passed in 2014 at the age of 74 after suffering from a fall. His legacy, however, will maintain a massive influence on countless artists.
I think that’s enough for today. Go put on some Danzig. Go watch Alien. Enjoy your weekend.
Updated: Dec 8, 2022
Well here we are. Another week down here at the notorious Speakeasy Tattoo, Los Angeles. How is everyone? What does the CDC say today? Who knows? I’m sure it will be different tomorrow. I am feeling a bit low energy on this… Friday? …what day is it?
What year?
Is it still 1985?
If so yesterday was my birthday.
And if it’s not 85 yesterday was still my birthday.
What am I talking about?
ANYWAY.
So last week we talked about good old Tom of Finland. I promised that I would cover some more of my favorite artists and as I am sitting here in my living room looking around at the walls it’s becoming more and more obvious and more perplexing that I should’ve done this artist long ago.
Think of the 80s. What are you listening to? Where are you? Are you in a salon? Maybe looking to buy some sunglasses? Or, like many of us, flipping through the pages of Playboy. Whether on a poster in a hair salon or on the cover of a Duran Duran album you know his art. The quintessential, clean, beautiful work of the 80s. Of course I am talking about Patrick Nagel.
Like many of us Angelino transplants, Nagel was born in Ohio in 1945, but grew up in LA. During the Vietnam War, Nagel served with 101st airborne. It was here he did work as a cartographer (making maps), a skill he would later utilize in his career.
After the war, he earned his BA from Cal State Fullerton. Almost immediately he began working as a graphic designer for ABC television. This work, naturally as it is in Hollywood, lead to more and more connections such as Budweiser and Lucky Strike.
It is, however, not his ad graphics that he is most known for. Eventually Nagel landed a job with Playboy magazine. And while initially he was given specific directives on what to create for the magazine in the late 70s the editors realized what they had with Nagel and gave him artistic license to do what he wished. Nagel had a stunning way with the female form. Idealized women, usually with jet black hair and stately shapes. The smoothness and cleanliness of his lines are without parallel. Knowing that where not to put a line is equally if not more important than where to put a line. Similar to Vargas in decades prior, the “Nagel girl” was born.
In many ways Nagel can be looked at as the father of computerized vector art however Nagel did this all the old fashion way.
By.
Hand.
Starting with a pencil sketch working that sketch, transferring sketch to a larger canvas and painting it all by hand. Similar to tattooing, Nagel would start with the black outline, filling in the colors from there. No soft shading. Just subtle hue shifts to indicate a shadow here and there. The end result was some thing crisp and clean harkening back to ancient Japanese wood blocks just as much as modern 1980s aesthetics. What made Nagel‘s artwork so well-known and widespread wasn’t just it’s sheer beauty but also the nature of his art lent it self to be easily screen printed. Because Nagel only used hard lines (no shading or blending), each individual color could be separated onto individual silk screens and thus hand screened onto posters. These posters were used anywhere from gallery advertisements to album covers. Naturally, the aforementioned Duran Duran album Rio famously uses a Nagel woman. In fact, to this day Duran Duran and Patrick Nagel are almost inseparable in the social consciousness.
Sadly, in 1984 during any celebrity aerobathon, whose goal was to raise funds for the American heart Association in Santa Monica (cruelly ironic), Nagel died of a heart attack at the age of 38, leaving behind his wife and muse, Jennifer Dumas as well as his daughter (from a prior marriage). Interestingly, it was the ease of transferring his artwork to the silkscreen medium that led to a flood of counterfeit productions. By the 90s a result of both the oversaturation of the market with fakes as well as the perceived “dated “look of Nagel’s work, there came a time where his work was considered almost worthless and much of it was destroyed.
Nagel‘s legacy cannot be overstated. His artwork is almost inextricably linked to our perception of the 1980s. Today he enjoys a posthumous resurgence of appreciation in his artwork not only lending to insane market values for his posters but also a litany of copycat artists trying to mimic his style. I cannot say that I am not guilty of this. In fact one of my favorite pieces I did was a painting of Bauhaus front man Peter Murphy in the style of Patrick Nagel as a gift to my wife (pictured below). And while his style seems pretty straightforward and simple and thus relatively easy to mimic, the copycats never seem to quite get there. He is in a class of his own. So for now, we shall call it a day. Go put on Rio and cruise down Santa Monica.
XXX
-Sweeve