StillFree.com

April 18, 2006 7:54 AM

StillFree. - Graffiti artist Marc Ecko tags Air Force One at andrews air force base.
posted by jba (65 comments total)

Just an FYI, this is fake.
posted by johnjreiser at 7:57 AM on April 18, 2006

Any evidence that it's a fake?
posted by craven_morhead at 8:00 AM on April 18, 2006

Fake or not, why do some of these spray paint guys get to be called artists instead of vandals?
posted by LarryC at 8:06 AM on April 18, 2006

If it's a fake is a well done fake video, really realistic ! Maybe true ? Certainly it would be VERY embarassing to admit an accident like that, considering the billions spent in "securitaeh"
posted by elpapacito at 8:07 AM on April 18, 2006

LarryC : "Fake or not, why do some of these spray paint guys get to be called artists instead of vandals?"

Because they're good?
posted by Bugbread at 8:08 AM on April 18, 2006

It looks fake, that's for sure. The paint looks to me like it goes on too fast and too smooth, there's something about the scale that's wrong.

That said, and while he was pretty articulate, I'm not sure why he says in his justification that vandalism is wrong, that there's no grey area, when tagging is clearly vandalism. I thought that this was even acknowedged in grafitti. Quite aside from whether grafitti=art, tagging =!= bombing.
posted by OmieWise at 8:08 AM on April 18, 2006

From the website itself:

http://www.stillfree.com/legal.html

You, the viewer of the preceeding are hereby advised that the video does not depict a real event. It is intended for the sole, limited and express purpose of entertainment and to induce you, the viewer of the video, to think critically about freedom of expression and speech and the government's responses to the same. Therefore, and by reason of the foregoing, the producers, creators and distributors of this video hereby verily certify that the foregoing fictionalization and dramatization was not real.
posted by johnjreiser at 8:09 AM on April 18, 2006

If it's fake, they did a damn good job on it.
posted by antifuse at 8:09 AM on April 18, 2006

What I mean by the scale being wrong is that the tagger stands too far away from the surface that she or he is tagging. that's a big plane, and the tag goes quite high up the engine.
posted by OmieWise at 8:10 AM on April 18, 2006

Fictionalization of rebellious activities = increased sweatshirt sales
posted by johnjreiser at 8:10 AM on April 18, 2006

And also, I didn't preview like any good MeFite should so now I look dumb :)

Having said that, I guess I just don't get the whole freedom of expression bit.
posted by antifuse at 8:11 AM on April 18, 2006

"FREE BORF" version in 5...4...3...
posted by Smart Dalek at 8:13 AM on April 18, 2006

bugbread, tagging has nothing to do with talent. Balls maybe, but not talent. If this is real, the guy is a major asshat for taping it and putting it on the web for the gumbent to see.
posted by j.p. Hung at 8:13 AM on April 18, 2006

No news of it on Google News, searching for either "Air Force One" or "Marc Ecko Air Force One".

Empirically, I'd say it's a fake. Very convincing, tho'.
posted by benATthelocust at 8:14 AM on April 18, 2006

Free Borf?

I'll take it!
posted by The White Hat at 8:23 AM on April 18, 2006

j.p. Hung : "bugbread, tagging has nothing to do with talent."

Agreed. When LarryC said "why do some of these spray paint guys...", I interpreted it to be in reference to the guys who do graffiti art, not taggers.

So I'd say some graffiti guys are both vandals and artists:


And others (sorry, Marc Ecko) are just vandals:

posted by Bugbread at 8:24 AM on April 18, 2006

Free bort?
posted by Bort at 8:29 AM on April 18, 2006

Borf is just a vandal. He tagged a brick wall and a few street signgs on the street leading to my apartment complex in Virginia. Granted it wasn't exactly an attractive street before, but now it looks more rundown and uncared for.

The problem with tagging areas like that is that once its done, it lowers the social barrier for others to do it.
posted by empath at 8:29 AM on April 18, 2006

If he wasn't shot dead while doing it, then it's a fake.

Trespassing and vandalism. Wow, he's really making a statement.
posted by bondcliff at 8:33 AM on April 18, 2006

Um, doesn't this guy have a video game that just came out? About tagging stuff? For freedom?

