UNL professor boasts many tattoos
Kiah Haslett
Issue date: 3/25/08 Section: News
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At 61, he is arguably the most tattooed individual at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
His first tattoo was a world map "because I'm a geographer," he said.
The color map extends from one shoulder to the other.
Johnson said he waited 56 years for the first one because he wanted to be sure he wanted a tattoo. Turns out he did and then some.
"It kind of grew from there," he said. "I got my whole back done."
Below the map and covering the rest of his back are two large, intricate angels facing each other. He has a detailed oak tree on one arm, an elegant olive tree on the other, which will soon be joined by a tattoo across his upper chest which is in the works. His underarms are inked. His calves are inked. The only part left undone is his front because that area sags first, he said.
"Each of the tattoos means something significant," he said.
They aren't just thrown together, but custom-designed.
The angels on the back represent his personal manifesto: knowledge leads to understanding, understanding to wisdom, wisdom to non-violence and non-violence to peace.
"The female angel on the left is the angel of peace. The angel on the right is the angel of knowledge," he said.
The trees correspond to angels: an olive tree of peace, an oak tree of knowledge. Euterpe, the Greek muse of lyrics and music, decorates his underarms. Skulls on each thigh are decorated with the four modules of geography and the four divisions of anthropology.
"Getting tattoos is horribly addictive," he said.
The location of his first tattoo made all the difference in his decision to continue getting inked.
"The underarms hurt," he said. "If I had gotten the underside first, I wouldn't have done anything else."
Johnson has his work done at Liquid Courage in Omaha by Dave Koenig, and he said they are good friends.
"I'm pretty sure Dave was telling people for a while that Mel was his dad," said Johnna McCreary, tattoo artist and co-owner of Liquid Courage.
All the tattoo artists love Mel, she said.
"Everyone knows Mel," she said. "He is very endearing. He is very interested in how everyone's doing."
People getting their first tattoo later in life - people like Mel - are some of McCreary's favorite customers.
"They are sure of themselves and what they want to do in life," she said. McCreary herself waited 30 years before getting her first tattoo. "It's 'I know who I am, I know how to express myself.' It's now more appropriate than ever."
With his quiet voice and white beard, Johnson admitted he doesn't look like the kind of guy who gets tattoos.
"I think I'm a closet biker," he said. "Recognizing, of course, I've never operated or ridden on (a bike)."
He reveals his inked side to students at the beginning of each semester, in-between introductions and the syllabus. Feedback is always very positive.
"(Students have) inevitably heard I'm tattooed. They'll ask and we'll talk about it," he said. "They're excited. They think it's cool."
Johnson said he fields a lot of questions from students about getting tattoos. He tells them they shouldn't do anything until they've thought about it for 10 years and have seriously considered location and size.
McCreary said she has no idea what drives people - herself included - to get tattoos.
"I don't think it's important to get them, but I think there's a drive to get them," she said. "It's not life or death, but some people feel the need to alter their bodies."
She said tattoos show complete bodily ownership.
"We're governed by laws and opinions," she said. "Tattoos are truly your decision, your body, your life. Is that important? I guess, yeah."
Johnson said getting the tattoos showed him how narrow-minded he was.
"I was afraid of tattoo shops. I thought the people there were going to beat me up," he said. "I misjudged them. Now I try to understand people better."
He discovered the strength needed to endured the pain of the needle (especially on the underarms) and how to be less afraid in a right-of-passage way.
He encourages people to ask about his tattoos.
"I think if I were to leave someone with something," he said, pausing. "It would be to not be afraid to ask. People like talking about their tattoos. They're usually something significant."
kiahhaslett@dailynebraskan.com
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ag
posted 3/26/08 @ 2:06 PM CST
I had Mr. Johnson as a professor in 2001 when he had begun the map of his life on his back. Mr. Johnson, much like his geography course, is interesting & detailed on many different levels. (Continued…)
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