No need for a long introduction. You already know the work of Mister Cartoon. You see it on MTV every time Eminem reveals the portrait of daughter on his right shoulder. When 50 Cent and Joy Bryant roll around naked in Get Rich or Die Tryin', they're both flashing Cartoon tattoos. Dr. Dre, Kanye West, Missy Elliot, Pharrell, Cypress Hill, Beyonce ... a veritable who's who of the Hip Hop elite all sport his artwork.
But the LA tattoo artist, who got his start from the legendary Bob Roberts, doesn't limit himself to this kind of skin trade. Mister Cartoon's signature black-and-gray fine line style has graced a T-Mobile SideKick II, collector Nikes, as well as his own clothing line Joker Brand. He's even customized Larry Flynt's car.
A true street to stardom story -- a movie on his life is in the works -- Cartoon sat down to school me on when the status is hood.
Photos by Estevan Oriol.
Marisa DiMattia: A lot of people know you by the celebrities you've tattooed, your murals and lowrider art, the Nikes, and gadgets you've put your mark on. How do you want be known? What would you like people to think when they hear the name Mister Cartoon?
Mister Cartoon: I want to be known as a tattoo artist who started out as a kid going to car shows and fantasizing about candy painted Impalas. Entertainers, gadgets and shoes are just benefits from tattooing gangsters, strippers, and regular everyday folk. What would I like people to think? Originality and tradition. Originality with a low rider attitude.
MDM: You've been tattooing over a decade and, since that time, things have changed in the tattoo community. There's two tattoo reality shows, glossy tattoo fashion mags, and a heavily tattooed lawyer interviewing you right now. People are now calling tattoos a "trend" -- how do you answer that?
MC: They called hip hop and lowriding a trend too. The trends will always be set by the most hardcore. When trendy people move on, we'll still be here. All the shows, sports figures with tattoos, and even lawyers, open it up for all tattooers to make a living.
MDM: How do you see the future of tattooing in light of its popularity?
MC: I see all the new shops that are not owned by tattooers eventually falling off, and the consumers going back to the tattoo legends and new masters. People will be more focused on a tattooer's reputation and longevity.
MDM: If you had your own reality show, what would it be like? Would it be different from the upcoming film on your life?
MC: It would be called Skid Row's Finest and we would shoot it three blocks from my studio. We would focus on toothless crack whores blowing passing businessmen, homeless sex in card board boxes, and every week we'd see a young, egotistical cheerleader smoke a rock and fall from grace. And we would mix in some classic cars and bum gymnastics to keep the viewers' attention. Different? It would be extremely different because I'm not homeless. I'm a homeboy and a homeowner. I'm not interested in doing a show about myself. I find the street life of LA more interesting. My life story needs to be told on the big screen, with the big budget, and nation-wide exposure so everyone can trip out.
MDM: What's the status of the film? Have there been major changes to its concept since you were first approached by Universal?
MC: We just got back the first draft of the script, made changes, and are re-writing right now. As soon as we love the script, pre-production starts, and we'll be filming in 2007. No major concept changes. We are clear on what we want to see, and it helps that my best friend, famed photographer, Estevan Oriol, is directing.
MDM: I heard the movie will also show your time in Japan. They love you there and have flown you out for murals and tattoos. What's the tattoo scene like in Japan? How do you compare tattoo culture between Japan and the West Coast?
MC: They do not play around about tattoos in Japan. Kids that are into hip hop and lowriding want to get black and gray, old school, Chicano tattoos. You would think that they would just want dragons and koi fish, but they want to collect and embrace our culture. It's a lot like Americans getting Japanese traditional icons. You always want something from somewhere else. The big difference is learning how to tattoo. The Japanese masters make you hang out for a year before they decide if you can apprentice or not. If you survive the year and the master trusts you, he moves you into his house and you draw dragons for six months every day, you draw koi fish for six months every day. And you do everything the master says, no matter how ridiculous. But after a couple years, you'll be able to attach the master's name to your name and you'll have a successful career ahead -- as long as you don't get caught up smoking ice because they've got a lot of that shit out there.
