Prairie Profiles, Gilbert Johnson: Slinging ink

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, October 17, 2006

By Adam Hammer, staff writer

Does it hurt? Yeah, it hurts. I&8217;m not going to lie to you,&8221; said Gilbert Johnson, tattoo artist and owner of The Chapel Tattoos & Piercings on Broadway Avenue in Albert Lea.

Pain associated with tattooing is not the only thing Johnson will speak the honest truth about.

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He&8217;ll tell you that he&8217;s a nerd at heart, that he&8217;d listen to classical music all day long if his

clientele would let him and that most people with tattoos and

in the tattoo industry are good, honest people.

Being a tattoo artist in Albert Lea, Johnson is sometimes found defending his trade, since the tattoo industry is too often associated with drugs and thugs.

&8220;I fight the stigma in Albert Lea all the time,&8221; Johnson said. &8220;Tattoos and drugs have gone hand-in-hand for so long.&8221;

Even 10 years ago, when Johnson was an apprentice tattoo artist at Albert Lea Tattoo, his teacher was known as &8220;Crackhead&8221; Jim. Since then, a lot of things have changed.

Exhibitions at art galleries and museums such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York as well as TV shows such as &8220;Inked&8221; and &8220;Miami Ink&8221; have shed light on tattooing as an art.

&8220;They not only give people ideas of new art, but about how long things take,&8221; Johnson said. But they don&8217;t show the reality of some customers who cry or pass out, he said.

The owner of The Chapel has worn many suits: as a teacher, a coffee shop owner and a travel agent, to name a few. He studied art at the University of Minnesota with emphasis in architecture, then sculpture, and has a degree in cultural studies.

&8220;I decided I didn&8217;t need a degree to do art,&8221; he said. &8220;Then I went and got my first tattoo.&8221;

Johnson said he quickly found an appreciation for the art of tattooing after getting his first and decided to change his canvas, again.

&8220;It falls in line with something I&8217;ve been pursuing for a long time &8212; art,&8221; he said.

One of the most challenging things about making the move to tattooing was getting used to his new canvas, he said.

&8220;At first it was tough to get used to that these things aren&8217;t going away,&8221; he said. &8220;You have to be so much more deliberate.&8221;

The human factor was also a challenge. People move, unlike a paper canvas.

&8220;People in pain don&8217;t necessarily jive,&8221; he said.

Different skin types were another aspect.

&8220;From canvas to canvas, it&8217;s the same. But you can&8217;t move from person to person and keep it the same,&8221; he said.

Most of the tattoos Johnson gives are custom designs or modified designs from flash art. Flash art is a selection of tattoo designs many artists offer their clients to choose from.

When a client asks Johnson for a flash design, he often manipulates it to make it more original. If you get your tattoo from a book, it&8217;s likely there are many other people with the same tattoo, he said. One new trend is clients who bring in stickers from vending machines for tattoo designs, he said.

&8220;I try to steer people certain ways, but in the end it&8217;s up to them,&8221; he said. &8220;They&8217;re going to wear it for the rest of their lives, not me.&8221;

Johnson often takes his tattoo work on the road. He has traveled to many other states for tattoo parties where clients will fly him in to give them tattoos. Next week he will be heading to New York.

Though he feels at home with his artistic side as a tattoo artist, Johnson said he sometimes misses teaching. He used to teach women&8217;s studies and forensics at private schools in the Twin Cities.

Johnson also used to own and operate a coffee shop about five years ago in the building on Broadway Avenue that now houses The Chapel.

&8220;Everyday I still hear people talking about it,&8221; he said. But Johnson said he didn&8217;t want to serve coffee for the rest of his life.

The building that was once filled with the aroma of espresso is now filled with the sound of blues music on XM Radio and the buzzing of a tattoo machine.

&8220;Metal doesn&8217;t cater to artists,&8221; Johnson said regarding his blues music selection. &8220;If I could I&8217;d listen to classical, but no one wants to listen to that.&8221;

Johnson has a musical side as a bassist who plays in the blues band, Red Jack. He said he also plays piano and accordion. He has a small recording studio at The Chapel, which he said is mostly for himself, but he has recorded a few bands there.

The decor at The Chapel shows Johnson&8217;s eclectic nature, with a Buddha statue next to bowling trophies across the room from classic horror movie posters. In the room where he performs tattoos and piercings, the walls are covered with action figures.

&8220;If I could, all I would do is nerd tattoos of superheroes,&8221; he said.