Friend getting 'Avant-Garde' cover-up

[someotherguy]

A buddy of mine, who is new to getting tattooed, is getting a guy named Yann Black in Montreal to tattoo his chest in a couple of weeks. I never heard of him so I looked him up and well..it's not my thing at all but my buddy is into what he calls the new 'avant-garde tattoo movement'.This chest piece he is getting will be a cover-up of other squiggly lines he has all over his chest in a similar style (which he already wants gone after only having had it for a year & 1/2). I feel like my boy is making a huge mistake but it is his body and maybe I should just mind my own business. Any opinions from you guys would be appreciated.

Here is Yann Black's website

your meat is mine

[gougetheeyes]

I think you can probably guess our opinions here. Since I'm feeling so positive, I'll simply say that it's not my thing.

[someotherguy]

Yeah…What he has now already looks like that kind of stuff and his exact quote is " would rather go to him than get like some eagle or owl or whatever people use for big coverups". Honestly, I kind of want to slap my friend ha,ha. What's funny is I'm wanting to get a big eagle tattooed on me in general :-D

[Graeme]

I live in Montreal and I see Yann Black's tattoos around a fair bit. They are 100% not my thing, but it's solid work and you can read his tattoos from across the street. Style and taste is another thing but I think for what his tattoos are they're well done.

[someotherguy]

Style and taste is another thing but I think for what his tattoos are they're well done.

This is how I've been dealing with my buddy as he is sort of asking my opinion on the matter and I've just said that particular style isn't my thing.I just found out that he booked his appointment and gave a deposit a year ago. Which means the one he is getting covered up was only 6 months old when he decided to tattoo over it. The one he has now is also tattooed technically well…Anyways, thanks for the input all.

[mtlsam]

I'll agree with Graeme, Yann is well known in Mtl and does good work in his style. You shouldn't sweat it too much, when you friend gets tired of this piece he can still get a giant solid black panther blasted over everything. Third time is the charm they say.

[Fala]

I will never understand why people say "can I have your opinion" when what they really mean is "can I have your approval".

Not my thing either, I do see the charm in some of them though I wouldn't want it on my body.

[DJDeepFried]

My favorite ones on there are also the most conventional: the heart and the skull. Getting a full or half sleeve is radical enough without having to reinvent the style.

Part of the reason I got traditionalish Japanese style tattoos is because those images have stood the test of time for well over 100 years. Getting a koi or a dragon is downright conservative these days.

[Rikhall]

I will never understand why people say "can I have your opinion" when what they really mean is "can I have your approval".

And they probably won't listen to your opinion at all anyway

[Bunny Switchblade]

I guess he will eventually just be getting an even bigger eagle then one day.....

;)

[Shaun1105]

I agree that this artist does solid work, just not in a style that I would ever get. What I think bothers me most is that some of the designs would be better (imo) if they were smaller. Like the skele-dog and flower on the girl's back. So much great space there and it's all empty.

Let's all just take a moment and imagine that the dog was actually a tiger and the flower was a giant snake. And they were fighting.

[s3rndpt]

It kinda looks Neil Gaiman-ish. Which I like as illustrations, but it's not something I'd go for in a tattoo. But to each his own.

[polliwog]

I actually like some of these, but a lot of them seem like they would need to be your only tattoo, or you'd have to commit to doing your whole body in that one style for it to make visual sense. Way too much of a dilettante for that.

[someotherguy]

At this point I'm curious to see what the outcome is. If I get the ok from my friend I'll take a pic before and after the cover-up. He's crashing here on his way from DC to Montreal and on the way back, I'll do my best!

[MadeIndelible]

I'm curious to see how well this style will cover other work.

[camusllionaire]

It feels unfair for me to judge because I find this style so aesthetically unappealing to begin with. But whenever I see giant pieces like the ones on Yann Black's site I just get bummed out because they're a total cock-block.

I'm curious to see how well this style will cover other work.

I'm guessing he's probably going to lay down a lot of black silhouettes (like in those clouds). Meh.