Who I Am
I am a multimedia literary-based artist. My portfolio incorporates the written, spoken, or performed word with installation, photography, digital media, and analog visual art. I incorporate the ethos of creative nonfiction into everything I create: what I write is true and real, even when it incorporates broad spectrum artistic techniques.
Why I Do What I Do
I make art because I need to. I write because if I didn’t, the words would spill out of my ears, and the thoughts could drown us all. I sell things to survive. When you support me, you’re supporting a one-person production shop, working tirelessly to make art and storytelling accessible and novel.
My Name
I wrote poetry, fiction, and academic and technical articles under my given name. Since beginning to livestream in 2020, I have used TinhatBobcat as my primary moniker. Most folk call me Tinhat. Today, I publish and display under the name Cesare “Che” Fonzino. Why? See for yourself.
My Background
I entered university as a journalism student and Air Force cadet. I left an archaeologist, anthropologist, and published historian. I taught music, photography, and digital art for Apple before becoming a full-time professional writer in 2019. I am an active member of the Upper Midwest zine and comic scene and a long-time low-brow rockabilly.
Awards & Honors
Honors Distinction, College of DuPage, 2025
Budlovski Award (Best Piece, “Woad”), November 2025
Glen & Anita Dickson Scholarship (Venice Biennale), October 2025
Hero Helping Heroes Award (Outstanding Contributions to COVID-19 Response Documentation), Epic Systems Corporation, 2021
Cum Laude, University of Missouri, 2017
Bachelor of Arts Honors Distinction, University of Missouri, 2017
DeVries Fellow, American Center for Oriental Research, University of Chicago, 2015
Kinder Fellow (Founding), Kinder Forum on Constitutional Democracy, University of Missouri, 2014
Project: Global Officer Award, San Diego State University, 2013
National Society of Pershing Rifles Inductee, 2012
Arnold Air Society Inductee, 2012
Air Force In-College Scholarship Award, 2012
Galleries & Publications
Woad, College of Dupage, installation, December 2025
“Woad”, Prairie Light Review, Fall Edition, November 2025
“Spaghetti Western Jisei”, Prairie Light Review, Fall Edition, 2025
“First Friends”, A Sense of Play, Union Street Gallery, installation, October-November 2025
“My Body is an Altar”, A Sense of Play, Union Street Gallery, installation, October-November 2025
King of All the Arabs, University of Missouri Press, 2017
"American Imperial Rhetoric”, Democracy: Within & Abroad, #1, Kinder Forum on Constitutional Democracy, 2014
