TMNK’s career in art began with chance. Off for the day from his job as a graphics manager, the artist headed to the SOHO shopping district in New York with the noble intent to sell his paintings on the street. This was street art, literally. After selling his first painting for $29, he could easily get $1000 now for the same work, he decided to make art his career and continued to sell art on the street by day and on Ebay at night.

Soon after, he met a fellow New York graffiti artist named AVONE, who was recently released from Rickers Island for graffiti related vandalism charges. It wasn’t long before the two artists started what would become a crew of graffiti artists known as the SoSick Collective (TMNK, AVONE, 2ESAE, SKI), a nod to Soho and “being so sick,” TMNK tells me.

“We became friends and the next thing I knew I’m rolling with this crew,” TMNK explains. “They don’t steal for a living, they don’t sell drugs, they make a full time living selling art, it makes me feel good to know that.”

The murder of a younger graffiti artist touched the artist, who is also a father . After delicately explaining the situation to his then four year old son, the hurdles blacks still face in American society: jail, racism, prejudice–this would be the crux of his art. The recent shooting of a yet another unarmed African-American male, Reggie Doucet by LA police serve as a stark reminder why artists like TMNK and the art he creates is necessary.

“There’s more of us, killing us than cops or terrorists, and nobody cares,” he later explains.

This revelation gave the artist his name and original tag NOBODY or THE ME NOBODY KNOWS. While out tagging, the death of his friend still weighing heavily on his spirit, he drew a character with a crown, one eye and a teardrop. Later someone came and wrote over it “Nobody cares.” This became an ironic, yet poignant memorial to his slain friend. This tag and character began popping up all over New York city, and characters like it are seen all over the world.

“Much of my art prior to this point in my career had been directed at the system and it’s racism and it’s prejudice. These sort of things in the past had been the focus of my creative efforts.” Now, the artist was consumed with a broader message, has began using his art as a weapon to attack Human Injustice and to spread seeds of humanity.

“Most street artists want to be known simply to elevate your art career to the next level,” he later adds. “that wasn’t the case with me, i was already hustling on the street, selling art on EBay, and i was doing really well.”

So well in fact, November of 2007 he was able to quit his job as Vice-President, Director of Creative Services of a Major Ad Agency. Three months later, in January of 2008 he was featured in a group showing at the MOMA which included many of New York’s notable graffiti artists.
For an artist who explores themes of racism, TMNK hasn’t seen much of it himself while rising in the ranks of the esoteric contemporary art market. He has no trouble selling work to collectors worldwide. With all this success, the artist still can’t escape comparisons to another famous New York street artist–Jean Micheal-Basquait.

“These individuals that are comparing me to Basquiat have a very limited knowledge of his work,” he says. “His work was more complex than just crowns…all they were looking at is I use a crown as a motif or a symbol…they don’t know the breadth of my work or his.”

The similarities are uncanny though. Both artists are from New York, both were homeless. Besides those coincidences, visually no one can deny the influence here, but art comes from art. Similarities are rendered irrelevant when examining both artist’s work. Consider this, we know Basquiat’s body of work, TMNK is still creating. Who knows where he’ll take his visual style. Comparing the two really is like comparing an orange and a pineapple. Similar, but not really.

“I didn’t know about Basquiat, I didn’t go to art school,” TMNK admits. “I was just some kid doing art, I don’t look at other artists work.”

“In my head I consider myself a great artist, and a great artists’ job is to not talk about it but to just do some art, and sooner or later the volume of work I create will tell it’s own story, but as I walk along the path I’m traveling good things keep happening,” he later adds.

On the horizon, TMNK has a solo exhibition in Portugal scheduled for this May. His goal is simple, to spread his message. If a nobody like TMNK can do it, a somebody like you can too.

“I’m nobody,” TMNK sternly tells me. “I’m not famous, the only thing I got is relentless determination, and if a nobody like me could do it, I’m unfocused at times, I’m undisciplined at times but, if a nobody like me could accomplish the things that I’ve accomplished then imagine what a somebody like you could do.”

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