Boris Viena / Austria @boristattoo tattooingatoz.com

Alexis Dgn
May 21
11 min read

Updated: May 22

We are honored to present an exclusive interview with this tattoo master.

Boris, a pioneer of realistic tattooing since the ’90s, has been recognized as a contemporary artist by the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome (MACRO) and has closely collaborated with leading manufacturers in the tattoo industry. His dedication to teaching and influence in the development of modern techniques have left an indelible mark on the art of tattooing.

Since the ’90s, Boris has shared his knowledge about the development of tattooing as an art form, teaching students in his studio and participating in the first international series of seminars, the World Wide Tattoo Conference, in Rome, Chicago, and London as a speaker. After a long series of seminars and workshops, he began organizing his own conferences in his studio in Vienna, which were distributed in films and became very popular.

Boris felt that short-term seminars and workshops could only convey a limited part of his experiences. From this need, the idea of creating complete and comprehensive content was born. Thus, in a year and a half, he developed a website that documents and shares all the knowledge he has accumulated over the past 26 years.

1.Boris, you have been a pioneer of realistic tattooing since the 1990s. What inspired you to start working with this technique, and how did you begin to develop it when many in the industry thought it was impossible?

In Hungary, where I was born and still live, communism ended in the 90s, in '89. During that time, professional tattooing was forbidden, we had no traditions. (Nevertheless, there are traces of the fact that tattooing was widespread and popular in Hungary before that (e.g. photos from the 1940s, the governor of the time was also heavily tattooed.)We, first generation tattooers, had no masters. We experimented, we learned by ourselves, but we realized that the strong contrast of dark outline and light skin could be replaced by the contrast of the light dark side of realistic pictures.Since fantasy style was very popular among ordinary people at the time, this type of tattoo was often requested. There were no black outline lines. However, there were the work of highly skilled and trained artists who made excellent use of the artistic tools of image-making, which we learned, applied and mastered through them. Although tattoo artists with a long tradition at the time (Boris Vallejo, Frank Frazetta, Julie Bell) doubted that it could last, time has proved us right. Of course, it is very important to make these realistic tattoos with good tattoo technique and confident artistry knowledge, because only then can the meaningfulness and durability of the designs without black outlines be guaranteed. At the time, this style suddenly became very popular, but not everyone had the knowledge and experience to do it well, so a few years later-in the mid-2000s-I felt a bit of disappointment from the clients because although many people tried to work in this style, only a few people managed to do it well, which unfortunately resulted many faded and quickly fading tattoos at the time.

2.Your recognition as a contemporary artist by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome in 2018 was a significant milestone in your career. How did that recognition influence you, and what did it mean to be recognized by such a prestigious institution?

But despite this, a relatively small group of tattooists have reached unprecedented heights of art, representing the highest level of tattooing today. In the second half of the 2010s, museums around the world exhibited tattoo artists' works on human skin, canvas and synthetic leather, because the public was so interested in them that they were already recognised by museums. And in November 2018, tattooists - including myself - received the incredible recognition of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome, which recognised tattooing as contemporary art. This is a decades-long dream come true for me, as for decades I have aimed and strived to decorate my clients' skin with my tattoos to an artistic standard.

3.Over the years, you have worked closely with manufacturers like Intenze to develop ink collections and cartridge needle systems. How do you see these collaborations influencing the tattoo industry, and what changes have you seen in tattoo practices as a result of these innovations?

