Mister Cartoon, a famous L.A.-based tattoo artist, known for tattooing the likes of Beyonce and Eminem, is now offering his services at the Marcel Hotel in Gramercy. This hotel is hosting Mister Cartoon as a part of an artist in-
residence series. Mister Cartoon also has many pieces of original art featured in the hotel lobby. Many hotels like the Marcel look to give promotions to raise awareness about their hotel and to set them apart from the pack in the highly competitive world of hotels in the City. Sean Hennessey, the chief executive at Lodging Investment Advisors, a consulting firm, said, “Hotels do these promotions, like offering a $10,000 cocktail complete with engagement ring, not so much because guests order them but because it creates an image of the hotel in patrons’ minds.” And it does indeed. This is the first time such a thing has been introduced into a NYC hotel, however it is the third time Mister Cartoon has done this particular promotion for the Marcel. Mister Cartoon, whose real name is Mark Machado, is a skilled graffiti and airbrush artist and has also done many illustrations for magazine and album covers. He began tattooing in the mid-90s when a prominent tattoo artist promised to take him under his wing if Machado promised to stop drinking and smoking. More than ten years later, and Mister Cartoon has now made a name for himself.
At the hotel, a man referred to as Mr. Hilfiger, came to have the space under his chin tattoed. Mr. Hilfiger said that he could relate very much to Mister Cartoon, being only 100 days sober and arriving with who he referred to as his “spiritual advisor”. Mr. Hilfiger must also work as a part of his probation for illegal marijuana possesion. His father, clothing designer and fashion magnate Tommy Hilfiger, was not thrilled with the idea of him having the area beneath his chin tattoed, saying, “Why can’t you wait until I’m in my grave?” Instead, Mr. Hilfiger had the space filled with the phrase “I love you, Dad.” How wonderfully ironic.
Anyone interested in being tattoed by the artist Mister Cartoon can make a reservation with the hotel to do so. Room rates run about $244 a night.
I thought this article was interesting because it showed how the perception of art spans to include tattoo art as well. I think this idea will definitely increase the Hotel’s reservations and income. I suppose tattoo art is becoming more widely accepted as a cultural norm, rather than an art form exclusively dominated by gangs and other deviant subcultures…
I found this article particularly interesting because my father is a dermatologist, who specializes in laser tattoo removal and runs the Tattoo Removal Center in New York City. For years, I have had conversations with my father about the influence of tattoos on American culture today. Until relatively recently, tattoos were seen as taboo, but as Beth rightly said, tattoos have become much more mainstream in recent years around the world and are a very popular form of art these days. And much like any art form, there are experts who have incredible talent, such as Mister Cartoon. However, there are also inexperienced artists who are less talented and make more mistakes. The thing about tattoos is that when the artist makes a mistake, it’s stuck on someone’s skin forever – unless of course they go to my dad. Even though tattoo removal does exist and works very well for some tattoos, certain ones will never be able to be removed. That is what I think is the most amazing thing about the great tattoo artists. They have the responsibility of putting elaborate murals on people’s bodies that are irreversible. They can’t simply throw out the canvas and start over.