The International Tattooers
Words and Photos by Maury Englander
Okay, despite being a jaded and totally provincial New York City guy, I have never needed much of an excuse to head uptown to the Annual NYC Tattoo Convention. Hell, it’s almost worth the trip to just stand outside of Roseland and catch the reaction of unwary tourists as they come upon the tattooed herd. And having been a regular at just about all of the thirteen shows so far, being there has become a chance to meet up with old acquaintances, hang out and get caught up on the latest gossip.
Gray Line New York All Loops Tour
Anyway, this year, Baxter asked me to focus my camera on the large number of visiting foreign artists. I never thought about how many came or just how far they had to travel to be here, but I’m sure that there’s more foreign artists tattooing at this show than any other in the entire U.S. And when you figure the cost of showing up—in addition to air fare, one must stay in one of our overpriced Manhattan hotels and purchase meals at equally overpriced restaurants—it is a pretty heavy commitment. And getting here is no longer “half the fun.” There’s post-9/11 security, visa regulations and the added scrutiny of visitors coming to possibly work, even if it’s just for the weekend. It has made entering the U.S. of A. more of a hassle than some foreign tattooers want to endure.
- Alex Nardini
- Lee from Assassin Tattoo, Japan
- Polaco Tattoo, Brazil
- Blood & Ink Tattoo, France
- Calypso Tattoo, Belgium
- Wicked Tattoo, Spain
- Devil’s Isle Tattoo, Bermuda
- Tommaso Buglioni, Italy
- Tommaso Buglioni, Italy
- David Cristian, Spain
- Max Mac Andrews, Scotland
- Ron, Italy
- Boris Tattoo, Hungary
- Tattoo Nation, Austria
- Tattoo Nation, Austria
- Yugen Tattoo, Holland
- Takayuki, Slap Stick Tattoo, Japan
- Hori-Magoshi Tattoo, Japan
- Hori-Magoshi Tattoo, Japan
- Ish, Tattoo Ish, Netherlands, Antilies
- Zoe, Tatoweirungen, Germany
- Svan, Downtown Tattoo, Germany
- Zoe & Svan, Germany
- Wicked Tattoo, Spain
- Maury Englander and Conventioneer
On the plus side, the net result has to be that artists, who do make it to this show from other countries, tend to be the very best of the best. Many have a devoted following and arrive booked far in advance of the day the doors open. It works out pretty well for their customers too. Beats the cost of a transatlantic ticket and everybody goes home happy.
So, this year I wandered the floor with an eye for the signs and banners advertising the convention’s international visitors. I shot lots of pictures and ended up meeting some really cool folks. Things, as always, were busy and, if I missed anybody, I apologize. Maybe next year we can do a follow up. I also learned that “IhreTochter hat schöne Brüste” is not, as I was told, German for “I like your tattoo.” But that’s another story.
—Maury Englander
maury@mauryenglander.com
