Tim Kern, aka ymonster, needs no introduction here. Having tattooed 22 Suicide Girls and nearly as many members, his work can be found beautifying photosets and the personal pages throughout the site. And for good reason. This 11-year tattoo veteran has a unique style, a blend of horror, humor, and sex appeal, with a dash of cute, making him a much sought after artist. I wouldnt give the back of my head to just anyone to tattoo.
While Tim co-owned his own studio in Chicago with his twin brother James, he left to experience NY life and found himself a home at Paul Booths Last Rites where hes been since 2002. There he tattoos, draws, paints, and is actively involved in projects such as the ArtFusion Experiment, a collaborative art project for tattooers spearheaded by Paul Booth, and MTV Overdrives Tattoo Theater, among others.
As Tim is beloved on SG, I found it fitting to make him our Valentines Day interview.
Marisa DiMattia: I think we should start with the most pressing question of the day: Got anything going for Valentines Day?
Tim Kern: Well, this Valentine's Day, I'm working, and then probably going home and painting...but that's pretty much the same as every other day.
MDM: I see that Last Rites has a gallery show running for the occasion, entitled Dark Hearts and Broken Vows.
TK: The show is really good. There are some amazing artists.
MDM: Theres a new painting of your own on your Suicide Girls page thats really striking. Tell me about it.
TK: It's a mandrake root. It's used in love potions. I thought it thematically appropriate. Especially since it kills you if you aren't careful harvesting it.
MDM: Ah, trying to attract nihilistic art groupies, I see.
TK: Ha! I'm a bitter old man, what can I say?
MDM: Ive actually seen a number of amazing fine art pieces youve done. Outside of tattooing, I assume Paul Booth encourages fine art at Last Rites.
TK: Actively! We have a section of our shop as a dedicated gallery for the Last Rites crew, and Paul likes to keep us producing new art. I just finished that small painting, and I'm working on a big one. It's new to me really, because painting is a medium I find difficult.
MDM: What about your participation with ArtFusion? Has it enhanced your painting skills?
TK: I haven't done that much painting during the times I've done ArtFusion, mostly charcoals, but I definitely feel very inspired every time I get to work with artists I'm not usually around. I like to see how other people work...making art is usually a lonely medium, and with ArtFusion, it has become a family event a lot of times. There's a lot of sharing and getting to know people. It's great, considering tattoo artists are not traditionally the most sharing kind of people. [laughs]
MDM: And with your real family, your twin brother, James Kern, have you ever done a collaborative work with him--painting or even tattoo?
TK: Not really. Now we live on opposite ends of the country, so it makes that sort of thing more difficult. We have had a few people ask us about doing collaborative tattoos, but it hasn't happened yet.
MDM: I guess the separation also avoids the twin confusion.
TK: We do work a lot of the same conventions, though, and that's usually where the confusion happens. [laughs] I don't think we look that similar. His mountain man beard helps.
MDM: I dont either, but for those who dont know you personally, I can see it happening. Did you ever pull any twin stunts when you had your studio in Chicago where you worked together?
TK: Of course not. We're both too anal-retentive for that sort of shenanigans. [evil grin]
MDM: Hmm...I wont press further for your sake. I do think a Kern Brothers collaborative tattoo could be amazing. Your styles are pretty different, but did you influence each other a great deal when you were tattooing together?
TK: We learned a lot from each other in our early years of tattooing, and we have similar approaches to how we work. Just the content and style is a bit different.
MDM: Who do you think has had the greatest influence on your work and signature style?
TK: I find a lot of influence in artists I like. Trevor Brown, Mark Ryden, Sas Christian, Romain Slocombe...And of course I take a lot of influence from the amazing tattoo artists I know as well.
MDM: Do clients play a big role in the direction of your tattoo work or do they show up like me and say, Here's my head, I trust ya?
TK: Ha! You've been through this, so you kinda know. I usually like to have a bit of guidance content-wise, especially if it's someone I don't know well. It's hard for me when someone says do whatever you want. I usually tell them they're going to get something really fucked up if that's what they tell me. Like a little girl eating her baby...umbilicus attached.
MDM: I dont think this interview will help you get a date for Valentines Dayor maybe it actually will. Ok, lets get hypothetical. Say a fictional Suicide Girl offers you her untattooed body to create anything you wanted, what would your dream tattoo be?
TK: I couldn't say. I usually try to come up with something that is appropriate to the individual client. I try to work with their vision, not impose mine on them. I'll save that for canvas.
