marisa_dimattia

Belgium's Daniel DiMattia, ower of Calypso Tattoo, is known for creating massive works of art on skin in just black ink. He's also known for leaving his socks on the floor, belching in front of my mother, and being a fine dancer.

Living with the blackwork specialist is not just all free pretty tattoos. He's brutally honest and will tell me, yes, I do look fat in that dress. That honesty is put to the test today as I ask him questions for SG that many tattooers won't go near.

Marisa DiMattia: Im turning the recorder on now and noting that were sitting on the couch naked, drinking fine wine to accompany the highly intellectual discourse on tribal tattooing thats about to ensue.

Daniel DiMattia: Fine, even though were in sweatpants drinking Diet Coke. And speak normal English please or were going to do this in French, which Id like to note, you cant do well even after 5 years together. Or are we lying about that too?

MDM: No, mon cheri. Lets get started. Suicide Girls is publishing this Q&A in hopes that I can get some honest answers -- because Im your wife, and your lawyer -- on questions most artists dont like to answer. In return, youll get to speak about what you love, tribal tattoo art (or blackwork). Ok, no lying. Ready?

DDM: Ready.

MDM: Tell me about the tattoo groupies?

DDM: Groupies? What am I, Led Zeppelin?

MDM: Please, I see tattoo groupies all the time at conventions. They single out the artists they want, follow them when they take a break, chat them up at the bar. They flirt and some try to get the prices down for a tattoo with some cleavage.

DDM: By this definition, the last groupie I had was you. NYC Convention 2001. You came to my booth. You flirted and I lowered the price. That was a crazy convention because a blonde and brunette left me their numbers too, but who did I call? You, the redhead.

MDM: Thats too bad for you.

DDM: The redhead is my Karma.

MDM: Since then, no groupies come around?

DDM: Well, now youre always at the booth!




MDM: No action at the shop?

DDM: There are always people hanging out at the studio, but they are my clients and theres always respect. Maybe Im just getting old. Im forty two, twenty years older than many of the people who come in, so Im sorry if I cant give you a good story. Because Im older than most of my clients, they look at me differently. Many are students trying to find their way, so when they come to the shop, to get tattooed or hang out, they ask questions not just about tattoos but about life. They want to ask things from someone who has life experience but who will not judge them. When a client comes in to get tattooed, I listen to them, we speak. To them, the tattooist becomes someone they develop a relationship with someone they trust.

MDM: That raises an interesting question. I recently got an email from a Needled reader asking me how important it is to have a good relationship with your tattoo artist, especially if youre going to get big work, and spend a lot of time with him or her. Do you have to really like the artist or does the artist really have to like you? Want to answer that for me?

DDM: Naturally, if the artist and client get along it makes things easier. That first minute you meet the client, you know if theres going to be a good rapport. But you also have to understand that its still a commercial transaction so you cant go too far. My answer to that email is, at a minimum, you must trust the tattooist. Whoever that artist is, you have to abandon yourself. You give yourself over to the pain and the person giving you that pain otherwise youre not going to be able to sit for very long.

MDM: Does that put a lot of responsibility on the artist?

DDM: Of course, but you have to do it. You do it for the money, and you do it to learn. When you satisfy someones desire, they want to come back. When they come back, you have the opportunity to do more work and learn from it.

MDM: Learn what?

DDM: How to tattoo.

DDM: Youve been tattooing over 15 years, are you still learning?

MDM: Yes. Im always searching how to make the link between creativity, technique, and time shorter. How to do better, go faster and be more precise.




DDM: What if you dont like the client?

MDM: There are times when someone comes in who is irritating or obnoxious. You answer his questions and then make him make the decision. Then, if he wants to go forward, agreeing to the design and the price, you do it. No matter how obnoxious the person is before you tattoo them, when he's in the chair, he cannot act so big because you are standing over him and putting needles in him to create something that will be on his body forever.

DDM: Have you denied to work on anyone for being an asshole?

DDM: Only if they are drunk or high. Otherwise, personality is not an issue if you can come to an agreement on the design. Anyway, you always share something with the client: the want or need to mark your body.

MDM: Oh, thats a perfect way to move into another question I have theres a theory out there that, like a gene for alcoholism or some type of behavior, a gene for body modification exists; one that has developed as humans have developed. What do you think about that? Is there something in our biology that makes us want to change our bodies?

DDM: Changing your body is a modern term. Primitive tribes, for example those that lived in jungles, adapted the look of their bodies to blend with their environment. They saw the beauty of animals and then saw themselves plain and nude and alone, so they decorated themselves with feathers, they colored their skin like those of animals around them, they wove leaves into coverings over time, tattoos became a form of communication, like it is today. Your body is a book and you write what story you want to tell others. Its as simple as this.

MDM: Well, you mentioned tribes, so lets talk tribal tattoos. Some people say the word tribal as if it's something negative, like a fad tattoo or to represent a bunch of squiggly lines. What is tribal tattooing to you?

DDM: My work is tribal. Its tattoo related to art from more primitive societies.

MDM: Your geometric work is tribal as well?

DDM: Yes. It may be done with greater precision because the tools we use now allow us to be more precise, but its always influenced from the past. We didnt create anything. The tribes created before us. Those in the Philippines, the Marquesians, Maori, the Native Americans, the Africans. I just interpret it in a modern way.

MDM: What is it about this type of art that inspires you?

DDM: Im influenced from everything: Neolithic pottery, Bronze Age engravings, Arabian carpet designs, Greco-Roman sculpture, Polynesian tattoo designs, geometric patterns ... everything.



MDM: Who is your muse? And be very careful when you answer this.

DDM: I know you want me to say you but do you really think you inspire my tattoos? Do I draw portraits of you on peoples butts? You make me happy and secure so I can focus on my art. You give me advice on what you like and dont like. You push me to be better. So youre more of an advisor, a counselor.

MDM: Thats not very romantic.

DDM: I can't lie.

MDM: Ive been going around for years calling myself a tattoo muse and now I learn that my greatest impact on your work is my counseling skills. So basically, Im your lawyer.

DDM: I like telling people youre my lawyer. Its cool.

MDM: You dont know many lawyers then.

DDM: Seriously, you know what inspires me? When we travel --the conventions, the tattoo guest spots, staying with clients in different countries. We head straight for the action and not some stupid tourist place. We learn things about different cultures. We have adventures. Thats the greatest part of tattooing, and thats the greatest part of our marriage. We dont have fancy cars or a villa but we love learning and well be doing it until we die. That is the truth.