ALYSSA BUMP
Editor in Chief
As a young high school student disenchanted with daily lectures and assignments meant to regurgitate information, Angeline Ginsberg developed a passion for hands-on learning.
“With art there is never a wrong answer … it’s very hands-on, very tactile,” said Ginsberg.
Now a senior at SUNY Fredonia majoring in ceramics with a minor in art history and a tattooist nearing the end of her apprenticeship, Ginsberg has honed in on her skills as she nears graduation.
She has a dream: Someday, people will be in museums. People with tattoos; tattoo art.
Born in Laredo, Texas, Ginsberg was adopted by her parents at two weeks old. Her parents had already adopted her older brother from Austin around five years before.
“They were looking to adopt another kid, and my mom saw that we had the same birthday … She knew it was meant to be,” said Ginsberg.
Ginsberg grew up with her family on Long Island — specifically, Lindenhurst, N.Y. The family has a love for animals, with multiple pet dogs throughout the years. They now have two dogs — one named Rayn, pronounced like “rain,” who is a boxer mix, and Cujo, a pitbull-lab.
But in 2012 when Hurricane Sandy hit the coast of Long Island, Ginsberg’s family was one of the many that lost their home and had to relocate.
The storm flooded the entire lower section of their family home. “We lost a lot of photo albums and my dad’s original vinyl collection … stuff that isn’t really replaceable,” said Ginsberg.
At this time, Ginsberg was only in seventh grade, and her family did not initially evacuate because there weren’t shelters that also took in dogs.
“It’s very surreal to think back on it … so much got destroyed and we couldn’t really go anywhere,” said Ginsberg. Luckily, Ginsberg and her family were able to relocate more inland after the hurricane, but still in the same town while enrolling in the same school as before.
Although Ginsberg is the only artist in her immediate family, her parents are supportive.
“They’re definitely supportive even if they don’t understand what it is that I’m doing,” said Ginsberg. Her parents have always been very independent, hardworking individuals, which has “played a part in my work now,” according to Ginsberg.
“I definitely would not be here if they didn’t adopt me … I owe them everything,” said Ginsberg.
Although Ginsberg’s grandparents have all passed on before she was born or while she was very young, she cites her dad’s father, along with other deceased relatives, as having the greatest impact on her life.
“My dad’s father, who I never met, was an artist and a painter. We have some of his work, and I like to look at it sometimes … I think about all the stories [my parents have] told me,” said Ginsberg. She continued, “I have so much time with the people who are already here that hearing about the people who I didn’t have as much time with or never got to meet has influenced me a lot.”
Ginsberg’s passion for art ignited in high school, but her interest in tattooing started at a much earlier age. “Ever since I was 11 or 12, I saw ‘NY Ink’ on television. I was like, ‘I want to be a tattoo artist,’” said Ginsberg.
Her parents wanted her to pursue art and tattooing, but they wanted to see their daughter pursue a degree as a backup.
When looking for colleges with art departments, Ginsberg was looking at colleges as far away as California. “I was looking at schools that were the furthest away … I liked a school in California, but my mom didn’t want me to go across the country because I actually had a minor heart surgery before I went to school,” said Ginsberg.
One of Ginsberg’s aunts was a graduate from Fredonia in the ‘70s with studies in art history and speech pathology. Her aunt later became a second grade teacher, which sparked Ginsberg’s interest in SUNY Fredonia.
Ginsberg entered Fredonia as a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) drawing and painting major. She described her first semester here as “a little bit intimidating at first, seeing other people’s work, but then you kind of just take it as that’s their thing and this is still my thing.”
Ginsberg switched her major to ceramics after taking a beginner pottery class with Professor Hide Sadohara. “[Sadohara] would teach me the skills and then let me push the boundaries of what I wanted to do.” Ginsberg continued, “I felt like he saw the effort I was putting in … I found myself [in the ceramic workshop] more than in the drawing and painting studio.”
In addition to her studies at Fredonia, Ginsberg also took on an apprenticeship at Kinetic Body Art Gallery, a tattoo shop in Levittown, N.Y., after her first year at Fredonia in May of 2019.
Normally, the apprenticeship lasts around a year depending on the growth of the artist, but Ginsberg has been completing hers during the breaks between semesters. “Because I’m only there for a few months at a time, it’s slowly adding up and reaching the end,” said Ginsberg. “It’s like my other school and my career.”
Ginsberg was taught with a traditional coil machine. “It’s the one that makes a really loud buzzing noise that everyone knows and loves,” said Ginsberg.
“We start with the very basics — learning about the machine itself. Then we start on fake skin … and then we tattoo something on ourselves,” said Ginsberg. After apprentices complete those steps, they can start tattooing on other people.
Ginsberg’s favorite style of tattooing is neo-traditional, which is similar to American traditional in technique but different visually. She describes it as “very feminine” compared to the masculinity of American traditional style. Neo-traditional normally depicts womanly figures as well as flowers and animals.
Ginsberg has been a very busy college student, taking on several different roles throughout her time at Fredonia. She was a resident assistant in Kasling Hall for two years, and she is a Visual Arts and New Media (VANM) student ambassador. Ginsberg has also served on the e-board of Art Forum since freshman year, and she is now the president of the club. She, along with a committee of her peers, have also brought two sculptures, titled “Stockpiles,” to campus.
The pink blob-like sculptures by Rainy Lehrman were brought to campus in 2019 by a committee within Art Forum. “It was a really great experience because this was the first time students had a say in what came to campus,” said Ginsberg.
As a freshman, the experience of working with a professional artist was “a great experience all around.” Ginsberg said, “It was really great to just talk to [Lehrman], who already had so much experience … doing it all while raising a family.” She also mentioned the two still keep in touch.
Like most busy students, Ginsberg could feel herself burning out and needing to prioritize her involvement. “I struggled a bit with putting myself first over other things … I felt like I really needed to start picking and choosing what was really going to benefit me,” said Ginsberg.
Ginsberg decided to step down as a resident assistant, but continued to serve the campus through her other roles. As a VANM student ambassador, Ginsberg has “promoted the programs and given tours [of the VANM Department] to prospective students” since sophomore year.
With Art Forum, the club has recently been working with middle school students to create a mural at their school. “We go in once a week to help them brainstorm and give them some of our wisdom,” said Ginsberg.
Separate from Art Forum, Ginsberg has also planned the Student Art Sale which occurs once a semester. The art sale aims to give students a platform to sell their work and raise money for a cause.
The Student Art Sale is normally planned independently by two upper-level ceramics students. This year, Francesca Olivo and Ginsberg will work together to put on the Student Art Sale. This will be the fourth art sale Ginsberg has organized.
“The more you get involved, the more connections you make. And that’s a huge thing,” said Ginsberg.
After graduating, Ginsberg plans to pursue tattooing and ceramics as much as possible. “I am on a contract to stay [at Kinetic Body Art] for three years,” said Ginsberg. She feels as though her time at Fredonia has prepared her for “interacting with clients” through her development of “people skills.”
A long term goal of Ginsberg’s is to “bring tattooing into galleries … having actual people who have art on them on display.” She continued, “No one’s done it [before] … there’s a really big separation between academic art and the tattoo world … people don’t take [tattooing] seriously.”
Here is a link to a video of Ginsberg showcasing one of her sculptures from the “Interpersonal; Connections” exhibit, featuring work from Olivo and Saviere Williams. Also, follow @ag.tattooery on Instagram to see more of Ginsberg’s work with ceramics and tattoos.
Multi-medium art: Angeline Ginsberg