So, yah, if wanting you to "think critically about freedom of expression and speech and the government's responses to the same" means "buy our video game" I guess they do.
posted by freebird at 8:34 AM on April 18, 2006

This took balls, and is, independently of that, I think, art. Borf!
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:36 AM on April 18, 2006

It was on the Teddy Roosevelt Bridge going into DC, right between the Kennedy Center and the Lincoln Memorial, a very heavily-traveled route to some veryheavily-guarded areas.
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:41 AM on April 18, 2006

Krylon Blue
posted by prostyle at 8:43 AM on April 18, 2006

The game ("Getting Up") is all over the stillfree site. This is a (not hugely entertaining) viral ad campaign for a game.
posted by freebird at 8:43 AM on April 18, 2006

What was on the T.R. bridge, MrMoonPie? I'll agree that it's heavily-traveled, but it doesn't lead anywhere particularly heavily-guarded.
posted by etoile at 8:44 AM on April 18, 2006

This took balls, and is, independently of that, I think, art. Borf!

No, this took balls.

http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue08/reviews/lifeofbrian/pic1.jpg
posted by DieHipsterDie at 8:48 AM on April 18, 2006

Well, it's a route very close to the Pentagon and federal DC.
posted by OmieWise at 8:48 AM on April 18, 2006

Oops. I mean this.
posted by DieHipsterDie at 8:48 AM on April 18, 2006

Admittedly, it took some balls to pull it off but the act took less than a couple minutes. I remember in philly so many years back now, when the silver/black bombs started to become popular. Doing actual graffitti (which is now relegated to museums and contracted pieces) was considered the height of 'balls' due to the amount of paint you had to carry as well as the time involved in putting up a quality piece. Most kids didn't have the artistic talent or the guts to risk being busted for their art so the taggers quickly took over. Pointless history but hey...
posted by j.p. Hung at 8:49 AM on April 18, 2006

Er, people discussing whether or not this is fake, please read.
posted by Bugbread at 8:54 AM on April 18, 2006

er, fake.
posted by j.p. Hung at 9:07 AM on April 18, 2006

bugbread: indeed your reading went a long way proving it's a fake or "not a real event" as he writes

I don't agree with most of these phoney stuff, they usually don't help understanding that perceptions can be misleading ; mostly they make the author look like another phony looking to shock to attract and entertain, thus removing the attention of the reader from "your bought that shit hook line and sinker" to "the author is bad"

At least he could have used a more evident slap in the face then a buried disclaimer.
posted by elpapacito at 9:09 AM on April 18, 2006

Actually, OmieWise, the Pentagon is not particularly near the T.R. bridge. It's right along I-395 but a little ways down Route 110 from the T.R. bridge (which is I-66). DC itself is as guarded as any other major city; individual buildings have guards but the city itself has no checkpoints or surveillance for the most part.
posted by etoile at 9:14 AM on April 18, 2006

And come to think of it, Andrews AFB is outside the beltway altogether.
posted by etoile at 9:15 AM on April 18, 2006

Web site exposes Air Force One defenses
posted by dhartung at 9:21 AM on April 18, 2006

Stillfree.com, huh? How much does that game cost?
posted by emelenjr at 9:21 AM on April 18, 2006

What a stupid and annoying marketing gimmick.
posted by Acey at 9:33 AM on April 18, 2006

geez...it took 37 comments for SOME of you to understand this is fake?
posted by sluglicker at 9:42 AM on April 18, 2006

Mark Ecko: Soon to be in captivity.
posted by fire&wings at 9:47 AM on April 18, 2006

sluglicker: it took you so long to notice ?
posted by elpapacito at 9:47 AM on April 18, 2006

stillfree.com - marketing counterculture to you in lame ass but vaguely entertaining ways...no, wait, not entertaining.
posted by Smedleyman at 9:54 AM on April 18, 2006

This couldn'ta been easy.
posted by ahimsakid at 9:54 AM on April 18, 2006

I was like "holy cow, holy cow... I'm actually seeing rebellion and activism!" Nope. Back to the same 'ol apathy.
posted by rolypolyman at 10:04 AM on April 18, 2006

etoile-I'm from DC, and I have a pretty good idea of the terrain. You're technically correct about both the location and the "level of surveillance," but I think you underestimate the actual level of policing in the DC area. There are a ton of different police forces and police-like forces in Federal DC: DC police, VA highway patrol, park police, capital police, secret service, DOE cops, etc. They may not be all that visible to the average citizen, but they're very present. In addition to that, there's the issue of citizen policing, which, one could argue, is more likely to occur around Federal DC than it is around Poughkipsie, not least because so many people work for Govt agencies. In short, while that wasn't put up on the side of the Treasury Department, the chances of getting caught doing it were probably far greater than they would have been up the road in Baltimore or in Manassas.
posted by OmieWise at 10:06 AM on April 18, 2006

Besides, technically, isn't a plane "Air Force One" only when the President is on board?

(A faked film of a faked tagging on a fake Air Force One -- That's kind of post-modern!)
posted by parilous at 10:16 AM on April 18, 2006

Taggers should stick to tagging their own homes. Or better yet, their grand parents' houses if they think their tag is so deserving of being seen by the world.