MDM: What do you think attracts people all over the world to your particular artistic style?
MC: I think they like the fine line and script, combined with the Latina pin-up girls and the gangster clowns. When I draw, I want to create a fantasy of a sexy woman with double D bolt-ons, fat lips, hair down to her ankles, a 20-inch waist, and an ass like J-Lo, Chevys slammed on the floor, glass shiny candy paint jobs, and hundred dollar bills falling from heaven. Some people come for a consistency of detail. Other people want to get tattooed where Eminem got his tattoos.
MDM: Why do you get tattooed?
MC: I started getting tattooed because I wanted to let people know that I'm not a weekend warrior with this lifestyle. As a kid I always looked up to the older guys with the full-sleeves, and I always thought that to be a man you had to have ink from your shoulders to your wrists. I still get tattoos because I hang around a tattoo shop everyday and I have a vision of myself with a body suit. And for every new kid I have, I have to get their name blasted on me.
MDM: Who would you love to get tattooed by today?
MC: I would love to get tattooed by Horiyoshi III of Yokohama, Japan. He's a legend.
MDM: Everybody has their own reasons for getting tattooed but one reason that doesn't get discussed often is sex. Do you think sex plays a part in why people get tattooed -- say, tattooing to make your body more attractive to others?
MC: At the end of the day, everyone just wants to get laid anyways. Most women I know wouldn't ever fuck a guy who didn't have a gang of ink.
MDM: What do you think of heavily tattoo women? (Be careful, this is going on Suicide Girls!)
MC: I think it's cool, if they go about it in a sexy way. I don't want to pork a broad that looks like a circus side show freak. When they have the tattoos accenting their body lines and done professionally, they look incredible. My woman only has one tattoo on her back, yet she is on me to do a full backpiece -- and I've been with her for ten years.
MDM: What's next for Mister Cartoon?
MC: The next big thing for me is a graphic novel through Time Warner Books (Sin City, Road to Perdition), which I will be writing and illustrating.
But the LA tattoo artist, who got his start from the legendary Bob Roberts, doesn't limit himself to this kind of skin trade. Mister Cartoon's signature black-and-gray fine line style has graced a T-Mobile SideKick II, collector Nikes, as well as his own clothing line Joker Brand. He's even customized Larry Flynt's car.
A true street to stardom story -- a movie on his life is in the works -- Cartoon sat down to school me on when the status is hood.
Photos by Estevan Oriol.
Marisa DiMattia: A lot of people know you by the celebrities you've tattooed, your murals and lowrider art, the Nikes, and gadgets you've put your mark on. How do you want be known? What would you like people to think when they hear the name Mister Cartoon?
Mister Cartoon: I want to be known as a tattoo artist who started out as a kid going to car shows and fantasizing about candy painted Impalas. Entertainers, gadgets and shoes are just benefits from tattooing gangsters, strippers, and regular everyday folk. What would I like people to think? Originality and tradition. Originality with a low rider attitude.
MDM: You've been tattooing over a decade and, since that time, things have changed in the tattoo community. There's two tattoo reality shows, glossy tattoo fashion mags, and a heavily tattooed lawyer interviewing you right now. People are now calling tattoos a "trend" -- how do you answer that?
MC: They called hip hop and lowriding a trend too. The trends will always be set by the most hardcore. When trendy people move on, we'll still be here. All the shows, sports figures with tattoos, and even lawyers, open it up for all tattooers to make a living.
MDM: How do you see the future of tattooing in light of its popularity?
MC: I see all the new shops that are not owned by tattooers eventually falling off, and the consumers going back to the tattoo legends and new masters. People will be more focused on a tattooer's reputation and longevity.
MDM: If you had your own reality show, what would it be like? Would it be different from the upcoming film on your life?
