Borf

Borf was a graffiti campaign seen in and around Washington, D.C. during 2004 and 2005, carried out by John Tsombikos while studying at the Corcoran College of Art and Design. This four letter word was ubiquitous around the Northwest quadrant of Washington, and ranged from simple tagging to complete sentences to two-color stencils to the massive defacement on an overhead exit sign from the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge to Constitution Avenue.cite web
url = http://www.dcist.com/archives/2005/04/19/borfs_magnum_op_1.php
title = Borf's Magnum Opus?
accessdate = 2007-03-11
date = April 19, 2005
work = DCist
language = English] Tsombikos was arrested July 13, 2005 after tips led police to his latest tag.cite news
first = Libby
last = Copeland
title = The Mark Of Borf
url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/13/AR2005071302448.html
work = The Washington Post
page = C01
date = July 14, 2005
accessdate = 2007-03-11
language = English ]

The graffiti was also reported to have appeared in New York City, San Francisco, ["Borf on the West Coast?", DCist.com [http://www.dcist.com/archives/2005/04/13/borf_on_the_wes.php] ] Raleigh, North Carolina, ["'Borf' is watching us," Raleigh News & Observer [http://www.newsobserver.com/928/story/324689.html] ] ["Arrest may end artist's spree," Raleigh News & Observer [http://www.newsobserver.com/928/story/230481.html] ] Rome, Italy, ["The Borf Saga Continues... In Rome," DCist.com [http://www.dcist.com/archives/2005/09/07/the_borf_saga_c.php] ] and elsewhere. ["Borf goes global," DCist.com [http://www.dcist.com/archives/2006/10/12/borf_goes_globa.php] ]

Rationale

The campaign attracted widespread attention without explaining its motivations. According to Tsombikos's mother and subsequent Borf communiqués, both the nickname "Borf" and the Borf face were references to Bobby Fisher, a close friend of Tsombikos' who had committed suicide. [Borf Brigade interview on Dissonance Radio [http://dissonance.libsyn.com/] ] In a video shown on July 29, 2006, the Borf Brigade – a group claiming responsibility for the graffiti spree – asserted that capitalism and the culture of aesthetics created the alienation and feelings of worthlessness that caused the 16-year-old to commit suicide. The group said that they used other peoples' property to commemorate and pay homage to their deceased friend. The graffiti usually had overtones of youth liberation.cite web
url = http://visualresistance.org/wordpress/2006/08/14/borf-brigade-communique/
title = Borf Brigade Communique
accessdate = 2007-03-11
date = August 14, 2006
publisher = visualresistance.org
language = English]

Court appearance

Approximately four months after his arrest, Tsombikos appeared before the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. His paint-stained coat, which resembled one that he wore in Libby Copeland's July 14 "Washington Post" article (published after his arrest), was declared evidence by the judge and handed over to the prosecution.

On December 12, 2005, Tsombikos agreed to plead guilty to one count of felony destruction of property. He also agreed to perform community service (cleaning up graffiti) and to pay $12,000 in restitution. Judge Leibovitz ordered him to stay out of the District except for court appearances and classes at the Corcoran College of Art and Design.

On February 9, 2006, Tsombikos was sentenced to 30 days in the D.C. jail, with an additional 17 months suspended, as well as the community service and restitution specified in his plea agreement. At his sentencing, the judge said, "You profess to despise rich people. You profess to despise the faceless, nameless forms of government that oppress. That's what you've become. That's what you are. You're a rich kid who comes into Washington and defaces property because you feel like it. It's not fair. It's not right."cite news
first = Henri
last = Cauvin
title = Borf Gets Month in Jail And Rebuke for Graffiti
url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/09/AR2006020902273.html
work = The Washington Post
page = B09
date = February 10, 2006
accessdate = 2007-06-25
language = English ]

Communiqués

At a Dupont Circle event after Borf's arrest, young people distributed spray paint and anarchist pamphlets. ["A Borf-in at Dupont Circle", DCist.com [http://www.dcist.com/archives/2005/07/24/a_borf-in_at_du.php] ] The following was distributed as a "communiqué" at the event:

On July 29, 2006, a group of young people calling themselves the "Borf Brigade" held a march in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, and projected a "video communiqué" on a wall in which a young woman wearing a Zapatista-style face mask read a statement labeling Tsombikos a "minor Borfist" and announced that he had been "purged" from the group.cite web
url = http://visualresistance.org/wordpress/2006/08/14/borf-brigade-communique/
title = Borf Brigade Communique
accessdate = 2007-03-11
date = August 14, 2006
publisher = visualresistance.org
language = English] The video also said,

Consolation of Ruin art show

In April 2007, wheat-pasted posters announcing a "BORF SHOW" slated for the weekends of May 18-20 and May 25-27 began appearing around Washington. The location was "The Bobby Fisher Memorial Building" at 1644 North Capitol Street NW. [Borfyou.com [http://borfyou.com/] ] [Borf Brigade interview on Dissonance Radio [http://dissonance.libsyn.com/] ] cite news
first = Libby
last = Copeland
title = The Borf Brigade Takes It Inside
url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/24/AR2007052402465.html
work = The Washington Post
page = C01
date = May 25, 2007
accessdate = 2007-05-29
language = English ]

The show, called "Consolation of Ruin" and sponsored by philanthropist Chuck Burgundy, included sculptures showing one person hanging from the ceiling and three working to make a graffiti tag. Photo flip books showed three people working to make a graffiti piece. A number of the original stencils used in the graffiti campaign were on display.cite news
first = Mike
last = Flugennock
title = Borf Brigade's "Consolation Of Ruin" Opens at Bobby Fisher Memorial Building
url = http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/139148/index.php
publisher = DC Indymedia
date = May 21, 2007
accessdate = 2007-05-29
language = English ]

References

External links

* [http://www.borfyou.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.visualresistance.org/wordpress/?p=94 Borf Interview "Visual Resistance"] March 12, 2005
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/22/AR2005072202231.html "We're all Borf in the end," "The Washington Post"] July 24, 2005
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/borf "Photos tagged with borf"] www.flickr.com
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/23/AR2005112302196.html?sub=AR "Borf Artist Dresses the Part for Court Appearance," "The Washington Post"] November 24, 2005
* [http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/special/2006/borf0203.html "Borf Moves Up the East Coast," "Washington City Paper"] February 3, 2006
* [http://www.google.com/custom?domains=DCist.com&q=borf&sa=GO&sitesearch=DCist.com&client=pub-6614671546553649&forid=1&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&cof=GALT%3A%23333333%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23336699%3BVLC%3A666666%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3AF0EFEF%3BALC%3A0000FF%3BLC%3A0000FF%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT%3A0000FF%3BGIMP%3A0000FF%3BLH%3A50%3BLW%3A174%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.DCist.com%2Fimages%2FDCist.gif%3BS%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.DCist.com%3BFORID%3A1%3B&hl=en List of DCist articles on Borf]
* [http://www.robotswillkill.com/graffiti/showgraff.php?artist_id=1908 Pictures of Borf's Graffiti]
* [http://dissonance.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=215337 Interview with John Tsombikos and the Borf Brigade on Dissonance Radio, May 15, 2007]
* [http://www.schuminweb.com/schumin-web/life-and-times/2007/borf-1.php The Schumin Web: Consolation of Ruin]