In Graffiti, a “Writer” Is Not Just an Artist, and “Bombing” Is Tagging

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

My name is James McInvale. I’m calling from here in Dallas, Texas.

Welcome.

Welcome to the program.

Thank you so much. Nice to be on the program.

What can we do you for?

I had been listening to the show previously, and I heard you guys ask for people to call in that had unique words.

And I run an internet retail company selling niche art supplies.

And my grandma would basically say that I sell graffiti supplies, which I don’t think is true at all.

You sell graffiti supplies. Graffiti supplies? Is that what you said?

Basically. Yeah, that’s the easiest way to put it.

Really what it is is like designer spray painting specialty ink and markers that muralists and people who are influenced by graffiti use.

It’s really all used by people doing legal stuff, but it’s part of the culture and whatever.

But the reason that I called in previously was because as I’ve been in this business and enjoying the art form for about the last six to eight years, I’ve come across a number of words that I thought were really interesting.

So I figured I’d try and share some of those with y’all.

All right. Yeah, shoot. Let’s hear it.

Okay, so the first word is the word writer being used to describe someone who does graffiti.

Writer, is it W-R-I-T-E-R?

Yes, ma’am.

And from my understanding of it, it’s basically just, you know, because, you know, we as graffiti writers, you know, walk up and write on stuff.

And so it’s something that, like, makes a lot of sense when you think about it in that context.

But the use of it is very weird, where a lot of people would say, you know, a graffiti artist or tagger, but everybody who is really associated with it, if you’re not using the term writer, you’re generally considered outside of the loop.

Very interesting.

It’s funny how many hobbies and industries have that exact predicament, where on the inside people go by one term, but they’re known exclusively on the outside by some other word.

Pretty interesting.

Right.

It’s fascinating.

What else does a writer use when they’re talking about their work?

One that I personally don’t really like, but I hear all the time, is the term bombing to describe the activity of doing illegal graffiti.

And so if someone’s doing legal graffiti, they wouldn’t typically use it.

Like, if I’m going to do a mural, I wouldn’t use this term.

But a lot of the younger kids, when they’re saying they’re going out to do graffiti, they’re like, yeah, I’m going bombing tonight.

Bombing, that’s B-O-M-B-I-N-G, bombing, right?

Yes, yes.

I first encountered that term about 15 years ago in Greece, in Athens, and there was some graffiti that said, a religion called bombing, and it was done in spray paint.

And at the time, I didn’t know what it meant, and it wasn’t until years later that I figured out that what they were talking about, the religion wasn’t actually dropping bombs.

The religion was putting up tags.

Oh, graffiti.

No, yeah, you’re absolutely right.

Yeah, you’re absolutely right.

And part of that, like you’re saying, is the idea that people will also refer to a finished piece of illegal graffiti as a bomb with a singular word, which I think is like the weirdest thing ever.

But, yeah, no, you’re absolutely right.

And there’s even that book called Bomb the System, which has been popular and stuff, too.

Is that about graffiti?

That’s about graffiti on the train system, right?

Right.

I think if I remember writing the book, it starts about graffiti on the train system, and then it goes into this kind of existential view of society and all this kind of crazy stuff.

But, yeah, it is an interesting book.

Something else that I thought was a good word was the term benching, and that comes from the subway era in New York City for sure, where once upon a time people would sit at a subway station and sit on the bench and take pictures of the graffiti that came by on trains.

And nowadays, nobody, because of security and whatever, people don’t really do graffiti on transit trains anymore.

That’s just not popular.

But everybody does on freight trains.

And so now that term has been adopted by people who are into freight trains where anybody who’s observing taking pictures of graffiti on trains is referred to benching.

Oh, interesting.

So you don’t have to be on a bench.

It’s moved beyond that.

Yeah, absolutely.

And that part I thought was kind of weird, but it’s one of those words that really just continued on even still.

James, what does it mean to go all city?

If you’re a…

I love it that you just asked me that.

To go all city is to say that you have graffiti in every part of town.

And so back when it was primarily New York City, to go all city once upon a time with the train systems meant that you had done a train in every system, so in every borough or whatever.

And nowadays it would refer to, and that’s another one that continued on even after that era, where nowadays with street graffiti, which is the popular thing in America, the whole idea of going all city is to say that in every section of town you have graffiti that’s visible.

Yeah, I lived in New York City during the period when Cost Revs was basically all city before he got busted.

You remember this?

Yeah, absolutely.

He was absolutely, absolutely.

He tagged everything.

I mean, I don’t think there was a mailbox or a blank wall that didn’t have his tag on.

It was crazy.

And he’s actually a very popular mainstream artist now, you know?

And so with that Rev’s guy doing sculptures and stuff like that.

And so, yeah, going all cities is a big term, and I still hear that all the time.

And the funny thing is that you would think it would only stick to those big cities, but you also hear it with people in smaller towns.

So it’s a term that’s definitely survived.

James, this is fascinating stuff.

What we’re going to do is we’ll put a bunch of this stuff on the website.

We’ll find some graffiti glossaries, and we’ll do a link to the book that you mentioned.

Then we’ll see if we can find just some of the classic tags to show people, to show them, and then we’ll have that conversation.

Yeah, I’d love to see that.

You are awesome.

I love it.

If it’s going to be on the website, you ought to link it to my website, oinkardltv.tv.

Okay.

Will do.

So, yeah, we really appreciate it, and I love the show, and I’ll be listening in the future.

Thank you all so much.

Thanks, buddy.

Okay.

Thanks, James.

Bye-bye.

Bye.

I love it.

Anyway, interesting stuff.

James, that’s awesome for him to share.

We’ll put a lot of this on our website so you can share it as well.

And if there’s something interesting happening in your business, it doesn’t have to be like that, but tell us about the language that you use in your day-to-day work, words@waywordradio.org or 877-929-9673.