MDM: Good point. But there are certain tattoos you will NOT do, correct?
TK: Of course. On a personal level, I won't do hateful, racist tattoos, or things I think are stupid or would look like shit. [laughs] And since I work for Last Rites, I won't do any Christian tattoos.
MDM: Really?
TK: We don't do that sort of thing.
MDM: What if its a zombie eating Jesus?
TK: That's different. Blasphemy is fine. It's kinda how we roll.
MDM: Satan's gangstas!
TK: It would be kinda like going into a born-again Christian shop, and asking them to do Jesus fucking Mary in the ass with the crossIt just doesn't happen. But you could get that at our place.
MDM: Too bad my head space is almost filled. Ok, seriously, dont you think the darkness aspect to Last Rites can be intimidating? For example, at conventions, do people shy away from your booth?
TK: I think the dark and creepy aspects do keep some people away, but it makes others come to us. There's a balance. It doesn't keep the right people away. It's like a filter.
MDM: Yes, but that can mean you get some crazies.
TK: That is definitely true.
MDM: Got any good crazies stories?
TK: For that, you'll have to check out the Last Rites DVD when it comes out; it'll be full of them. We've gotten some interesting characters on camera. It's in post-production now and will be released very soon.
MDM: Just give me one character story.
TK: Well, Paul and I have been known to accept body parts as payment. That's not really much of a story but it does say something about the person getting the tattoo.
MDM: Ha! Ok, I'll take that! Lets talk more about working at Last Rites. How did you end up at the most famous tattoo studio in the world back in 2002?
TK: Well, I wanted to get out of Chicago and move to New York, so who wouldn't want to work at the most famous shop in the world? [laughs] I'm just glad Paul thought I would fit in although he does say I'm the most fucked up of all of us.
MDM: That's quite a compliment.
TK: He's convinced I'm going to go postal and start sniping people from the roof of the shop. He encourages it, actually.
MDM: I believe it. I've witnessed the noose hanging in the lobby of the studio.
MDM: Did your artwork become sinister there or was it showing signs of going postal itself beforehand?
TK: Actually, it surprised a lot of people that I joined Last Rites as I was mostly known for doing sweet, cutesy things. However, my work has evolved into a darker, more sinister version of that since I started at Last Rites. But ever since I was young, I've been into horror movies and gore. I had a huge collection of Fangoria Magazines when I was in high school. My mom was always concerned because my sketchbooks were filled with gory pictures. So, working at Last Rites has just sort of brought me full circle. Dark and creepy is much more fun to draw than happiness and light.
MDM: Why is that?
TK: It's more interesting to see drama...to witness horror. People don't slow down to look at someone having a picnic, but they do for a car wreck. It's in our nature. We like to see horror if it isn't happening to us.
MDM: You said before why wouldnt anyone want to work at the most famous shop, but some--perhaps with those with ego obstacles--would fear being overshadowed by Paul. How do you answer that?
TK: Everyone's work is different at Last Rites, so we don't really have a competition aspect at the shop. Having Paul as the boss brings lots of people to the website and the shop, but they all look at what else we have to offer, especially since Paul has a pretty hefty waiting list.
MDM: Does he offer advice, opinions on your work, or is he hands off?
TK: He will offer opinions if we seek them. We frequently discuss ideas among ourselves, but he doesn't unless we want it. He trusts us to do quality work, or we wouldn't be there. He's very selective about who works there. We are pretty much a family, and we spend a helluva lot of time doing projects that aren't tattooing. It's very demanding. It's really not just a job. It's pretty much our whole lives.
MDM: You have quite a family on Suicide Girls as well. How long have you been part of it?
TK: I joined SG in February 2003.
MDM: Why?
TK: I think it was mostly because I think naked tattooed girls are the best thing ever. [laughs] The reason I've stayed so long is that I've met all of my best friends on this site. In fact, several of my initial favorites are my best friends. I talk to Twwly and Fractal almost every day and went to both of their weddings last year. Their husbands are very lucky.
MDM: You've been lucky yourself as you've gotten to tattoo many of the women here and have a lot of people viewing your tattoo and painting portfolio in this way.
TK: I have tattooed around 30 SGs and nearly as many members. And I owe it all to my friend Mike, machfive, for convincing me to get a public profile and start being active instead of just anonymously looking at the lovely painted ladies. You don't make friends if you don't come out to play, right? It's usually my instinct to hide in the corner and people watch though. I'm a bit shy.