MC: It would be called Skid Row's Finest and we would shoot it three blocks from my studio. We would focus on toothless crack whores blowing passing businessmen, homeless sex in card board boxes, and every week we'd see a young, egotistical cheerleader smoke a rock and fall from grace. And we would mix in some classic cars and bum gymnastics to keep the viewers' attention. Different? It would be extremely different because I'm not homeless. I'm a homeboy and a homeowner. I'm not interested in doing a show about myself. I find the street life of LA more interesting. My life story needs to be told on the big screen, with the big budget, and nation-wide exposure so everyone can trip out.
MDM: What's the status of the film? Have there been major changes to its concept since you were first approached by Universal?
MC: We just got back the first draft of the script, made changes, and are re-writing right now. As soon as we love the script, pre-production starts, and we'll be filming in 2007. No major concept changes. We are clear on what we want to see, and it helps that my best friend, famed photographer, Estevan Oriol, is directing.
MDM: I heard the movie will also show your time in Japan. They love you there and have flown you out for murals and tattoos. What's the tattoo scene like in Japan? How do you compare tattoo culture between Japan and the West Coast?
MC: They do not play around about tattoos in Japan. Kids that are into hip hop and lowriding want to get black and gray, old school, Chicano tattoos. You would think that they would just want dragons and koi fish, but they want to collect and embrace our culture. It's a lot like Americans getting Japanese traditional icons. You always want something from somewhere else. The big difference is learning how to tattoo. The Japanese masters make you hang out for a year before they decide if you can apprentice or not. If you survive the year and the master trusts you, he moves you into his house and you draw dragons for six months every day, you draw koi fish for six months every day. And you do everything the master says, no matter how ridiculous. But after a couple years, you'll be able to attach the master's name to your name and you'll have a successful career ahead -- as long as you don't get caught up smoking ice because they've got a lot of that shit out there.
MDM: What do you think attracts people all over the world to your particular artistic style?
MC: I think they like the fine line and script, combined with the Latina pin-up girls and the gangster clowns. When I draw, I want to create a fantasy of a sexy woman with double D bolt-ons, fat lips, hair down to her ankles, a 20-inch waist, and an ass like J-Lo, Chevys slammed on the floor, glass shiny candy paint jobs, and hundred dollar bills falling from heaven. Some people come for a consistency of detail. Other people want to get tattooed where Eminem got his tattoos.
MDM: Why do you get tattooed?
MC: I started getting tattooed because I wanted to let people know that I'm not a weekend warrior with this lifestyle. As a kid I always looked up to the older guys with the full-sleeves, and I always thought that to be a man you had to have ink from your shoulders to your wrists. I still get tattoos because I hang around a tattoo shop everyday and I have a vision of myself with a body suit. And for every new kid I have, I have to get their name blasted on me.
MDM: Who would you love to get tattooed by today?
MC: I would love to get tattooed by Horiyoshi III of Yokohama, Japan. He's a legend.
MDM: Everybody has their own reasons for getting tattooed but one reason that doesn't get discussed often is sex. Do you think sex plays a part in why people get tattooed -- say, tattooing to make your body more attractive to others?
MC: At the end of the day, everyone just wants to get laid anyways. Most women I know wouldn't ever fuck a guy who didn't have a gang of ink.
MDM: What do you think of heavily tattoo women? (Be careful, this is going on Suicide Girls!)
MC: I think it's cool, if they go about it in a sexy way. I don't want to pork a broad that looks like a circus side show freak. When they have the tattoos accenting their body lines and done professionally, they look incredible. My woman only has one tattoo on her back, yet she is on me to do a full backpiece -- and I've been with her for ten years.
MDM: What's next for Mister Cartoon?
MC: The next big thing for me is a graphic novel through Time Warner Books (Sin City, Road to Perdition), which I will be writing and illustrating.
VIEW 11 of 11 COMMENTS
i love interview...
he is god Cartoon's work!!!