Since the mid-2000s, there has been a rapid development and change in tattooing materials and devices. With these modern tools, the advent of rotary tattoo machines and pens, and the cartridge system, tattooists have been able to use light, easy-to-use, precise tools to overcome the technical challenges of tattooing and to create tattoos with increasingly successful and intricate techniques.I consider myself lucky to have been not only a spectator but also an active participant in this renaissance of tattooing, and to have been able to see and contribute to the development of the industries that serve my beloved art form. Since these events also took place 15-20 years ago, few of us remember them, because since then a mass of young tattooists have emerged thanks to the growing popularity and technological advances. They tried unsuccessfully for years to bring their technical innovation to the market, and then they approached me to promote their rotary machine and the associated needle module system. As the tattoo community at that time was very traditional and stuck to the tools they had used for decades, let's be honest, they were less open to new things than they are today. So I was asked to introduce and promote their then-novelty needle module system, now known as Cheyenne Tattoo Equipment. I'll never forget that weekend in December 2008, when at the Berlin cThe needle module system was developed by a small Berlin-based company, MT.Derm Gmbonvention, with Conrad Lackner (Jack aka Mr. Cheyenne), I managed to sell the company's two years of accumulated inventory in 3 days and launch the success story of the industry-changing needle module system.This was practically the beginning of the now widespread and popular sponsorship system. At a time when artists were not sponsored by big companies, but by the reputation of established artists supportted the product. I owe this myself, my now more than a decade-long relationship with Intenze tattoo ink, who marketed my colour line for 15 years, and H2Ocean aftercare, without whose products I would not be able to work in the quality I can with them. Unfortunately, after 10 years with Cheyenne, that relationship was severed as there was nothing challenging about it that made it interesting for me to work with them.

4.You have been a strong advocate for educating new generations of tattoo artists, organizing conferences in cities like Rome, Chicago, and London. How important is it for you to pass on your knowledge, and what do you think is the most valuable lesson for artists just starting out?

Let's go back to the early 90s, when we started to learn in a self-taught way without any support or knowledge. Not only was it a problem to identify and acquire the right inks and tools, but also the technical knowledge itself. Basically, we had no masters. What little information we had was gleaned from the pages of a few tattooing magazines, which we managed to obtain with great difficulty. But even from these we could not learn about the process of tattooing, we only saw the result, the tattoos published in the newspapers. Thus, the little knowledge we had acquired was valued and jealously guarded by all. There was no dialogue and support for each other. At that time, one of the most famous participants in Hungarian tattooing and mentor of later generations, owner of Dark Art Tattoo Studio, my old friend Zsolt Sárközi, I adopted his approach, we initiated a dialogue, founded a tattoo association, published a tattoo magazine and created a very impulsive tattoo life by the end of the 90s, not only in Hungary but also abroad, through our colleagues-friends whom we managed to meet at tattoo events in Western Europe.We saw the only way to ensure the development of the tattooing art form was through the sharing of experience and knowledge. We were probably right in this, because in cooperation with all those colleagues, convention organisers and tattoo magazine journalists, we laid the foundations of this now flourishing and growing art form, and the increased demand for it made the technical innovations mentioned above necessary. Today it is hard to believe that 30 years ago the acceptance, perception and popularity of tattooing was completely different from today. And it is also hard to understand how much energy and time has been invested to get to where we are today. Although we hoped and did everything we could to get this recognition, we honestly did not foresee the downside at the time.The increase in volume has not only brought qualitative improvements. Our aspirations at the time were to move tattooing in the direction of fine art and although it has some outstanding and high artistic and aesthetic value (probably more than ever), I feel that it has become more of an industry than an art form. Its characteristics is closer to the beauty industry than to high art.

5.You created a comprehensive website to document over 26 years of your knowledge, making it an invaluable resource for artists worldwide. What motivated you to create this platform, and how do you feel about the impact it has had on the tattoo community?

Along with this, over the years, the sharing of available knowledge has also become natural and easily accessible. Initially through seminars, of which I would highlight the "Worldwide Tattoo Conference" series organized by Alex De Pase, which with its highly knowledgeable presenters and well-chosen venues (Rome, London, Chicago....etc), represented the highest level of tattoo education and I am still delighted to have been a presenter at them. Thereafter, I myself have also held stand-alone seminar and workshop events at my studio in Vienna, which were recorded and made available online at the time. I have also been invited to other events, for example in Los Angeles. At the Black Anchor Academy, organised by my friend Nikko Hurtado, where I shared the stage with some great tattoo artists. Besides the host, Jack Rudy, Mr. Cartoon, Carlos Torres, Franco Vescovi.....

But over the years, much of the place for sharing knowledge has shifted to the online space, so in 2019 I decided to gather and organise the knowledge I have accumulated, which I consider essential to achieve a confident, artistic level of tattooing.I made this available on Tattooingatoz.com.Although the amount of material available has grown enormously, there is still a lot of interest, and I would like to thank you for that.

