Alex McWatt Takeover: Trade Talk With Charles Foos

There is no better way to take a look inside the world of tattoo than to sit down with a tattoo artist. I grabbed some time with Charles Foos artist and owner of Reade Street. Having spent time in shops in New York and Baltimore he's got a solid take on what's going on in the trade today.

When and where did you start? 

In 2003, I did an apprenticeship with Elio Espana at Flyrite Tattoo in Brooklyn, NY.

Do you come from an artistic background? 

I do. I have a BFA degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, and a Master of Fine Arts from Hunter College in NY.

Who would you consider your greatest mentor? 

You! Elio set up a really great situation for me. While he was my teacher, I feel that I was really raised by everyone at Flyrite. I was learning great lessons from Nick Caruso and Steve Huie, and I owe Kelly Krantz a huge debt. It taught me a lot, just being able to be around and to watch him draw. I built my first machine with his guidance. Later I learned a ton from Mike Drexler and was lucky enough to build a machine with him. I felt very fortunate to be around those guys.

But, to answer your question, I learned the most about technique and work ethic from working around you, both at Flyrite and True Blue (Queens, NY.)

 Top 5 current favorite tattooers? 

• Chris Trevino
• Dan Trocchio
• Brian Bruno
• Mike Rubendall
• Ed Hardy

Top 5 artistic influences—non tattooers? 

• Marcel Duchamp
• Gerhard Richter
• Henri Matisse
• Kawanabe Kyosai
• Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Our craft is steeped in history and tradition. Do you feel it’s more important to preserve those traditions, or advance and evolve the art? 

I think that that you first have to learn the way thing are done, and then you try to add to it. I wonder what tattooers like Sailor Jerry would think about contemporary "Traditional Tattooing." He, from my understanding, was looking to move things forward.

I find for myself, I would be bored approaching every tattoo with the same set of rules. I think that when you have been working for a while you look for the way to keep it interesting.

Tattooing is very different from the art installations you’ve done in the past. Can you draw some parallels between them? How are they juxtaposed? 

Really, as much as I try to consciously separate them, I think that the one thing stands as a common thread is a desire to do different types of things. For me, in tattooing, I think that it's important to satisfy your client as well as yourself. I think that being versatile helps in reaching a wider audience. In Fine Art, I am concerned with the viewer, but making them "happy" isn't as important to me.

From Baltimore to New York, then back to Baltimore, how has your art changed after your time in New York? 

Yep, I'm back! I think that it's been good for me, taking on new challenges. In New York I had a lot of support. Working at Flyrite, I was in a situation where I wasn't allowed to get away with anything. When I got to Baltimore, I felt a little on my own. I had to push myself.

I finally feel that after 3 years I've managed to create that down here in Baltimore. Working with Tomek Szumiec, J Ranno, and Kyle Oxford, has been pretty refreshing. It's pretty positive. There is a lot of constructive criticism and everyone's just looking to do the best possible tattoos. Everybody is pretty open and hard working.

Reade Street is an old shop that you have revived. How have you made it your own? 

Yeah, Read Street Tattoo Parlour has been around since 1999. It was a pretty daunting task at first. I have never owned a business before.

Seth Ciferri created something really great in Baltimore, he had great artist working here and an impressive list of guest artists passing through. There was a lot of history to preserve and I wanted us to live up to the Read Street name.

When we first bought the shop, we renovated. I felt the need to put our stamp on it. We didn't want to feel like we were living in someone else's house. We also felt the need to let people know that it was us running the show now.  I wanted a place that would be comfortable to work and comfortable for our clients to get tattooed in. I think I've achieved that.

It has been really great owning a shop that I have always respected. It's been a lot of work.

We are local businesses and local artists. How important do you think it is that we support other local businesses and the community that surrounds us? 

I do think that it's important. I think it's crucial. New York is a prime example of how people support each other and create successful businesses. Baltimore has l a smaller scene, but I feel very supported by folks and I try to support them.

I always wanted a place were people felt comfortable just stopping by to "shoot the shit." I know that we had that at Flyrite, Sundays and Mondays were two of the busiest days of the week. That's why I really like that we have the word "parlor" in our name. A parlor is a place where people sit and talk. The world is loosing it's human element and sense of community. That is one of the things that I really like about tattooing, that you deal with people. (For better or worse.)

How important is it for us as artists to maintain and support the tattooer community? 

It's important. I think that it's one of the things that we still have. Most occupations don't support each other the way that tattooers do. I think that there are people out there strip mining the industry, but for the most part I see tattooers who care about tattooing. People who care about it as an art form and who treat it as more than a job. I just try to surround myself with them.