MDM: I love a lot of the work youve done on many of the women here, like Aminas fabulous--and famous--chest piece.
TK: She's a feisty little swan. Amina gave me several of her prosthetic legs from when she was little when she got tattooed by me. They are among my most prized possessions.
MDM: Then your work also made it to prime time TV with the SG CSI episode Oedipus Hex. So what did you think of your ymonster doppelganger?
TK: The funniest thing about fake Timmy (as Fractal started calling him) is that a lot of people thought he was me. I got a bunch of messages telling me I was great on the show.
MDM: Really, at very first glance, I thought he was you too!
TK: I would have loved to have played myself, but I don't have a SAG card, so I couldn't. I would be a very convincing killer, I think.
MDM: You mean you wanted to get your ass kicked as well?
TK: By Al? Why not? She's hot! Meeting her was one of the highlights of working on the show for me.
MDM: You may not have been on the show but your work was. How was it designing the (faux) tattoo that was the focal point of the episode?
TK: Designing the tattoo was fun. It's a little difficult not knowing exactly how big it needed to be--and dealing with network censors--but it worked out just fine. Apparently, you can't have a tattoo go too far down between a girl's boobs and show it on camera. Though in reality, I would have designed it that way. American TV has been really cracking down on that stuff since Janet Jackson whipped out her tit at the Super Bowl.
MDM: That's interesting. The censors must have been difficult overall for this episode.
TK: It wasn't so bad. No one was naked reallyDammit.
MDM: CSI could be just the beginning for you. Many TV shows and ad agencies are looking to tattooers for design help. Is this something you would consider doing more of?
TK: If they wanted to pay me, I could find the time. It's kinda fun seeing your stuff on TV or in an ad. And it's much better than them just ripping stuff off, which they are prone to doing.
MDM: Good point. I was just wondering, as youve been tattooing now for twelve years, if you see yourself doing it far down the line?
TK: I can't see myself doing anything else...until my hands give out.
MDM: It seems like you work nonstop. Ever afraid of burn out?
TK: I just need a vacation. I love tattooing. It's the main way I interact and get to know new people. I'm a bit of a hermit otherwise.
MDM: How do you envision your future in tattooing? Open your own place again or travel?
TK: At this point, I don't really see myself opening my own shop again. Last Rites is my home. I would like to travel a bit more than I do. I want to see what TV is like in other countries.
Interview by Marisa_DiMattia of Needled.com.
While Tim co-owned his own studio in Chicago with his twin brother James, he left to experience NY life and found himself a home at Paul Booths Last Rites where hes been since 2002. There he tattoos, draws, paints, and is actively involved in projects such as the ArtFusion Experiment, a collaborative art project for tattooers spearheaded by Paul Booth, and MTV Overdrives Tattoo Theater, among others.
As Tim is beloved on SG, I found it fitting to make him our Valentines Day interview.
Marisa DiMattia: I think we should start with the most pressing question of the day: Got anything going for Valentines Day?
Tim Kern: Well, this Valentine's Day, I'm working, and then probably going home and painting...but that's pretty much the same as every other day.
MDM: I see that Last Rites has a gallery show running for the occasion, entitled Dark Hearts and Broken Vows.
TK: The show is really good. There are some amazing artists.
MDM: Theres a new painting of your own on your Suicide Girls page thats really striking. Tell me about it.
TK: It's a mandrake root. It's used in love potions. I thought it thematically appropriate. Especially since it kills you if you aren't careful harvesting it.
MDM: Ah, trying to attract nihilistic art groupies, I see.
TK: Ha! I'm a bitter old man, what can I say?
MDM: Ive actually seen a number of amazing fine art pieces youve done. Outside of tattooing, I assume Paul Booth encourages fine art at Last Rites.
TK: Actively! We have a section of our shop as a dedicated gallery for the Last Rites crew, and Paul likes to keep us producing new art. I just finished that small painting, and I'm working on a big one. It's new to me really, because painting is a medium I find difficult.
MDM: What about your participation with ArtFusion? Has it enhanced your painting skills?
TK: I haven't done that much painting during the times I've done ArtFusion, mostly charcoals, but I definitely feel very inspired every time I get to work with artists I'm not usually around. I like to see how other people work...making art is usually a lonely medium, and with ArtFusion, it has become a family event a lot of times. There's a lot of sharing and getting to know people. It's great, considering tattoo artists are not traditionally the most sharing kind of people. [laughs]
MDM: And with your real family, your twin brother, James Kern, have you ever done a collaborative work with him--painting or even tattoo?
