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. Tsombikos was arrested on July 13, 2005 after tips led police to his latest tag.

The graffiti was also reported to have appeared in New York City, San Francisco,Raleigh, North Carolina,Rome, Italy, and elsewhere.

In 2009, director Paris Bustillos created a documentary film about the campaign entitled Borf!.

The campaign attracted widespread attention without first explaining its motivations. According to Tsombikos and subsequent Borf communiqués, both the nickname "Borf" and the Borf face belonged to Bobby Fisher, a close friend of Tsombikos' who had committed suicide. In a video shown on July 29, 2006, the Borf Brigade – the group claiming responsibility for the graffiti spree – asserted that capitalism and the culture of aesthetics created alienation and feelings of worthlessness that contributed to the 16-year-old's 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 anti-authority sentiments and youth liberation.

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.

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