cynbio

Cynthesis Tattoo Cynthia Bency-Witkin

I was born in 1957 and have lived in my native New Mexico all my life. New Mexico is tri-cultural: Anglo, Hispanic and Indian, and is called the "Land of Enchantment." I am a '"Coyote" (half-breed)-my father is Hungarian and my mother Spanish and Navajo. As with all artists, my particular vision has been shaped by my environment and my accumulated experiences.

The first tattoo I had ever seen was on my grandfather's forearm. It was a traditional Americana style woman's face with a rose; he had tried to scrub it off, to no avail. I spent a lot of time with my mother's mother, who was ill. She taught me about ritual and belief in the mysteries of this world. A devout Catholic, she and I prayed to the saints and lit candles. We also gathered medicinal herbs and holy dirt, and took the cure in the natural hot springs near her home in rural northern New Mexico. She was the one who deemed that I should be a doctor and be of service to my fellow man. My family and I held onto that idea until I had my first experience in making art and discovered the joy of creating.

When I was fourteen my mother, who is a traditional weaver, sent me to Mr. Montoya to learn traditional Indian silversmithing. From him I learned the esthetics of form with function and the never ending pursuit of craftsmanship. I knew then that I wanted to be an artist. Nevertheless, I went to the Universtiy of New Mexico and took pre-med classes: anatomy, biology, and chemistry. However, the history of modem art classes took hold of me. I dropped out and went back to jewelry, experimenting with different metals and "modern" forms.

After having a child, the need to re-identify myself led me to Jamie Summers and my first tattoo. I was in San Francisco in 1981 and had become discouraged looking for a tattoo parlor that could give me something different. Not even I was sure what that something was. As destiny would have it, "Art Forum" magazine published an article about three innovative tattoo artists, two of whom were Jamie Summers and Ruth Marten.

By that time, Jamie had her private studio outside San Francisco. We made an immediate connection. She was excited to work on the black graphic tribal inspired back piece I proposed though it was almost opposite the organic pastel foms she preferred. Together we refined the design. Because I was visiting, her usual work method of many short sessions was condensed into one intense nine hour session, which she called a metamorphic rite. She was just a bit too California- cosmic for my sensibilities, but I did float away from the experience with an incredible visible mark that will always remind me of the day my perception of the world--and my own being--changed.

My back tattoo by Jamie Summers.

Back in Albuquerque I searched for a way to be a meaningful wearable art designer. My jewelry designs pleased me but were to outrageous for commercial use.I started handpainting fabrics for unique clothes design but abandon it. Albuquerque is hardly a hub for fashion and I hated the frivolous,constantly changing trends and fads. In late 1983 the need to make something with a soul and a message led me to construct what I called "collars":large thematic wearable fetish "necklaces"made of leather and found objects.One was a desert collar made of elk hide,rattlesnake rattles, crystals, cactus spines, whole antlers ,and volcanic rocks.Another was a city collar made from discarded coat leather, conduit pipe,wire, roofing tin, and broken glass.I took those to New York where I got some good response that ended nowhere. Defeated I went to Ruth Marten ,a painter,illustrator,and ex-tattoo artist, to lament my lack of place in the art community.That is when she said,"I think you would make a good tattoo artist."

Now I know that all my diverse interests and mismash of art attempts preparerd me for tattooing.Like all art forms it calls upon a tradition and a contemporary response to the present. I call my tattooing "Cynthesis Tattoo",not only as a take-off on my name but as a beginning point to the process of finding the unique mark that portray's the essence of the wearer.

Synthesis is the process of putting two seperate parts together to form a whole.