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LANGO
by William Thidemann
Photos courtesy of Lango
From the September 2006 issue of PRICK Magazine.
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The first time I had heard of Lango it was through a mutual friend who had some work by him. Naturally, I am skeptical of people with only one name ... Cher, Prince, etc., but his work looked extraordinarily interesting. A year or so later I had the opportunity of meeting Lango while doing a spot in Denver. This is where I got a closer look at the array of his artistry. It was filled with many strong images and rich textures that stood out amongst other artists' work. Here it is another year later, and we got a chance to sit down and talk about his life's work.
William: Where did you start tattooing and how did you start?
Lango: I started tattooing in 1994 right after high school in my home town of Rio De Janeiro. I started tattooing because a majority of my friends are tattoo artists, and they encouraged me to start tattooing in spite of my hesitation.
Did you have any background in art before that?
No, I never went to art school or anything like that but my mom was an artist and she helped me out a bit when I was young.
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How did you get your start?
I never had an apprenticeship. I worked at a tattoo shop as the counter guy and I learned a large amount by observing other artists. All in all I'm pretty much self taught, but I’ve never had a problem asking questions to those who know better than I. Sometimes, people would get mad at me for asking, but I kept bugging them. Eventually, they would give up their secrets, little by little. That's how I learned the basics, and I practiced by tattooing out of my house. I tattooed there for a year and a half to two years before I finally got into a shop.
So how did you make it out to San Diego?
I first flew into San Francisco where I expected to get a job, but things didn't exactly happen the way I had hoped. So after finding myself broke with no prospects I contacted a friend in San Diego. Luckily, he helped me find a job in the area and that became my new home.
I've noticed a shift in your tattooing towards traditional work. What is the shift due to?
Well, I've been tattooing for 11 years, and I felt like the first ten years I was just trying every technique in the book. I was experimenting to see how it would look, and after ten years I finally get the feeling that I know what I'm doing. So a lot of the tattoos I did in the past are pieces or styles that I tried for the first time; they weren't my best work. The past few years I started working in tattoo shops where they did a lot more traditional work. I just got influenced, I guess. Overall, though, I want to be a jack of all trades when it comes to tattoo styles. I want to have my own personal style while at least being decent at others.
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Do you want to name some influences in tattooing?
In tattooing my influences are, (I have them all written down because I didn't want to forget anybody). Greg Irons, uh, Eddie Deutsche, Chris Conn, Timothy Hoyer, Marcus Pacheco, Rob Koss, & Lee Hanna. That's pretty much it.
Who are your influences as far as painting?
As far as the most influential paintings, William Barlow, Serpieri, an Italian artist I think. Barry Windsor Smith, Mike Mignola, these are my main influences. What's his name ... Hieronymus Bosch, Jan Van Eyck, Gustave Dore, Fra Angelico, and Tamburini. I'm influenced by any good painter. Any kind of art really, even Thomas Cole. That's a good painter.
What's your favorite medium in painting?
Working with oils.
How do you think your paintings relate to tattooing?
When I paint, I try not to relate to tattooing at all actually. We work with clients and they tell us what they want. When I go to do a painting I'm free to do whatever I want so,
I try to stay away from tattoo imagery or anything related to tattoos. I want it to look like a painting.
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How do you see tattooing evolving in the next ten years?
In the next ten years? I don't even want to know. It's probably going to be bad because everyone is going to be good at it, and tattooing is already a competitive business as it is. Wow, imagine ten years from now. When I started tattooing it was a big secret. No one would tell you anything, but now you can go to seminars and buy how-to books. You can buy equipment anywhere and everywhere. I don't know ... it's good and bad at the same time, I guess.
Future plans?
My future plans are ... it's either settle down and open my own shop or not
do that at all and travel the world and do what I've been doing since 1997.
Last words?
Thanks to everyone who likes my artwork and supports my stuff.
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Pacific Beach Tattoo 1150 Garnet Ave. San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 272-6665
For more information, go to www.langotattoo.com.
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