6.As a figure who has significantly influenced the evolution of tattooing as an art form, how do you see the future of tattooing, especially with the rapid technological advancements and the new generations of artists entering the scene

The development of technology has a big impact on our environment, but our human qualities and knowledge change much more slowly, so I think that modelling the future with the knowledge of the past is not impossible. As long as the popularity remains unbroken, we can continue to expect an influx of artists in large numbers, some of whom will have innovative ideas and artistic knowledge to rewrite the rules and create new trends. And at the same time the masses will follow these trends.There will be style trends that will stand the test of time and join the existing trends in tattooing, and there will be others that will fade into oblivion, with only a few cover-ups to remind us of them.

7.Looking back on your career, what has been one of the most rewarding moments of your journey, and what do you consider your greatest achievement in the world of tattooing?

Throughout my now more than 30-year career, there have always been goals that have been life-changing at the time, (such as the first photo of a tattoo in which I did not see the mistakes but was satisfied, or the first publication followed by countless others, or the first participation in an international convention, followed by invitations to the biggest events, not to mention all the awards that have always been extremely honoring. But so were the first sponsorships and the friendships of many many good artists from all over the world.) Each one of these recognitions has been an important stepping stone in my life's journey, but if I'm really honest, what's the greatest is that even after all this time, I still get emails and requests for appointments from all over the world. That even after all this time, there are still many people who want to wear my art on their skin. Because I actually came here in 1992 to do this, I became a tattoo artist to do this and every day when I do it, it's still the part I love the most. That's what I committed to, that's why I became a tattoo artist. There's not a day when I start making tattoos a couple of hours ago (there's pleasant music playing in the studio, my colleagues are sitting around me with their clients, it's getting dark outside) that I don't feel overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude that I can make a living doing what I love to do the most.

8.It is a true honor for us to have you as a judge for the DGNTATTOO MAG international competition. We would like to express our sincere gratitude for accepting this role and for your commitment. How did you feel being part of this experience? What impressions did the participants leave on you, and how did you evaluate their work?

Having read my previous thoughts, you can believe that I feel honoured that you still consider my opinion, my judgement, important and relevant in the context of an international tattoo competition linked to such an anniversary. And congratulations again on your 20th anniversary. And on behalf of your readers, thank you for your valuable work, which has contributed greatly to the growth of the artistic value of tattooing over the past 20 years. It is very important for tattoo magazines to set some kind of standard, some kind of artistic standard, as an example to their readers, because in a social media dominated mass media, information flows unfiltered to users and without these standards, it is difficult to decide what is of value and what is not. Social media's massive dumping of information is more about quantity than quality, and in contrast, the tattoo contest is an excellent initiative to not only evaluate its highly qualified participants and (I'm thinking of my fellow judges) even more highly qualified judges, but also to introduce its followers to the highest level of the art of tattooing. It was an exhilarating contrast to see the dedication, artistic flair and technical knowledge, as well as the diversity of stylistic trends, evident in the contestants' work. It is good to see that the younger generation is ready to pass on the torch.

9.What advice would you give to tattoo artists who aspire to make their mark in the industry, especially those interested in pursuing a realistic style in tattooing?

My advice is very simple. Do it from the heart, do it with love. I taught this to my apprentices in the studio and even to my children at home. Those who do any activity with joy and heart will perform better than those who don't. Because the latter spends less time on it, wants to get it over with as soon as possible, while the first one doesn't regret the time spent on it, because he loves it, enjoys what he does and that naturally results in much better work. It's easy to say - I'm told - but what if the task is difficult, stressful. How can I love it? The answer to that is also simple: practice! If you do something for long enough, even if you don't like it, you will get used to it. That's how the human mind is built (see system addicts. If someone spends a long enough time in prison, which is undeniably not a pleasant place to be, once back in the free world, they miss it, they long to go back. Simply because his mind has come to love it, to accept it. ) With enough dedication and patience, the more time you spend on tattooing, the more it becomes an important part of your life, of your daily routine, you will find in it the joy necessary to create something outstanding.

10.If someone is interested in joining or learning more about your courses, where can they get in touch?

As we talked about earlier, you can sign up at Tattooingatoz.com. And if you want to get a tattoo, we're waiting for your application via email at brstattoo@gmail.com. You can see my artwork on my Instagram page @boristattoo.