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Cap Szumski has more than just a checkered past. His 24 year rise through the ranks of tattoo's elite artists isn't half as remarkable as his battle to escape the street, alcohol, and near-poverty (and that is, as they say, another story). Though it is indeed the journey of life that shapes a man, it is what he learns en route and can pass on which truly defines him. We are, after all, more than the sum of our parts.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Cap has managed to transcend obscurity and keep his work fresh and new by maintaining an open mind to newer trends and techniques in tattooing, while still staying true to the traditions he learned along the way. It is this versatility that keeps Cap Szumski in the spotlight rather than the history books... and I think it is also what keeps him from bitterness and resentment toward the new breed of tattooers. Cap not only respects what these new guys produce, he learns from it, and, in return, offers what most no longer have any direct access to: tradition.
Cap's history has been printed and reprinted dozens of times; therefore, not wanting to simply regurgitate old facts, I offer only a brief recap (no pun intended) of the particulars.
Cap got his first tattoo by the age of 16, thanks to his mother and the fake birth certificate she created for him, and was tattooing by 17. What mom failed to realize was that once he got that tattoo, he was able to go back time and time again for more ink. Before long, Cap was learning the trade himself, working for the man known as J.R. at Magic Castle Tattoo in Newhall, Calif.
It was an on again/ off again tattoo career for the first several years, often times spending off seasons doing electrical work in order to eat. "Let me tell you, you didn't tattoo because you wanted fame and fortune ... not back then; the only reason you did it was because you loved to tattoo. I remember one time, little Mikey (Mike Pike, son of J.R.) and I were fist fighting over a can of mushroom soup! That's how bad it got."
Sometime later, Cap got involved in a bike club and received an invitation from fellow member Brian Everett to come aboard his newly opened Route 66 shop in Albuquerque, NM. There, under the guidance and influence of Brian and Jack Rudy, who traveled together a lot at the time, Cap learned the black and grey techniques that would sustain him all these many years.
In 1994, after almost ten years at Route 66, Cap moved "a respectable 2000 miles" from Brian's shop and opened Timeless Tattoo in Atlanta. A few years ago he bought the Pain and Wonder Tattoo Studio from Watson and Mitchell Atkinson in Athens, GA, and both remain successful, reputable establishments today thanks to Cap's leadership.
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 Tattoos by Cap Szumski. |
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Both Timeless and Pain and Wonder have incredible reputations. And it's not one just built around the owner of the studio. Every person on your staff has a good reputation, not only for their tattooing, but also for their attitudes and care for the individual clients they serve. That really is an accomplishment. Why do you think they have earned that rep?
That's a good question. The only two things I was ever any good at in school were art class and shop. So, tattooing was a way for me to utilize those skills because it is both a craft and an art. I think a lot people miss that aspect of it now, but back then when I started, it wasn't for financial gain, it was the love of the job. I didn't get a lot of gratification chasing after any of those things (fame and fortune), I'd much rather sit here and tattoo and enjoy the company of the guys I work with. So, it's the way we do things. The atmosphere. We are all here trying to learn more and grow. Every time one of us finishes a tattoo, we show it to everyone else. Then, later, we talk about what was really effective, what could have been improved upon, what we could have done differently, whatever. I don't want to show it to one of my guys and have them say "Gee, that's just great, Cap." I want some input. I want them to notice if changes are made and understand why we do certain things. And I want to hear other opinions. That's how we get better.
Well, I think that shows in your work. In fact, I think that's what helps you stand out among a lot of the older tattooers of the day -- your willingness to experiment with composition, using elements that, at the time, weren't all that familiar in American tattooing. Architecture, background elements, those types of things, now they are fundamentals, but then they were innovative.
It's funny that you mention that because at the time I never even noticed it. It was really just ideas that we would bounce off each other, influencing each other. None of those things were because I'm some great artist; I didn't reinvent the wheel, but I did try new things a lot. And it paid off. I didn't even know what the word "composition" meant at the time, but I was trying to make the tattoos look better; adding contrast to the background, trying to figure out how to utilize the shape of the muscles in the design, whatever.
Primarily what people see of your work is the black and grey stuff, but you do quite a bit of color as well, right? What's the balance there in your work?
Really, I'm a bit confused by all that myself. I have a traditional background, from working with J.R., but I really wasn't able to do a lot of the designs I wanted to back then, though, I did make attempts. Then, when I went to work with Brian, I learned the single needle stuff and there wasn't a whole lot of experimenting going on there. If I showed up with a three needle liner or a six and half round shader I caught hell, y'know. He'd say 'Here's how you make a magnum and here's how you make a single and that's how it's done in this shop.' After some time though I began trying new things, experimenting with larger needle groups, bold lining. But I was always proficient at packing in color because of the traditional training I got from J.R. When I opened here I found how to blend those styles more effectively and combine all the effects. So combining the traditional stuff that I was brought in with and the subtlety of the single needle is something that I've been doing a lot of lately, and I've been having a lot of fun with it, and often that requires the use of color. After years of tattooing things the size of a gnat's ass for detail, it's a good break to do some big, bold, simple, color work. I enjoy it. And I like mixing the styles. It keeps everything fresh for me as an artist.
That's part of the reason I wanted to interview you in the first place. It seems that some of the guys tattooing 20 years haven't changed anything, they haven't evolved, they haven't grown, y'know, and it works for them -- that's fine, but it seems to me that it would such a bore to be doing the same skull for 20 years. Y'know what I'm saying?
(laughing) Yeah, that would suck. For me. I agree.
Yeah, and I'm not knocking anyone who does it that way, I'm just talking about how I'd feel after doing the same thing that long. But with your work, it seems you are continually trying to push yourself, to keep it fresh and innovative and, as a result, it's getting harder to put you in any kind of a box.
