January 10, 2005
Who is BORF?
You've seen it around town: a stencil of a smiling face labled "BORF," sometimes accompanied with a quirky statements. The work of the enigmatic Borf can be seen along U Street, in Adams Morgan, in the West End, Foggy Bottom, in Georgetown, and even at least one in Virginia. Just who is behind the graffiti?
While we still haven't met him, a little internet snooping has unearthed some clues.
His has sparked a post on Craigslist's rant and rave secion, and a reply which points to this usenet posting which says in geek-speak to "borf" someone is to "To uncerimoniously disconnect someone from a system without prior warning." Our trusty standby the Urban Dictionary has a significantly different definition, claiming it refers to a mental state of nirvana achieved through unsavory means.
His sheer volume has sparked some resentment, one Flickr user even posted some anti-borf graffiti.
|
| Examples of Borf graffiti. From top right: graffiti on a sign on K Street between Georgetown and Washington Circle, a Borf stencil on a lightpost on the same street, a message on a garbage can south of Dupont Circle on 20th Street, and his pirate flag stencil on a cement wall outside the West End D.C. public library. All DCist photos by Rob Goodspeed |
First, rather than being enigmatic it appears Borf himself has an account on a website called stencil revolution, where he's posted a number of examples of his work in a gallery. The site's members in general review his work highly and post comments and requests. A user going by the name Boon posted last Friday on one post, "i see your stuff everywhere in DC its amazing ... please put more stuff on the key bridge for us loser virginians to amuse ourselves with as we cross it every morning ..." and Borf himself replying on Saturday, "will do! ill do one just for you within the next week."
All of this is interesting, however it doesn't say much about the identity of our graffiti artist friend. A post on this DCist's personal blog uncovered some intriguing claims. "i see him in new york, north carolina, richmond, maryland, dc, and even in bloomington, indiana," wrote one commenter. "Meghan" contributed the following:
I heard BORF is just some traveler kid that drifts around the east coast. They say he faked his death to get away from all the bullshit he had to put up with like school and work and all that, and now hes just putting up his face everywhere he goes to let people know he’s still alive. I don’t know if that’s true, but a friend of mine saw him putting up a sticker in adams morgan and talked to him about it. She said that’s what he told her. She also said he was the craziest kid she’d ever met!
Whomever he is, Borf is merely a graffiti fad when compared to some of the legends of D.C.'s graffiti history. For more information on that we suggest checking out Free Agents: A History of Washington, D.C. Graffiti, which includes information about the infamous Cool Disco Dan the most famous writer in D.C. history. The scene seems to have cooled recently, and some writer's work was even featured in a Georgetown art gallery in 2001.
|
I thought those were pictures of Jerry O'Connel put up by some super-insane Sliders fan. Guess not....
after seeing this stuff on key bridge for several months during my daily run, i've decided the face of this guy looks just like scott peterson. check it out.
I thought it was Jerry O'Connell too. Is this guerilla marketing for "Crossing Jordan"?
It's true. Borf is Jerry O'Connell. That's his orgasm face.
i dig BORF
does Borf also paint the stenciled guerillas?
Borf is incredible. I passed him on the corner of piney branch and aspen every day. It was like seeing an old friend. Then someone painted over him!! i was so upset i wish he would come back there again!
It's been less than a year since i've been seeing BORF popping up everywhere. I think it's way too premature to be calling BORF "a fad."
more BORF pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/glueslabs/sets/86051/
YUID
Here is a better article in the Raleigh News & Observer about Borf:
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/2078610p-8458533c.html
that stencil is absolute replica of my boyfriend. i kid you not the resemblece is uncanny
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v487/leftcoastenvy7/DSC04699.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v487/leftcoastenvy7/cody1.png -a younger one. but i'm not kidding it is so him
if it's not i'd love to know who it is
According to the grafitti near my Woodley Park apt., Borf writes letters to my children. Hope he's providing them with some good life lessons -- or at the very least some good websites to safely download mp3s.
borf i heard was none of the above.. his best friend was suffering emotional depression and commited suicide in '03 and now he is trying to live on his spirit by placing his face everywhere and BORF stands for his anitials... thats what i heard
I found Borf when I visited DC in January. I think this was on 19th about a block west of the Octagon House.
http://www.dailynugget.com/images/2004_Borf_800.php
borf is becoming a legend i hope 2 meet him soon...for us graffiti artists got 2 watch out for each other..you dig...
the stencil character is of borf's friend who killed himself two years ago.
