jeblog

Borf lives!

Over the weekend I went to a party to raise money for various causes (Hurricane Katrina relief, the protests coming up this weekend). There was a spray-painting workshop, which I missed, which was a pity because the name "Borf" was mentioned in the literature, and that piqued my interest.

I blogged about the once-ubiquitous Borf on July 14. He got himself arrested and, presumably, went out of business. Or so I thought.

I've seen his tag line around town (on a mailbox a couple blocks from here, in fact) and I assume other graffiti artists are taking up his moniker and his cause. I'm guessing the organizers of the workshop I missed are part of that crew.

I missed the workshop, but I did get to do a little graffiti myself! Nothing illegal, mind you. There was a sheet of plastic up--to be carried in the march on Saturday--and spray paint cans, and everyone was invited to make their "tag."

My first thought was to put up a quote from William Blake. I thought a proverb from Hell would be best, but all I could think of at the moment was "The road to excess leads to the palace of wisdom," but that didn't seem appropriate.

I ended up painting a white lotus of peace. At least, that's what I intended: it was more like a white blob. Anyway, I knew my intention, and I believe the intention alwasy is somehow, mysteriously, communicated anyway.

I also found some xerox copies of the famous (or infamous) Borf face! I guess it was meant for folks to take one, cut it out as a stencil, and add it to the public art space of DC. One person did it and painted Borf's face on the plastic, but it didn't come out very well.

I scanned the picture and offer it here.

Perhaps someone out there in blog land can do a better job. And I'm not advocating illegal activity. I found a suggestion in some "tagging" literature at the party: you can actually use chalk to do stenciling. You just crush it up, put a roller in it, and roll it across a spot sprayed with adhesive. It washes away with water, so I'm pretty sure it's legal. Or just paint it on your wall at home.

Have fun being Borf, those who want to try it...

Posted by jeb at September 20, 2005 8:38 PM | TrackBack