M.River was born in Iowa in 1967. After some time he moved to Ohio where he met his friend T. Whid in art school. After a bit of time in a Michigan grad school, M. River began his life as an artist in the then untamed outbacks of Brooklyn, NY. In Brooklyn, he rejoined his friend T. Whid (around 1997 or so) and together they began the collaboration known as MTAA.

When not working as a Net / Conceptual / Early 21st Century American Artist, M. River works as a carpenter at a "world class museum" to pay his bills. M. River may be the only Net Artist in the world to have received his forklift operator license from the National Safety Council. When not making art or building walls, M.River enjoys music, camping, the beaches of Long Island, Rolling Rock beer (no endorsement, it's not that great a beer) and bicycling the streets of New York.

M. River's five favorite topics for online chat currently are:

1. I still belive in Net Art
2. Classism in contemporary America
3. Painters
4. Para-Normal Architecture
5. Text as art

T. Whid was born and raised near Lake Erie in Northern Ohio. After a stint in art school, he relocated to Brooklyn, NYC. During the early 90s, T. Whid was involved with underground comix. His work, created with the poet Chistie Haag, was published in zines like "World War 3", "Bloody Wymen" and "Top Shelf". T. Whid also co-edited and co-published the short lived Brooklyn comix anthology "Burger". Around this time T. Whid also designed and painted a large cartoon mural at the Bronx roller rink "The Key". This mural is enjoyed by thousands of skaters each year.

In 1997, T. Whid, with his friend, M. River, formed the on-going art collaboration MTAA (M.River & T.Whid Art Associates). During the daytime T. Whid works at an on-line media company as a graphic designer. When not at his job or creating art with MTAA, T.Whid enjoys music, watching movies, bicycling the streets of NYC, fine dining, and playing Unreal Tournament and chess.