Trained as a geologist, Italian Paolo Cazzani turned to tattooing along the way, a profession he has now been practising for over 10 years. Fascinated by traditional styles, Capa - Paolo's artist name - focuses on American and Japanese. He is so passionate about these two styles that they sometimes merge in his work. Small or large, they illustrate the talent of the tattooer, who is both technically skilful and artistically inspired. Borrowed from a certain romanticism, they also reflect his sentimentality for the iconography of the past. Now based in his Tattoo Circus studio in Tuscany near Florence, Capa tells us more about this profession to which he puts all his heart.
On your instagram account, your profile reads tattooer/geologist. Can you explain how you combine these two seemingly very different professions?
Good question. Certainly, there has been a period in my life while the two career paths overlapped. However, this period didn’t last long, since it was impossible to keep both jobs. Now that my life is entirely dedicated to tattooing, my experience as a geologist inspires me artistically, providing invaluable input to my current work in the form of memories, colors, shapes and concepts. My studies helped shape my personality and work attitude. I approach tattooing as I did with geology: with an analytical mindset.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Obviously! Let’s start from the beginning : I am 40 years old, and I was born in Tuscany, in a small village between Pisa and Florence. After living abroad for several years working as a geologist and subsequently, training as a Tattoo artist, I found love, and I started a family. I now live close to the place where I was born, and this is now my home. In 2019, in Bientina, I opened my tattoo studio, Tattoo Circus.
How did you get into tattooing?
My love for tattooing comes from the indescribable feeling of being entrusted to leave a permanent mark on a person. I have always been fascinated by the idea of being able to create something so relevant. In my mind a tattoo is something that deeply affects people. The solemnity of the tattooing process is the driving force behind my love for my job. I have spoken about it with several colleagues. Everybody has a different reason explaining their choice to become a tattoo artist and their dedication to the job. Many are artists, who started drawing or with graffiti. For me, as I said, the fascination comes from the ritual of designing and setting a tattoo, a permanent memory. This might be the reason for my deep interest in traditional graphic expressions, like the occidental traditional or the traditional Japanese. At 27, after graduating and working a couple of years as a geologist I found myself second guessing my career choices, realising that my heart was telling me to follow another path. And so I did. The heart is always right.
Have you always done traditional work?
As I previously mentioned, the traditional tattoo styles are those that fascinate me the most, also for their cultural relevance. However, due to my personal aesthetic taste, I am less interested in tribal tattoos. Although I recognize their value, they are just far from my taste. That said, during my career, especially at the beginning, I tattooed any kind of tattoo. This allowed me to improve my tattooing technique and further develop my own style, influenced by the experience acquired in all these years.
Who are the masters you follow?
This is a difficult question. It should have a different answer for every phase of my personal growth. I have been inspired by many tattoo artists in the past, both from the traditional style and contemporary style. Nowadays I feel I’m getting more inspiration from different kind of inputs, like the world around me, paintings and architecture. I don’t want to sound too diplomatic with this answer, therefore I’m going to mention two tattoo masters to conclude the reply to your question, a traditional one and a modern one: Sutherland Macdonald and Rich Hardy.
Your work is in the same vein as traditional tattooing, but with your own approach to the large pieces you construct with elaborate scenes. How do you go about this?
First of all, I love a ‘tailor’ approach. I like to build my projects based on the shapes of the body I am going to tattoo. With the Japanese style this comes more naturally. With the framed traditional style, it is more forced because stylistically more rigid and flat. However, having my objective in mind this is a challenge that I always find exciting.
Are there any particular historical periods that you like to draw inspiration from?
Certainly, I’m influenced by the Art Nouveau movement. I love both the sophisticated expressiveness of the subjects and the use of patterns and frames.
Are there subjects you like to explore and ultimately illustrate?
One of my favourite themes is spiders. On the one hand because their slightly alien dynamism makes them special, and on the other hand because I used to be horrified by them, but I slowly learned to appreciate their fascinating characteristics. Another theme dear to me is the woman’s face. A client requesting both subjects in the same tattoo would be the perfect artistic combination for me!
At the same time, you don't shy away from looking for subjects in other registers, such as Japanese, which you translate graphically in your style, but also from adding modern elements (a bandage on a brain, for example). Is this a way of not getting bogged down?
In my personal view, the oriental traditional style and the occidental one are two faces of the same coin. During history, these two styles often crossed paths. I find them both exciting and I don’t see a clear boundary between the two. This might come from the fact that growing up in Italy, my tattooing culture was far from both styles. For the same reason, I believe that once you learn a style, the use of new and more modern elements it is just a matter of composition and personalisation. Form a stylistic perspective a tattoo artist stays always faithful to the main features of a tattooing style.
Do you think it's important to modernise traditional iconography to keep the style fresh?
I believe it’s not essential to put effort in modernising the traditional style. Evolution comes naturally, with no particular effort. I observed that aesthetic taste follows a cyclic trend, therefore when a subject is trendy again, the art is to give your own personal twist to it. The traditional style is providing us with a source to draw inspiration from. Obviously, it is important to create a product that will generate the same emotions, be it a tribute to the past or a modern theme.
How did you go about formulating the graphics you use today: thin lines, limited colour palette?
During the years, I consistently reviewed healed tattoos and I got a feeling for how they develop. I know what is made to last and what is unnecessary. Often, starting from a thick line, an aged tattoo, characterized by huge lines, is obtained. Tattoos featuring many colours, after a few years, feel a bit chaotic to me. Therefore, I mainly tried to translate the essential, functional to the skin and its evolution. A thin stroke will look thicker and solid with time. A few colours will look well defined and easily identifiable.
Musically, you like punk. How important is this music in your career?
Music is an unmissable companion, always supporting me during my working day. I believe Hardcore Punk is the genre providing me with the right energy. When I was younger, this genre would give me a kick of energy while skateboarding, the energy you need to get the enthusiasm to go down a ramp and try an impossible trick.
How is your business going at the moment? A lot of tattoo artists are suffering from the current situation.
I work in a small tattoo shop in the province. There is only another person working with me and we don’t have to share the pool of clients among many tattoo artists. The waiting lists are shorter now than they were 10 years ago, however there are no lazy days, we are always working! Furthermore, people who are passionate about tattoos and collectors don’t have issues with travelling from afar to come to our studio. I believe my current working situation is ideal for my work-life balance needs. If I would carry out this job in a compulsive way, research and quality of the results would suffer from it. + Instagram : @capa.tattoo Circus Tattoo Via XX settembre 46, Bientina 56031 Instagram : @tattoo.circus.bientina