I've posted another recent example of Borf graffiti at the link below. I wonder if these silver-penned sayings are the same Borf. It's a departure in style. When Cool "Disco" Dan was huge he sparked plenty of copy cats too, each with their own noteworthy variations.
cityscape page
I've seen a number of blue-penned ones as well. The simply say "BORF" with no stencil or message. I assumed they were just copy-cats. Saw two between 14th and Vermont along the north side of U, and another around 16th and P. And a silver one downtown on 7th and Jefferson.
I think 'BORF' is the reincarnation of Cool 'Disco' Dan.
I saw a "BORF is good for digestion" one today. I think it was in Cleveland Park.
Borf was in Berkeley, CA, recently. Nice portrait stencil in front of Pegasus Books on Durant at Shattuck, and the same one on Telegraph. Also a creepy mail threat on a mail depository.. He's got balls for sure, seeing that Berkeley crawls with cops.
good interview with BORF at visualresistance.org
BORF is up all over San Fransisco in the last two weeks.
7 foot tall stencil of a kid with a sledge hammer bashing in a wall. Some of the best BORF shit ever!
you guys are stupid... i knew borf... you dont... i will not tell you anymore of what or where he is... but only to say that he is everywhere and thought about only by the people who understood the meaning of borf... hippies
Holy crap...have you seen the chalk Borf above the COsi on Connecticut and R...its 6 feet tall by 10 feet long...damn
Borf is better than bush. art over war. capitialist bastards. $laves the all of you. chase that paper . . .
bitches
i've seen trails of borf on belle isle in richmond virginia with the quotes "there are reasons we don't say 'just adulting'" as well as "borf kills grown-ups." this prompted me to buy a puppy and name him borf. then just earlier today i saw another sign of borf in athens, ohio at the ohio university. so awesome. i have pictures, email me.
Hits DC again, coming in to town via 66, half a highway sign. Wish I had my camera!
Hilarious. This is merely just some blown out of proportion facination with some "thing" that merely catches your eye for a quick second. BORF is not a graffiti artist. BORF is a rip-off 18 year old kid who's reeled all you in. Cool Disco Dan was a master. Free Agents is also a book who's main purpose was to capitalize off of graffiti and to push it into mainstream media. Roger Gastman, a la While You Were Sleeping magazine, began to glorify graffiti in DC last decade. Now we see traces of graff in commercials, print ads, and hip Urban Outfitters clothing lines. Use some imagination people - think for yourselves! BORF is a toy and his ego will only get fed if you allow it to. Again, he's an 18 year old toy with no appreciation for graffiti whatsoever. Great, why don't you all continue to suck on Shepard Fairy's balls while you're at it? You know you have been! Graff isn't about getting rich quick or how much you can get up. This kids a biter in every sense of the word...
hahahaha: you're past tense. Herb. Get up, or shut the fuck up.
hahahahaha is a fucking wanker. Who does Borf bite? The only reason people pay any attention to him is because he's different and original and everywhere. You're probably just some jealous 18 year old kid that is frustrated at your own lame attempts to get attention. And since when has graffiti not been about "how much you can get up?" You're a fucking toy. Where do you think all the fascination with Cool Disco Dan came from??? From his ubiquity, dumb shit.
What is Borf capitalizing on? Has he sold anything? Does he do Nike ads or work for urban outfitters? You dont know what you're talking about. "Get up, or shut the fuck up." !!!