TK: Not really. Now we live on opposite ends of the country, so it makes that sort of thing more difficult. We have had a few people ask us about doing collaborative tattoos, but it hasn't happened yet.
MDM: I guess the separation also avoids the twin confusion.
TK: We do work a lot of the same conventions, though, and that's usually where the confusion happens. [laughs] I don't think we look that similar. His mountain man beard helps.
MDM: I dont either, but for those who dont know you personally, I can see it happening. Did you ever pull any twin stunts when you had your studio in Chicago where you worked together?
TK: Of course not. We're both too anal-retentive for that sort of shenanigans. [evil grin]
MDM: Hmm...I wont press further for your sake. I do think a Kern Brothers collaborative tattoo could be amazing. Your styles are pretty different, but did you influence each other a great deal when you were tattooing together?
TK: We learned a lot from each other in our early years of tattooing, and we have similar approaches to how we work. Just the content and style is a bit different.
MDM: Who do you think has had the greatest influence on your work and signature style?
TK: I find a lot of influence in artists I like. Trevor Brown, Mark Ryden, Sas Christian, Romain Slocombe...And of course I take a lot of influence from the amazing tattoo artists I know as well.
MDM: Do clients play a big role in the direction of your tattoo work or do they show up like me and say, Here's my head, I trust ya?
TK: Ha! You've been through this, so you kinda know. I usually like to have a bit of guidance content-wise, especially if it's someone I don't know well. It's hard for me when someone says do whatever you want. I usually tell them they're going to get something really fucked up if that's what they tell me. Like a little girl eating her baby...umbilicus attached.
MDM: I dont think this interview will help you get a date for Valentines Dayor maybe it actually will. Ok, lets get hypothetical. Say a fictional Suicide Girl offers you her untattooed body to create anything you wanted, what would your dream tattoo be?
TK: I couldn't say. I usually try to come up with something that is appropriate to the individual client. I try to work with their vision, not impose mine on them. I'll save that for canvas.
MDM: Good point. But there are certain tattoos you will NOT do, correct?
TK: Of course. On a personal level, I won't do hateful, racist tattoos, or things I think are stupid or would look like shit. [laughs] And since I work for Last Rites, I won't do any Christian tattoos.
MDM: Really?
TK: We don't do that sort of thing.
MDM: What if its a zombie eating Jesus?
TK: That's different. Blasphemy is fine. It's kinda how we roll.
MDM: Satan's gangstas!
TK: It would be kinda like going into a born-again Christian shop, and asking them to do Jesus fucking Mary in the ass with the crossIt just doesn't happen. But you could get that at our place.
MDM: Too bad my head space is almost filled. Ok, seriously, dont you think the darkness aspect to Last Rites can be intimidating? For example, at conventions, do people shy away from your booth?
TK: I think the dark and creepy aspects do keep some people away, but it makes others come to us. There's a balance. It doesn't keep the right people away. It's like a filter.
MDM: Yes, but that can mean you get some crazies.
TK: That is definitely true.
MDM: Got any good crazies stories?
TK: For that, you'll have to check out the Last Rites DVD when it comes out; it'll be full of them. We've gotten some interesting characters on camera. It's in post-production now and will be released very soon.
MDM: Just give me one character story.
TK: Well, Paul and I have been known to accept body parts as payment. That's not really much of a story but it does say something about the person getting the tattoo.
MDM: Ha! Ok, I'll take that! Lets talk more about working at Last Rites. How did you end up at the most famous tattoo studio in the world back in 2002?
TK: Well, I wanted to get out of Chicago and move to New York, so who wouldn't want to work at the most famous shop in the world? [laughs] I'm just glad Paul thought I would fit in although he does say I'm the most fucked up of all of us.
MDM: That's quite a compliment.
TK: He's convinced I'm going to go postal and start sniping people from the roof of the shop. He encourages it, actually.
MDM: I believe it. I've witnessed the noose hanging in the lobby of the studio.
MDM: Did your artwork become sinister there or was it showing signs of going postal itself beforehand?
TK: Actually, it surprised a lot of people that I joined Last Rites as I was mostly known for doing sweet, cutesy things. However, my work has evolved into a darker, more sinister version of that since I started at Last Rites. But ever since I was young, I've been into horror movies and gore. I had a huge collection of Fangoria Magazines when I was in high school. My mom was always concerned because my sketchbooks were filled with gory pictures. So, working at Last Rites has just sort of brought me full circle. Dark and creepy is much more fun to draw than happiness and light.
