Still Bombing the System

The past few years have seen a rampant abundance of graffiti-oriented documentaries all failing to add a worthy second chapter to the late Tony Silver’s and Henry Chalfant’s groundbreaking classic, Style Wars. Jon Reiss comes closest of all to achieving this formidable goal with his new documentary screened twice at SF Indie Fest, Bomb It, an ambitious production that draws the lineage of graffiti art from the original New York wildstyle lettering to the global explosion of the culture.

Reiss first takes us back to the streets of the legendary birth of bombing in 1967 Philadelphia, where Cornbread recounts the story of achieving fame in a local penitentiary by writing his nom de plume all over the cells. After his release, Cornbread took the scrawling tactics to the streets with dreams of going all-city followed by the likes of Taki 183, a messenger in New York, who scribbled on the trains running through the five boroughs. A feature article in the Times asked the city “Who is Taki183?” and then, it all blew up.

Situating the tradition of bombing during the Carter era of benign neglect in the dilapidated war zone streets of the Bronx, Reiss gives us the social background to track graffiti’s momentous expansion to cosmopolitan centers around the world. Youth from a myriad of backgrounds expressed the same principle motivation for their adrenaline packed bombing lifestyles; the culture gives a voice to the unheard, the painting gives visibility to the invisible. In the darkness of Paris’ outskirt projects, members of the Mac Crew provide a precise formulation of this reasoning by reinterpreting a well-known French philosopher, chanting in unison “I bomb, therefore I am.”

Throughout the film Reiss captures compelling views on the relationship between the urban landscape and the graffiti that develops within that space, not merely as surface level decoration but as an evolving life form correlative to the city's own evolution. In Paris, Blek le Rat drew from the energy of NY writing culture and adapted the form appropriately to the context of Parisian architecture and history. He originated stencil street art, plastering rats, "the only urban animal with real freedom," throughout the cityscape.

Similarly enraptured by NY train art, Brazilian bomber Nunca reinterpreted lettering within the tall, chaotic structures of Sao Paulo, by making the lines of the letters taller, clearer, and elongated. In Los Angeles, bombers conquered the sprawling car oriented urban geography by daringly throwing up boldfaced pieces while hanging over freeway overpasses and taking over the fronts and backs of larger than life billboards.

Reiss succeeds in skillfully avoiding the clichés discussed in other graffiti documentaries concerning vapid distinctions between public and private space and commercial versus graffiti art. He continually prompts the audience to think critically about these issues.

Bombers around the world offered insight on how corporations and rich developers with private interests control public space. Corporations brand culture oftentimes with painfully violating images forced onto citizens without consent at the same time that developers play a significant role in gentrifying cities into cookie cutter, stale neighborhoods bludgeoned with straight edged boutiques and condos.

Reiss emphasizes that the activity of bombing opens up an interactive space with the objects, buildings and people in a city that is not governed by the market forces of consumption and production. It brings to life the urban space with the playfulness of everyday people who walk its concrete streets. While as corporations try to sell products with their advertisements, graffiti artists are seeking only to express themselves.

However, many people see graffiti as a sign that the system is losing control. Politicians suggest that bombing is a gateway crime into robbery and homicide while sociologists point to the “Broken Windows Theory” to claim that graffiti is the first step in a neighborhood’s thorough self-depreciation into a gang infested, prostitution saturated, killing zone. These kids are vandals who want to own the streets! Graffiti is thereby denoted one of the major "quality of life" crimes, since it makes the average citizen feel uncomfortable. These theories seem so cluelessly outdated to the Mayor Koch NY days, but they are still alive and thriving today.

The question remains - how are graffiti artists more criminal than the corporations and developers who post up underwear ads or build condominium buildings without the community’s approval? Whose quality of life do these products, lifestyles, and luxury homes uphold? Who gets excluded by their narrow vision of contemporary urban life? This battle is bigger than one might expect by just looking at a neighborhood tag on the corner news stand.

The increasing criminalization of graffiti with absurdly long jail sentences, and in California, the possibility of 25 years incarceration due to the three strikes law, goes to show who is winning this battle. On an inspiring note, Reiss closes the film with a war cry from KRS1 who calls us to reclaim public space and bomb the fuck out of the system. Word.

Critical note:

While the documentary addresses serious debates and compelling issues in the graffiti world, it oftentimes loses its focus submerged in fast-paced sensational editing and spasmodic superimposed animations. The audience really could do without animations of letters becoming alive on the screen complemented by kung fu sound effects or cartoon narrations of an interviewee’s story that horribly distracts from the very content of the story itself! Even though these chopped up A.D.D. style animations were thrilling, as Reiss was seeking to visibly reconstruct the vibrant energy of graffiti lifestyles, they make, at times, the documentary seem laughable and oversaturated with noise.

The reason for these MTV inspired antics is that Reiss has a history as a music video director.

If you missed Bomb It this past week, it will be screening again in SF Apr 10-14 at Red Vic's.