Matt Alexander

I am a Brooklyn based tattooer operating out of an independent studio, designing and tattooing American-traditional and custom designs.

My vision for tattooing is a combination of form and function. I love tattoos and have been getting tattooed since I was 18. At the top of the iceberg there is the obvious aspect that many people understand. Tattoos look badass. From the purely aesthetic point of view Tattoos are striking and powerful. The prospect of putting an image in your skin forever in bold colorful ink is sick. This plays into the aspect of fringe culture as well. The tattoo space was a place for people at the borderland of society, people who didn't fit into the standard operating procedure of the dominant culture.

Moving a layer deeper to the purely artistic perspective tattoos are a wonderful creative practice. Its counter intuitive but structure and limitations are very powerful tools for the artist. In this way creativity mimics problem solving. Solving for a limitation or an impedance in the creative outpouring often sparks the inspiration for the synthesis of a new idea or a new iteration on a theme or motif that has already been done to death. Tattooing is absolutely ripe with these opportunities. The medium itself, skin, demands specific techniques and patterns to produce quality work. The shape of the body, a thing utterly unique to every person, shapes the flow of the work. The vision itself is the melding of two individual tastes. All of these things make for an incredibly restricted artistic practice yet also produces some of the most intimate and special pieces.

But for me the base of the iceberg, the deep dark and vast portion, is what tattoos do to people. This aspect harkens back to the distant past of tattooing when the symbols we believed in had tangible power in the world. Tattoos are talismans, cognitive anchors that bring people power and agency. Tattooing is a process of transformation

Tattoos have a great deal of meaning whether that intention was there or not. That badass tiger lunging out from your arm has ferocity and strength which is imbued upon the wearer. In our ancient past tattoos were worn by warriors to give them strength, courage, and wisdom. Today we still do that. My vision for tattooing is to bring this aspect front and center. My flash, and custom designs are meant to give power, agency, and transformation to the recipient. When I tattoo it is a ritual meant to change people into who they are in their deepest self. To bring their soul out onto their skin with blood and ink.

To accomplish this I draw imagery from the wealth of human religious, spiritual, and occult philosophy. Intellects greater than mine have been dissecting the power of symbol and meaning for over a millennium. My own spiritual practice is to emulate the shaman. To pull the imagery together from our great collective subconscious and bind it together into a meaning that directs the heart towards its aim. Many of these sigils I have used in my own life; to overcome addiction, protect my peace, and to find direction in a new and chaotic world. My vision for tattooing is to bring the magic back, front, and center.