ART / TATTOOS

BECCA GENNÉ-BACON: TRADITIONAL, CONTEMPORARY AND UNAPOLOGETIC

05/19/2017

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STEEPED IN REGALITY AND POISE

Becca Genné-Bacon’s stylistic eye is very obviously rooted in the American Traditional sway of things- the symbolism, the bold outlines and front and center composition- it’s all there, easily recognizable and easily defined.

It’s the nuances of her approach though, that establish her as more than a technical expert in this particular genre. She manages to leave breathing space for interpretation in both quintessential and original designs, pushing them a little bit out of their dimensions, a little past their physical and conceptual limits.

From her online profile, it’s clear that her clients trust her with personal designs that are still guaranteed to come out classic by virtue of the artist.

Portraiture is so prominent in Becca’s portfolio that even designs that don’t necessarily feature the human face become steeped in the regality and poise she gives to those that do have a human element.

Looking at vintage portraiture, both in the tattoo world and in terms of everyday life, Becca’s subjects begin to mirror those of the past. The way she adorns a portrait, forming a frame that is simultaneously decorative and part of the composition as a whole, evokes a certain sepia- toned romance and immediately lends itself to a narrative.

Her colors keep that romance, suspending it in a vivid palette that becomes something contemporary and unapologetic. The faces she renders become autonomous, coexisting with the body as opposed to being memories of something that once was.

Becca’s choices in color and medium-to-large format take her work out of a place of highbrow imagery and grave definition to one of presence and spirit- it has personality that overshadows the stony nature of permanence.

A merger of stoic and good natured is a running theme in Becca’s work- her technique is so solid that it gives the most whimsical designs their own identity without reducing them to a charade.

It’s worth acknowledging that her influences come from a broad spectrum of tattoo influences- Japanese motifs make appearances throughout her portfolio. These, too, are rendered traditionally, except instead of swallows, there’s a dragon and maneki-neko- an exceptional blend of cultural art forms that works as an embrace of both instead of an imposition on one or the other.

I think Becca’s rendition of E.T as a blonde in flowers and pearls (my personal favorite) is a good consolidation of her best qualities- light heartedness, historical influence, confident line work, and intimacy between the artist and the medium. Find Becca at Kings Avenue Tattoo in Manhattan where she joins a renowned crew of the city’s top artists,.