Photo by Harper
Smith/Oxygen Media
Oxygen’s
about to launch a new show which makes all the other design competition show
seem, frankly, a little bit wimpy. After all if you don’t like a Project Runway dress you can take it
off. But the so-called skins who have signed up to be the subjects during a
challenge on the tattoo show Best Ink
will be permanently marked.
In a recent
conference call interview, professional tattoo artist and series judge Joe
Capobianco addressed some criticism the show has come under. “People have
looked down on it and said, 'Well you guys are tattooing people. You’re doing
free tattoos. You’re marking these people for the rest of their lives. What
about that person?'
But he was
pleased to report that even the skins who were inked by the losing competitors
walked away happy. Joe acknowledged, “That’s a testament to the tattooer.
That’s to show how talented these individuals are, that they’re doing tattoos
that these people are taking a huge chance on these individuals just on the
word that we say that they’re the tops. So for these individual skins to walk
away and love every tattoo that comes out there, is a testament to the artists
that are on the show.”
Of course,
being a seasoned pro, Joe’s there to critique each tat and tell the artist what
they could have done differently. He conceded that the artists can be easily
offended by his technical inspections. But he insists that he’s trying to
educate them for future projects.
But Joe
insisted that his comments come from a very supportive place. “My hope is that
the individuals watching the show and other clients will look at this and go,
'Oh, that’s why that makes that a bad tattoo. That’s why that tattoo may not
age well in the future. That’s why I should maybe avoid doing something like
this because of that.'
Still Joe
admitted that ultimately a good tattoo is a matter of taste, “It comes down to
opinions, of course, but the fact is I try to keep a very open mind when I am
judging these individuals. And even though some of the things I say can be
quite harsh, I’d like to think that people walk away and maybe learn a little
something about the tattoos that they’ve already gotten or that they may
consider getting in the future.”
After all, the art of inking isn’t a walk in the park. Even with 20 years of experience under his belt, Joe confessed that it’s a tricky business. “One of the things that the people need to be made aware of with this is as a tattooer… every day is a challenge and you’re trying to make all these individuals’ dreams come true. The fact is it’s hard. It’s really, really, really difficult and it’s a testament that everybody does walk away with a tattoo that they absolutely love.”
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