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Regional
Artists As Mythmakers and the Ritual of Tattooing: Instant Karma Tattoo Studio in San Diego, Part I
by Lynn O’Neill
It’s the New Year. How about a tattoo to mark the occasion?
Although the popularity of tattooing has gone through a few cycles (starting 5,000 years ago), the current trend seems to be sustained. You now see tattoos on people from every age group and walk of life. And there seems to be an ever-increasing fine-art touch in the renderings.
In the United States, 36 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 25, and 40 percent of those between 26 and 40 have at least one tattoo, according to a 2006 survey by the Pew Research Center. The first permanent tattoo shop opened in 1846 in New York City and began tattooing military servicemen from both sides of the Civil War.
To this long tradition comes Instant Karma Tattoo Studio, which opened in North Park, San Diego last summer. I talked with owner/artist/friend Stuart Covill and he put a new spin on the art of tattooing for me.
Vision Magazine: Why did you decide to open a tattoo studio?
Stuart Covill: I had been getting tattoos for a long time and I have always liked to draw and sculpt. However, I had been bound by practicality, working as a computer programmer, then as a stay-at-home dad to my three daughters. When they got more independent, I found my passion in all areas waning, and I returned to the studio. I had been unwilling to be a starving artist, however, so after finishing my tattoo apprenticeship and working for awhile, I decided to go for it and open my own shop.
VM: Why do you think tattoos are so popular now?
SC: I believe it’s partly due to the way culture has become more global. With transportation and particularly communication making the world seem smaller, there is a new sense of anonymity. Tattoos help people express their own identity. The art form is much more acceptable now, as well.
VM: Our theme this month is everyday heroes. Considering that both of us are fans of the writer Joseph Campbell, how do you think tattooing connects to his themes?
SC: I once took a psychology class that covered Joseph Campbell’s monomyth of the Hero’s journey. When I reread Campbell’s take on mythology, I began to see the artistic nature and the ritual aspect of tattooing (with its ancient origins), brought to American awareness by the military (especially the Navy). I see tattooing as a blending of art and ritual, and from Campbell’s writing, I became fascinated with the role of the artist in modern society. He asserted that artists are the modern mythmakers and stressed the importance of rituals. Tattoos are seldom considered “fine art,” but that gives them a freedom of expression.
VM: I love the quote from Campbell’s book, Hero With a Thousand Faces: “In the absence of an effective general mythology, each of us has his private, unrecognized, rudimentary, yet secretly potent pantheon of dream.”
SC: Everybody’s journey is his/her own hero’s journey. We might display courage from a place of weakness and face sacrifice—that is, heroism—for some greater good. There is typically a departure and a return—metaphorically or otherwise—and you mark this with a ritual.
So tied into this dream is one of Campbell’s most identifiable and most quoted sayings which was his admonition to “follow your bliss.”
This quote has been somewhat misunderstood. It’s about being conscious and going for what you want. And this is what I’m doing with my business. Unlike the traditional American tattoo shop, I come from a fine arts background. Yet, with tattooing entering the mainstream, there are more people with this training doing tattoos now—but we are still a minority. What’s cool is that there’s room for everybody. People get tattoos for a lot of reasons and I like that. I do have a primary interest in the aesthetic and spiritual aspects and themes, but there’s another side of myself which I’ve marked with tattoos as well. That’s my tribute to darker subjects, old science fiction, and my love of animals.
VM: Campbell saw this not merely as a mantra, but as a helpful guide to the individual along the hero journey that each of us walks through life.
SC: Yes. Campbell says that we all embark on our own hero’s journey. Myths help us find our way and give meaning to our journey. Rituals help give our myths substance, and again, artists are the new mythmakers. I see my tattoos as the realization of my own personal mythology which evoke symbols and motifs that connect me to my deeper self. I see them as battle scars, badges of honor and a narrative of my life mixed with my own aesthetic and self-expression. Interesting to note that some famous works of art were inspired by Campbell’s work, like Star Wars, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Matrix, and the works of Neil Gaiman.
VM: You’ve traveled a lot and you’ve been tattooed all over the world. What were those experiences like? What tattoos did you get?
SC: Of course, travel alters you, expands you and opens your mind. And by getting tattoos, you are meeting artists in the context of their workday, so you’re getting a different glimpse of a place—unlike what a regular tourist sees. In Australia, it occurred to me that the conversation I had with my tattoo artist [Wild At Heart Tattoo] was like talking to a bartender or hairdresser—a confidant. I felt a deeper connection to Brisbane as a result.
In Amsterdam, I was inspired after visiting the Van Gogh museum and Rembrandt’s house. I got a tattoo [at the well-known Hanky Panky], of a blindfolded skull with a paintbrush in its mouth. Its meaning is probably open to interpretation, but to me it symbolized the death of the blind artist, and I got it at a time when I was dedicating myself to being an artist again.
In India, I got a tattoo of the Om symbol [Devil’z tattooz in Delhi]. Meditation has been an important part of my life for over 30 years, so it was natural for me to want to express this in a tattoo. Getting it in Delhi was especially cool, as this symbol is tattooed on the hand of many Hindu men.
VM: I have always admired well-done tattoos. About two years ago, while channel-surfing late at night, I came across “L.A. Ink.” I loved the stories. What are some of your clients’ stories?
SC: We’ve had people in rehab who want to mark their sobriety as an accomplishment or the passing of an obstacle. One client got a tattoo as a way to reach out to a friend who had relapsed.
Recently we’ve tattooed women in the military, as well as a few spiritual and religious tattoos—and not solely Christian ones, although all affirmations of faith are very popular.
VM: Speaking of the military, its history plays a big part in the progression of tattooing in the United States.
SC: As I mentioned earlier, tattoos have always been prevalent in the military. Sailors got them in part to commemorate their travels. By WWII, many soldiers and sailors had travelled all over the world and had seen tattooing in places like New Zealand with the Maori. Later it became the case with prisoners and bikers, the biker phenomenon being an offshoot of displaced soldiers post WWII.
Today men and women in the military are returning home—another hero’s journey—from the chaos and horror of war. They are trying to assimilate back into a relatively calm society and it can be difficult. Joseph Campbell points out that they need a transformation back in. We have a lack of rituals and support for that. Tattooing can be one small way.
VM: What about pain? Some people will submit to physical discomfort for tattoos, but hate needles at the doctor.
SC: Pain makes the ritual of tattooing more significant. Some people like a certain amount of pain to feel alive. It’s a mini sacrifice, a combination of decoration and self-mutilation. Then there is healing—it feels good when it’s over. Sometimes it’s really not much to endure, depending on the person.
I should also point out that tattoos don’t have to have lofty themes or designs. They can be purely decorative, or even humorous. One of my favorites from a book I have is of a cowboy on a bucking bronco, but the bronco is a giant shrimp [laughs].
VM: How did you come up with the name of the shop?
SC: From the John Lennon song. Applied to tattoos, it’s the idea that you can change your attitude, trajectory, and energy through a ritual.
VM: I like how yours look, plus there’s an overall composition that works.
SC: Thanks. When are you getting tattooed?
VM: I’m ready. This interview inspired an idea. Stay tuned for Part II.
Instant Karma Tattoo Studio is located at 2878 El Cajon Boulevard in North Park, San Diego, CA, 619.280.0033. To make an appointment, call Stuart Covill at 619.519.3778. Or visit instantkarmatattoo.com. Lynn O’Neill is an essayist, fiction writer and editor. Contact her at jasminatree@yahoo.com.