I live in DC, and BORF "works" in my neighborhood, and I have to say that I am not a fan.
borf (a borf, anyway) recently did cardozo high school on Clifton between 11th and 13th along with 'Laze' and 'Object'. It said 'for the kids!' next to it. Cool. I saw the same grouping near 16th and U.
Also that half sign coming in from 66 was awesome.
http://wusatv9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=39378
Borf, like the majority of grafitti "artists," is just a bored suburban kid (albeit not one from here) who thinks he's expressing himself by getting high, listening to Jay-Z and Against Me!, then making a mess of walls and boxes in a cash-strapped municipality that he knows is going to spend money on cleaning up his garbage instead of on, say, job-training programs.
I have a proposal for people who dislike Borf as much as I do: get a bunch of stickers, print FUCK on them, and slap them over his crap. If he wants to make "art" in a public forum, on public property, he should expect some public criticism.
Haters to the side borf is crushing dc proper!!! all debate is over, unless you get up shut up!
I love seeing BORF! You never know where he'll pop up! For a long time I wondered what he was supposed to be - and in reading here there seem to be a million "urban legend" type explanations of who he is and why he does this. Does it really matter? It's funny!
Borf is fighting for our rights, our freedom of speech and expression. He is proving to everyone that stolen land belongs to NOBODY.
Modern aerosol graffiti was born in the subways of NYC, but now that the trains are buffed the graffiti moved onto the streets. Now it is all about damage and BOMBING: CREATIVE DESTRUCTION. We wanna show the world our art, but there are those who want to lock us up, and why? because
EVERYTHING WE SEE IS COMMERCIALIZED FOR SELLING A PRODUCT.
Borf is just giving you a gift and he is dedicating a lot of time to do it for everyone, when was the last time you corporate slaves did that un-selfish? Borf is an artist in the fullest sense, he lives his art. You will soon understand what Borf's message is. He will reveal everything. All is going according to his plan. He will always be one step ahead of all you blind spectators. STYLE WARS is a great movie about graffiti. If you want to see the real roots of real hip hop check out www.stylewars.com . Borf wishes he could wage a real STYLE war, but he is constantly chased by wannabe neighborhood heros, and pastry consuming police cops.
Borf loves you and he just wants everyone to be heard, he is fueled by peace and freedom of expression. Don't hate, congratulate. Besides what the fuck is DC good for besides stupid, clubs (people who go to clubs are just fakes who pay for a horn dog, phony ass atmosphere with bullshit ear pollution music, fags be flossing fashion, everyone don't give a fuck about the government cus you assholes are getting fucked up, aborting yourselves). . . anyways you yuppie pieces of shit disgust me. back to the subject . . . DC is good for its fake ass night life, the hookers on K street,and it's monuments to the SLAVE MASTERS, and the enslaved inhabitants of a swampland with no representation in congress.
Maybe BORF is trying to give something positive to this city, the symbol of our country, you will never understand the passion that goes into his work that he does for FREE.
We talk to the people LIVING on the STREETS. THEY SLEEP IN FRONT OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD STARBUCKS. We have mad love for the opressed, we told them how the government rules with stolen knowledge and misseducation. ARTISTS REPRESENT THE WORLD, WHAT WE DO FOR FREE, YOU TAKE AND TAX FOR A FEE. For those of you who have read this up to this point: Realize that this "blogging" is just a fake, electronic version of what Borf does. Borf doesn't what you to be confined to limitations. He thinks people should express themselves to as many people as possible, that way we hold no secrets, secrets make people feel uncomfortable, for some people have selfish intentions.
He doens't want you to give up your dream to work for someone else's. Fuck money, you chase that shit like your life depends on it. Borf wants people to be free of dependencies or addictions. He wants to give everyone the freedom of reality.