Early on, you picked a specialty and that's what people would come to know you for. The people who had had a wide range of stuff they were good at would fade away, so that was the idea. And I think it's true today too. People get a reputation for specific things. But as time goes on, it's been more important for me to stay enthusiastic. I've been doing this 24 years now so I'll talk to the guys who've been doing it 30 years and I'll ask 'em 'How do you keep doin' it man?' because you see fewer and fewer of them, they fall by the wayside or get more into the business end or whatever. I think they lose their lust for this thing. I still love tattooing and I don't want to 'move on to bigger and better things,' I'm a tattooer and it looks like that's the way it's gonna' be. So I want to stay interested and get better. And luckily for me, I've always got guys that want to come here and learn stuff and I want to learn more too.
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 Tattoos by Cap Szumski. |
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What about conventions and stuff like that? How many do you do each year now?
Maybe six or seven. I do Richmond, Atlanta, the ones that Brian and Tramp put on, and a few more. As far as the shows go, I do enjoy those things. But I really get a kick out of being home. When I go to those things I usually just do a tattoo or two, that's it. The rest of the time I just bullshit with the other tattooers. I love that. I love to just visit people and talk to them about what they're doing. And that's a huge inspiration for me. I want to pick up as much as I can. And I like to visit the guys that have been doing it as long or longer than me, cause they're doin' it, man; they're still in the game, and it inspires me to stay in the game too.
What in particular has been pushing you recently, keeping you in the game?
The Asian stuff for the last few years. And that's stuff that I wanted to do since the beginning. The imagery always intrigued me, but I lacked the skill level to pull it off, and now I think I have it.
Ok, something new: I really have a great respect for the old timers and what they accomplished, OK, but it seems like the really big advancements have come in the last 15 years or so, and that the two areas of art that are going to carry weight historically, in a 100 years or so, are graffiti and tattoo. If you want to talk about modern influence, then it's advertising and media that define the last century, but to those who study the progression of art, it's always subtler, always hiding just underneath the surface of society. Those people are going to look back and say "Wow, look at the work these guys were doing during that time period," and it's going to be studied and analyzed to death, but it some way it's going to have counted for something. And I think that with the public's education and eventual acceptance of tattoos as a viable art form, we have achieved something lasting. How is it for you to have been involved in that and seen this transformation take place?
You know, it's really interesting that you see it that way. And I agree, but, also, I thought it was just as true with the old guys who were doing it before me.
Certainly, we're all just building on what came before us, but, particularly the end of last century through today. The artists have taken a hold of the reigns, and consequently, it seems, the basic Joe on the street knows considerably more about our art and what is possible, even what should be expected, and I think it's that that has helped us get where we are. The people have become savvy.
That's true. In fact, I remember talking with some guys a long time ago and them telling me that there's only one way to separate us from the scratchers: You've got to educate the people. I really took that to heart and I like to think I've had some part in that; that I've nurtured tattoo. But, also, I think that this is just what people do ... people have always gotten tattooed, in almost every culture and throughout history, there's tattoo; as a rite of passage or whatever, and I don't think that's changed.
For a lot of people, even the majority, I think you're right. But there's another class of tattooed people out there that it just doesn't hold true for. It's not some rite of passage ... it's something different.
Wow, do you believe that?
Sure.
I've got some tattoos that I won't laser off, and they really aren't that good, but it marks for me different times in my life, and I won't part with that. I think that's still true today with most people. It's like having a photograph of your vacation, it marks that time and when you see it, you remember so much more than if you didn't have it, y'know?
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Well I agree with that, but that's not WHY you went on that vacation, it's the bi-product of the experience, and I think that the same holds true for our tattoos. Yes, they do mark a specific time in our lives, and yes, they will commemorate that time. But that's not why everyone gets them; it's simply the result of getting it. What we have today is ... we've created collectors out of people. They don't get tattooed to mark something any more or less significant than having a particular artist's work added to their collection.
Why did you get your first tattoo?
To mark my individuality, to make that statement.
Exactly. That's what I'm talking about. That's why most people start getting tattooed ... then we educate them.
And in doing that, we make collectors out of them. Y'see what I'm saying ... it's grown into something different than it's ever been before.
Yeah, and you know what, I do that too. It's funny because customers will act as though they owe me something once I've done some work on 'em, like they shouldn't ever get any work from anyone else. And I'll be the first to advocate getting tattoos from other people. I'll say 'Look, see this, I've been tattooed by 50 different guys and gals' and I wouldn't want any less of an experience for anyone else. So, I've been an advocate of that from the start.
What are some of the tools that you think are most important in aiding the newer breed of tattooers artistically, technically and ethically? Because I think that a lot of the stuff that should have been passed down has gotten lost.
I'd have to say, for me anyway, that the most important thing is to keep an open mind. And that's hard to do; it's against our nature. And I think that it applies to all three of those. Just be willing to have some new information. And I work on that here at the shop. I've been to some shops where the tattooers just try to exist as their own entity, y'know, and that's just a fucked up situation to try to learn in. It doesn't work. So I just try to create that kind of environment where we're all here trying to learn together, and yeah, it's for them, but mostly, it's for me. I don't want to be that guy sitting on the porch, bitter at the world. And at times I've had brushes with that, I've been dangerously close, and you'd never know I was workin' on it (laughter), but I don't like being like that guy.
Check out the websites for both studios. Cap does work in both locations regularly, and the guys (and gals) at both studios are exceptional artists and conversationalists. Don't miss a chance to hang out with Cap; be it at one of the shops or at a convention. Get some work you'll be proud of wearing and have a great time just rapping with a guy who's seen it all come down over the last quarter of a century. 'Nuff said.
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