Tattoo Artist Breaks Boundaries And Stereotypes
WARSAW — Tattooing is a historical art that has been present in many different cultures throughout the world with the oldest discovery of a tattoo dates back to 3370 and 3100 BC. It is the intricate history that captured 31-year-old John Brown’s interest and led him to become a tattoo artist for 14 years.
“It’s one of our oldest forms of art and one of the most powerful forms,” commented Brown. “Nothing is quite like it. It’s a primitive yet complex form of expression, which I like. It seems ingrained in our natural inclination in terms of body modification.”
Brown owns a business in Warsaw called Take Action, creating an atmosphere that is unlike any other shop by combining card games like Magic with art. That expands the demographic that Brown reaches with his business, which was very rewarding for him to see two different activities mesh together. People can expect patience and empathy from Brown, who does his best to see the potential in everyone as he understands what it’s like to feel like the odd person out.
“For a while as a kid, I got stepped on by everybody,” explained Brown. “I didn’t talk much. I was one of the kids that tried to find a way to fit in. Then 9/11 happened and the ideas that it brought to mind just showed me that I shouldn’t care. It made me want to be me and less of other people, to establish myself. It put things into perspective and shed light on the natural psychology of people. That was important. It was an eye opener. It made me want to do more.”
One of the biggest challenges Brown has faced was conquering his arrogance when he was younger. Through his middle school and majority of his high school career, Brown was focused more on what he wanted to do versus what he needed to do.
“I had to repeat a year in school because I deliberately chose to do nothing. It’s not that I couldn’t do the work, I just spent all the time in class creating my own art,” reflected Brown. “I don’t think I passed a single class. When I had to repeat, I did a 360 and got straight A’s. I was accepted into college. I chose not to go to college to study art because I didn’t really want to put myself in debt. It didn’t seem like the right thing to do.”
One of Brown’s proudest moments was what he has achieved on his own, including doing things the way he wants in his studio. He has been able to push away the superficial expectations from others and free himself individually.
“My biggest motivation is just establishing a legacy for my two sons,” added Brown. “I want to make sure that they have something that they can come into. I want to make sure that they have something that can inspire them to do and be greater than I am. I want make sure that they can be proud of what I’ve done.”