We are not hippies and we are not black panthers, politicians or thugs . . . we are WRITERS and ARTISTS, and lovers of freedom. We think that if the world were more creative there'd be less destruction. Art is the opposite of war, and we just ask why people seek to use weapons instead of words? why death instead life? We fight for the health of the planet. Fuck global warming, nuclear weapons, and unfair laws. We have just realized the bullshit and we are doing something with our love instead of our hate. This goes deeper than your 9 to 5, we are all about individuality, and peace. If your not going to do something nice don't do it at all, but if you do something nice you gotta go ALL out. Don't leave one word responses, write a fucking book.
If you have read up until this point, i commend you, for the media hasn't shortened your attention span to that of a 5 year old on a sugar high. Hope this hasn't wasted your precious time/money.
the "f" in life stands for fun, take it out and live a lie.
all i am saying is: Do not HATE on BORF, DO NOT hate ON GRAFFITI. Graffiti is free public art. If you see graffiti you don't like then do something over it. nothing is stopping you besides fear and laziness.
an absent canvas = an absent mind.
the resolution(not revolution) is coming. You will like art. art will love you.
I just visited Greece, and found Borf at the foot of the Acropolis.
I'll be posting a pic to http://raptor.slc.edu/~locks/blogred/photos in the next 1-2 weeks (including a navigational sign in Greek).
Cool Disco Dan is THE graffitti artist. BORF or all the Borfs who claim to be Borf are just WANNABEs as far as I'm concerned.
U dumbass, THE graffiti writer? shut the fuck up hipster piece of shit. He does the same shit over and over a again, so fuck you. Do something toy.
STYYYYLE MUTHA FUCKERS
Borf is ill so your concern DON'T MEAN SHI-ET.
Lornz, are you drunk?
Police Hope They Have Stopped BORF Graffiti
Three Men Arrested For Spray-Painting Buildings
POSTED: 4:46 pm EDT July 13, 2005
WASHINGTON -- The graffiti has become legendary around the District and on the Internet, but police are hoping they have put a stop to BORF's creations.
Early Wednesday morning, police arrested three men who witnesses say were spray-painting buildings on 7th Street in Northwest. All three are facing charges of defacing property.
Two of the suspects are from Great Falls, Va. Police have identified them as Richard Lee and John Tsombikos.
The third man refused to tell police his identity.
BORF's creations have dotted the George Washington campus and have popped up in parts of Columbia Heights, Ledroit Park and other places around the city. BORF's works also have been spotted in New York; Raleigh, N.C.; and Athens, Greece.
My friend and I are trying to raise some money for BORF's defense. If you're interested in contributing we're trying to gauge interest via replies to this craigslist post so that we can set a fundraising goal. We'll be doing that via fundable.org.
I left a message for the person I hope is his mom a few minutes ago. If you have any solid contact information please email me -- this won't work unless we can transfer the money to him. Thanks!
Address is: helpborf at gmail dot com.
We have some borf work behind my office building in McLean. I always thought it was donnie darko....
BORF was some rich little brat living off mommy and and daddy's money. I hope that piece of shit rots in jail. let the little piece of shit earn some money before going out and destroying what other have made. All he does is live off his parents while regurgitating a bunch of crap he heard somewhere
Ok all you people better fucking listen right now...."Borf" is only a nickname that was given to the best fucking kid in the world. His name was Robert Leeroy Fisher III.(A.K.A Bobby) He was born in 7/12/87 and died 10/22/03. John (the one that did all the graffiti) is just very upset about his death thats why he has put his name everywhere. If you guys have n e more questions just e-mail me at punx4lifeg36@yahoo.com
I'm glad the first douche bag ORF is dead and hopefully the second one will be soon. Either that or getting slammed in the butt in jail. Let that little rich bitch learn a lesson. beofre mouthing off he ought to learn how to live in the rela world not off mommy and daddy's money!!
Rich Bitch: Seriously? You're glad a teenager committed suicide? You don't want to rethink that statement at all?