When he finally had a minute to sit down and talk with me amidst the busyness that was Tattoolapalooza 2009 at the Miami Beach Convention Center, my opening question for the organizer of the event was, “What was your overall goal in putting this event together?” Mickey Steinberg’s answer was, “To try and let people see that tattooing is art, not just something that bikers and gang members put on their bodies.” A simple enough goal that was more than reached over the course of this 3-day event with 180 exhibitor booths and flocks of people that traveled from far and near to be immersed in tattoo culture. Obviously a family man at heart (his own son and mother were both there), Mickey kept the kids in mind when he included a “Kiddy Corner” at the event, complete with a few bounce houses, rides, and a temporary tattoo artist. He seemed proud of his achievement in putting together such a large scale event, but at the same time was humble and balanced, telling me that he is already making plans for next year’s convention, as well as the 24 Support the scene or there will be no scene to support upcoming Tattoolapalooza in San diego. Although our time together was brief, I did get to also ask him about his personal highlight of the convention, to which he replied, “<strong>The</strong> best thing is just hearing people say that they’re having fun.” <strong>The</strong>n, as quickly as I pulled him aside, he was pulled away again from our impromptu interview area on the staircase to tend to some business. So I walked back into the convention too, where I heard a voice on the sound system saying how people could visit a certain booth to see an attempt at a world record being submitted to Guinness Book in progress. At this booth that someone was being tattooed with a black and grey rose, being worked on by 14 different tattoo artists, the highest number of artists to ever work together on one tattoo. <strong>The</strong> voice was that of “Marcus,” the runner up for the 2008 season of Last Comic Standing. He was walking around the convention with a cordless mic, cracking jokes and chatting with ‘palooza patrons. <strong>The</strong> star power present at the convention wasn’t just limited to the host though; horror movie icon Sid Haig (Captain Spalding from “<strong>The</strong> Devil’s Rejects”) was also in the building, signing autographs and posing for pictures. But the real stars were the 14 featured artists that Mickey had flown in from all over the country to exhibit, tattoo, and conduct seminars. I had a chance to meet one of those featured artists, Nikko Hurtado, just moments after he wrapped up conducting a seminar upstairs. <strong>The</strong> smiley Californian seemed happy to be a part of the whole event and had an aura that reminded me that everyone there was having a genuinely good time. I made my way to the back, by the main stage, and <strong>The</strong> Art of the Convention that’s where I saw an ice sculptor using a chainsaw to create a 6-foot motorcycle. <strong>The</strong> roar of the chainsaw, the steady buzz of tattoo guns, and the sounds of excitement were all in the air, and on the main stage was a shirtless midget with a painted face named Toad. He was letting people use a staple gun to staple dollar bills to his chest. <strong>The</strong>se are the kinds of things that make a convention into a “palooza,” and why this event was so much more than just a bunch of booths with artists sitting behind portfolios of their work. <strong>The</strong> Zoological Wildlife Foundation was even there… with an alligator, a tiger, some snakes, an owl, and a bunch of scorpions. Walking by the animal area made me realize that Mickey knew all along how to put together a tattoo convention that would be about more than just the tattoos, and would have enough extras to pull in interest from people not typically immersed in the culture of the tattoo scene. Like he had said earlier, he wanted people to see that “tattooing is art,” and he did a great job of finding creative ways to introduce people to the artistic side of the culture. Affirmation of this came as I walked past a booth from <strong>The</strong> Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and saw several paintings that looked like they could all one day be turned into tattoos. For the next few hours, I meandered through the aisles, grabbing business cards from all the booths, noticing that each one had a different zip code on it, proof that art brings people together from all over. For info on next year’s convention, visit www.Tattoolapalooza.com. Live, <strong>Love</strong>, & be Free Event Photography, Portraits, Comp Cards, Product Placements, etc. - Prints Available Exhibiting 10/14-11/23 @ Fletcher Art & Culture Center in Hollywood Vionettephotography.com <strong>WeMerge</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - www.<strong>WeMerge</strong>Talent.com
<strong>WeMerge</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> - www.<strong>WeMerge</strong>Talent.com Support the scene or there will be no scene to support 25