Before Yann Black Tattoo came along and introduced the masses to art brut tattooing, clean lines and easily identifiable subject matter were deemed essential elements of a “good tattoo.” Now, with the advent of this new way of thinking about inking, tattoo images can be as raw and spontaneous as art usually found on gallery walls. For Yann and a select few others like him, the flesh has become a canvas on which artists are free to express their creative impulses with minimal limitation and delightfully absurd results. More commissioned pieces of custom artwork than purchased copies of cookie-cutter flash designs, their tats explore the bodily space and go where no ink has gone before.
Yann’s seemingly simple designs grace the flesh of adventurous and discerning tat enthusiasts who flock from all corners of the globe to snag a permanent piece of his ultra-modern body art. Clients come to him with a concept rather than an image, which he then renders in his own signature style and applies to whatever plot of flesh they choose. Control freaks, beware, those who step into Yann’s shop are from that point forth at the mercy of his creative genius. A full arm piece might consist of only a few lines and two colors, but the whole work inevitably ends up much greater than the sum of its parts.
Love him or hate him, Yann and the style of tattooing he’s helped pioneer are part of a new era in tattooing: fine art ink. Forget about anchors and butterflies, Yann is the new Black.
I broke out my rusty college French skills to do a quick e-mail interview with Yann and snag a glimpse of the tattoo world through his eyes. Here’s what he had to say.
Your style of tattooing is so different from mainstream styles like Old School and realism – do you have a name for it?
(Votre style de tatouage est si différent des styles principaux comme "Old School" et le réalisme – avez-vous un nom pour cela ?)
There’s no particular name for my tattooing style. Some people have named it “art brut."
(Pas de nom particulier pour mon style de tatouage, certains l'ont appellé "art brut.")
How did you successfully shift from doing these more mainstream styles when you first started tattooing to tattooing exclusively in your signature style? Was it a slow process or did you simply decide one day that you were done with regular flash-based tattoos?
(Comment t’es tu écartée avec succès de ces courants dominant de style en commençant à te tatouer exclusivement dans son style de signature ? Cela a-t-il été une transition lente ou as-tu simplement décidé un jour que tu stoppais les « flash-based tattoos >>?)
I’ve always tried to make by tattooing what I’ve done by drawing, tattooing is just a continuation of the work I started a long time ago in illustration, graphic design and painting.
I worked alone for a long period, and without recognition, then after a couple of months in a big (tattoo) shop in Paris that was really mediatized at this time I decided to do my own drawings only, and to stop with conventional tattoos. It was a big risk, but Tatouage Magazine, the big French magazine about tattooing, published an article on my work about this alternative to tribal and Old School and Japanese tattooing, and from one day to the next I started tattooing my own creations only.
(J'ai toujours essayé de faire en tatouage ce que je faisais en dessin, le tatouage est juste un prolongement du travail commencé il y a longtemps en illustration, graphisme et peinture.
J'ai travaillé longtemps seul et sans reconnaissance, puis après quelques mois passé dans une grosse boutique parisienne qui était très médiatisée à l'époque, J'ai pris la décision de ne plus faire que mes dessins et d'arrêter de faire les tatouages "conventionnels" c'était risqué mais Tatouage Magazine, le gros magazine traitant le tatouage en france a publier un article sur mon travail et étant le premier a proposer une alternative au tribal, old school et autre tatouage Japonais, je me suis retrouvé du jour au lendemain a ne plus tatouer que mes propres créations.)
Why do you think some people are still put off by your tattooing style?
(Pourquoi penses tu que des gens repoussent encore ton style de tatouage? )
I think that when it’s about touching the appearance, particularly the body, it's hard for people to conceive that you can wear something very spontaneous. I think that a lot of people believe a drawing needs to be really considered to deserve to be tattooed on a body.
It’s tough for a lot of people to accept that we could let the skin breathe. [To some] a tattoo should be filled, having great detail, with an easy subject to identify.
I think that history is just repeating. We’re observing now the same fight that first the impressionists painters, or after the abstractionists had against the established art.
(Je pense que quand il s'agît de toucher à l'apparence, au corps en particulier les gens on du mal à concevoir qu'on puisse porter à vie quelque chose de très spontané, je pense que beaucoup de personnes estiment que pour mériter d'être porté à vie un dessin, doit être réfléchi.
Beaucoup de personnes ont du mal à accepter qu'on puisse laisser la peau "respirer ", un tatouage doit être rempli, détaillé, on doit pouvoir identifier le sujet. Je pense que l'histoire se répète, on assiste au même combat que celui mené en son temps par les premiers peintres impressionnistes ou plus tard par les premiers peintres abstraits contre l'art établit.)
How do your consultations work? Do people just bring in ideas that you then translate through your style?
(Comment marchent tes consultations ? Est-ce que les gens amènent leurs idées et que tu les traduit dans un style?)
I make an appointment and we start the session in the morning. People come with their ideas, and from this I start to draw. As soon as we agree I start the tattoo. If the client needs some time to think about it, I send him some photos, and he contacts me when he’s decided.
(Je prends un rendez vous par jour, on commence la session le matin, les gens viennent avec leurs idées, à partir de là je commence à dessiner. À partir du moment ou moi et mon client tombons d'accord je commence le tatouage, si après le dessin, le client a besoin d'un peu de temps pour réfléchir je lui envois les photos et il me recontacte quant il est décidé.)
Do you still paint on canvas or are you exclusively doing tattoos now? Which do you prefer?
(Peint tu encore sur des toiles, ou reste tu exclusivement sur les tatouages désormais? Que préfère tu?)
Unfortunately no, I haven’t the time for painting. I only paint one or two a year, and they are made to order.
(Malheureusement non, je n'ai plus le temps pour la peinture, je fais 1 ou 2 tableaux par an et sur commande en général.)
What is the significance of scissors in your designs? They’re not really a common tattoo image!
(Que signifient les ciseaux dans tes tatouages ? ils ne sont pas vraiment communs comme image a tatouer!)
Nothing in particular. Most of the scissors I've tattooed are for dressmakers, it’s just their job tool.
(Rien de particulier, la plupart des ciseaux que j'ai tatoué sont fait sur des couturières, c'est juste leur instrument de travail.)
Your website is named “Your Meat is Mine” – what does this refer to? I was thinking it might have something to do with how you mark the body “meat” of your clients?
(Ton site net est appelé « your meat is mine » - a quoi te réfères tu ? Je pensais qu’il y avait un lien avec la marque « viande » que tes clients.)
It was just a joke...
(C'est juste un gag...)
How are you liking your new location in Montreal?
(Aimes tu ton nouveau cadre de vie à Montréal?)
Much more calm than France, more space, less people. Tattooing here is less of a social fence between people. They feel more free to get big pieces, a real pleasure for a tattoo artist.
(Beaucoup plus détendu que la france, beaucoup d'espace moins ge gens, le tatouage ici est moins une barrière sociale les gens se laisse plus aller à faire des grandes pièces, le bonheur pour un tatoueur.)
What future do you see for tattooing?
(Quel futur aimerai tu pour le tatouage?)
I hope tattooing will get free from conventions, and become a complete and real artistic way of expression.
(Que le tatouage s'affranchisse des conventions et qu'il devienne un moyen d'expression artistique à part entière.)
A special thanks to my buddy Mano who helped with the translation of Yann’s answers. Merci Mano!
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