MDM: Why is that?
TK: It's more interesting to see drama...to witness horror. People don't slow down to look at someone having a picnic, but they do for a car wreck. It's in our nature. We like to see horror if it isn't happening to us.
MDM: You said before why wouldnt anyone want to work at the most famous shop, but some--perhaps with those with ego obstacles--would fear being overshadowed by Paul. How do you answer that?
TK: Everyone's work is different at Last Rites, so we don't really have a competition aspect at the shop. Having Paul as the boss brings lots of people to the website and the shop, but they all look at what else we have to offer, especially since Paul has a pretty hefty waiting list.
MDM: Does he offer advice, opinions on your work, or is he hands off?
TK: He will offer opinions if we seek them. We frequently discuss ideas among ourselves, but he doesn't unless we want it. He trusts us to do quality work, or we wouldn't be there. He's very selective about who works there. We are pretty much a family, and we spend a helluva lot of time doing projects that aren't tattooing. It's very demanding. It's really not just a job. It's pretty much our whole lives.
MDM: You have quite a family on Suicide Girls as well. How long have you been part of it?
TK: I joined SG in February 2003.
MDM: Why?
TK: I think it was mostly because I think naked tattooed girls are the best thing ever. [laughs] The reason I've stayed so long is that I've met all of my best friends on this site. In fact, several of my initial favorites are my best friends. I talk to Twwly and Fractal almost every day and went to both of their weddings last year. Their husbands are very lucky.
MDM: You've been lucky yourself as you've gotten to tattoo many of the women here and have a lot of people viewing your tattoo and painting portfolio in this way.
TK: I have tattooed around 30 SGs and nearly as many members. And I owe it all to my friend Mike, machfive, for convincing me to get a public profile and start being active instead of just anonymously looking at the lovely painted ladies. You don't make friends if you don't come out to play, right? It's usually my instinct to hide in the corner and people watch though. I'm a bit shy.
MDM: I love a lot of the work youve done on many of the women here, like Aminas fabulous--and famous--chest piece.
TK: She's a feisty little swan. Amina gave me several of her prosthetic legs from when she was little when she got tattooed by me. They are among my most prized possessions.
MDM: Then your work also made it to prime time TV with the SG CSI episode Oedipus Hex. So what did you think of your ymonster doppelganger?
TK: The funniest thing about fake Timmy (as Fractal started calling him) is that a lot of people thought he was me. I got a bunch of messages telling me I was great on the show.
MDM: Really, at very first glance, I thought he was you too!
TK: I would have loved to have played myself, but I don't have a SAG card, so I couldn't. I would be a very convincing killer, I think.
MDM: You mean you wanted to get your ass kicked as well?
TK: By Al? Why not? She's hot! Meeting her was one of the highlights of working on the show for me.
MDM: You may not have been on the show but your work was. How was it designing the (faux) tattoo that was the focal point of the episode?
TK: Designing the tattoo was fun. It's a little difficult not knowing exactly how big it needed to be--and dealing with network censors--but it worked out just fine. Apparently, you can't have a tattoo go too far down between a girl's boobs and show it on camera. Though in reality, I would have designed it that way. American TV has been really cracking down on that stuff since Janet Jackson whipped out her tit at the Super Bowl.
MDM: That's interesting. The censors must have been difficult overall for this episode.
TK: It wasn't so bad. No one was naked reallyDammit.
MDM: CSI could be just the beginning for you. Many TV shows and ad agencies are looking to tattooers for design help. Is this something you would consider doing more of?
TK: If they wanted to pay me, I could find the time. It's kinda fun seeing your stuff on TV or in an ad. And it's much better than them just ripping stuff off, which they are prone to doing.
MDM: Good point. I was just wondering, as youve been tattooing now for twelve years, if you see yourself doing it far down the line?
TK: I can't see myself doing anything else...until my hands give out.
MDM: It seems like you work nonstop. Ever afraid of burn out?
TK: I just need a vacation. I love tattooing. It's the main way I interact and get to know new people. I'm a bit of a hermit otherwise.
MDM: How do you envision your future in tattooing? Open your own place again or travel?
TK: At this point, I don't really see myself opening my own shop again. Last Rites is my home. I would like to travel a bit more than I do. I want to see what TV is like in other countries.
Interview by Marisa_DiMattia of Needled.com.
VIEW 23 of 23 COMMENTS
so amazing.
They're both super nice guys!