/Told those kids to get off my lawn once already!
posted by haqspan at 10:20 AM on April 18, 2006

prostyle wins.
posted by spock at 10:40 AM on April 18, 2006

Apparently, the revolution will not only be televised, but staged, too.
posted by FormlessOne at 11:43 AM on April 18, 2006

Kind of like the elections, huh?
posted by rolypolyman at 11:46 AM on April 18, 2006

Besides, technically, isn't a plane 'Air Force One' only when the President is on board?

That's correct. How Air Force One Works. There's also Army One, Marine One, and Navy One (and theoretically Coast Guard One and Executive One). And, of course, if Harrison Ford's on board, it's Air Force One.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:30 PM on April 18, 2006

OmieWise - Interesting that we are both from DC and have such different perspectives. I'll let this drop if that's okay with you, we can just agree to disagree. :)
posted by etoile at 12:38 PM on April 18, 2006

You guys know that Marc Ecko isn't a "graffiti guy" but has actually had a clothing line for probably near a decade, style magazine for a few years, and a recent video game, don't you? I've never seen a bio of him that included graffiti, mostly apparel.
posted by mikeh at 12:51 PM on April 18, 2006

Borf is more than just a vandal. Plenty of what he wrote was more than just the word Borf. At his best he was insightful. Still should have been arrested though.
posted by Ironmouth at 12:54 PM on April 18, 2006

etoile- Of course. It is just a matter of perspective. I know mine was formed partly from being a bike courier in DC and working hard to evade some of those people I mention as I was doing vaguely illegal things. I'm sure it was in the interest of both my own protection and my sense of rebellious counter-culture to form the perspective I've got. ;)
posted by OmieWise at 12:59 PM on April 18, 2006

mikeh : "You guys know that Marc Ecko isn't a 'graffiti guy' but has actually had a clothing line for probably near a decade, style magazine for a few years, and a recent video game, don't you?"

Yes. If I never see another fucking Ecko rhino shirt again, it will be too soon. Either the man has made more money than God off those shirts, or China's second greatest industry is making imitation Ecko clothing.
posted by Bugbread at 1:10 PM on April 18, 2006

I agree with this guy in principle, but his speech is pedantic and tiring.
posted by bingo at 1:54 PM on April 18, 2006

the foregoing fictionalization and dramatization was not real.

errrr, fiction nor drama are real, so what is it ?
posted by Substrata at 2:07 PM on April 18, 2006

Um, can we mark this sort of thing as fake upfront so we don't have to bother looking at it?
posted by Artw at 2:37 PM on April 18, 2006

Ironmouth, i guess that's easier to say when he didn't tag the shit out of your (already kinda run-down) neighborhood and you have to look at it every day.

And that tag on the route 50 sign is impressive just because it's hard to get to, but there's no security there, at all. There aren't any federal buildings anywhere near it. I drive past it all the time.
posted by empath at 3:09 PM on April 18, 2006

Marc Ecko is just a normal guy who lives in the burbs, has a couple of kids and just happens to have a great eye for design and a good sense of turning that into something that people will buy. The graffiti party in NYC last year was a great idea. He emphasizes the artistic aspect of this, not the juvenile urge to leave one's mark. That part is no better than a dog peeing on a hydrant, nor are the people who practice it. I thought this video was fun. So what if it helps sell t-shirts and video games.
posted by caddis at 3:10 PM on April 18, 2006

Um, can we mark this sort of thing as fake upfront so we don't have to bother looking at it?

Well you could try not waking up in the morning, then you won't have to bother thinking about anything.
posted by 6am at 3:55 PM on April 18, 2006

6am : "Well you could try not waking up in the morning, then you won't have to bother thinking about anything."

Yeah, but then you end up waking up in the afternoon, and you're back to thinking again.

But you just want to keep 6 a.m. all to yourself, don't you.
posted by Bugbread at 4:25 PM on April 18, 2006

Borfs tags can be either artsy and cool or regular tagging. What makes him famous/recognizable is the artsy ones.
posted by Suparnova at 6:31 PM on April 18, 2006

stillfree.com - marketing counterculture to you in lame ass but vaguely entertaining ways...no, wait, not entertaining.

No, wait, not counterculture, either! Certainly not if you are talking about commercial video games and t-shirts. And graffiti artcrime is such an established & cliched artistic genre for young people that it could hardly be called counter-anything anymore - kinda like jeans or Converse boots...
posted by UbuRoivas at 9:14 PM on April 18, 2006

The Air Force even fell for it and had to check with their own eyes.
posted by knave at 12:42 AM on April 22, 2006