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President Boris | |
|---|---|
Бори́с | |
 Good Guy Boris gesticulating in front of a train adorned with Utah & Ether tags | |
| Known for | Graffiti journalism |
| Style | Satirical graffiti |
| Movement | Graffiti |
| Website | Official website |
Good Guy Boris, alternatively President Boris or simply Boris, is a Bulgarian graffiti artist, journalist, social media influencer, and musician. He first gained prominence within the graffiti subculture through his deliberate eschewing of anonymity.[1][2]
Biography
editEarly career
editGood Guy Boris began painting graffiti as a 12-year-old when he first sprayed the name of a local football club surrounded by phallic symbols on a wall in his native city of Sofia. By the age of 14 he had left his parental home in order to pursue a career documenting the local graffiti scene. He produced his own magazine, before gaining a job at an advertising company, allowing him to acquire skills that would enable his future career. After being made redundant Good Guy Boris founded his own website The Grifters Journal.[3] The journal aimed to document the graffiti subculture in an alternative way, showcasing the lifestyle behind the art.[4]
Imprisonment
editAfter moving to Paris, Good Guy Boris was arrested by a police anti-graffiti unit in May 2014. He was then held on remand in Fleury-Mérogis Prison for four months.[3] On regaining his freedom, Good Guy Boris released a video on YouTube in which he lampooned his imprisonment;
A couple of months ago, a group of delegates was sent to my house, with the great news that I have been nominated for Great Success in the field of culture and 'art contemporain'. I have to tell that the traditions of receiving gifts and presents in my country are totally different from the ones in France.[5]
He has since stated that his legal tribulations in France were a direct result of his social media presence and public persona.[6]
Greece
editAfter moving to Greece, Good Guy Boris featured in and helped produce the Graffiti Olympics video with the graffiti crew 1UP. The video, filmed in Athens, parodied the Winter Olympics which were taking place at the time.[7] In response to the implementation of COVID-19 lockdowns Good Guy Boris produced video content of himself travelling from Greece, through Bulgaria to Ukraine, which was then released on the OnlyFans platform.[8]
Artistic collaborations
editThroughout his career Good Guy Boris has collaborated with various other artists in producing graffiti and documenting its culture. In 2008 he worked alongside the photojournalist Martha Cooper to document graffiti on the last SŽ class 311/315 in service operated by Slovenian Railways.[9] He has also collaborated with the graffiti duo Utah & Ether.[10]
In 2024 Good Guy Boris curated the Soviet Blocks project, performed in the Iskar district of Sofia, alongside Berlin Kidz. The art work was subsequently reported on in the Bulgarian media where it was speculated to have been produced using a drone or even to contain extraterrestrial meaning.[11][12] On 27 June 2024 the graffiti was featured on the Bulgarian national news channel Nova News in a segment presented by anchor Daniela Pehlivanova.[13]
Reception
editGood Guy Boris has received both criticism and praise from within the graffiti community in response to his open public persona and monetization of graffiti.[14] His practice and techniques of train graffiti documentation, and use of motifs such as a bicephalous eagle as branding for The Grifters Journal, have been described as having roots going back to Soviet agit-trains.[15]
Select publications
edit- Good Guy Boris (2017). Grifters Code: Documenting Modern Graffiti Writing. The Grifters. ISBN 978-619-7267-02-0.
- Good Guy Boris (2019). Truck Graffich: Graffiti on Parisian Trucks. The Grifters. ISBN 978-619-7267-05-1.
- Good Guy Boris (2023). LeoLulu x Good Guy Boris: An Intimate Journey Behind the Scenes of Adult Content Creation. The Grifters. ISBN 978-619-7267-07-5.
- Good Guy Boris (2024). Soviet Blocks: Icarus X Errorflict. The Grifters. ISBN 9786197267082.
References
edit- ^ Βασιλείου, Ντιάννα (31 January 2022). "Μέσα στη Ζωή Ενός Street Artist: Γκράφιτι, Ταξίδια, Φυλακή, NFTs και Ένα Ντοκιμαντέρ". Vice (in Greek). Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Good Guy Boris". ilovegraffiti.de (Podcast). 13. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ a b Traynor, Cian (7 June 2017). "Shining a Light on Graffiti's Rebel Underground". Huck. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ "Grifters Interview". Concrete: East Europe Graffiti Magazine (in English and Polish) (9): 97. December 2012. ISSN 1895-1481.
- ^ Bouziane, Amine (October 6, 2014). "Good Guy Boris returns from holidays" (video). YouTube. The Grifters.
- ^ "Good Guy Boris". ilovegraffiti.de (Podcast). 13. 16 January 2020. Event occurs at 25:51. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Damsch, Nina; Bakunin, Georg (12 March 2018). "Europe's Gnarliest Graffiti Crew Basically Shot an Action Film". Vice. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ "Good Boy Boris Joins Only Fans!". mtn-world.com. 18 May 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ Błaszczyk, Dawid; Czechowicz, Tomasz; Janus, Maciej; Misiak, Marian, eds. (2021). Radical Passion: The Worlds Longest Produced Electric Train and a Vibrant Train Culture. Translated by Drenda, Olga. Wrocław: Tory Press & Threedotstype. pp. 444–445. ISBN 978-83-954954-3-4.
- ^ MacDowall, Lachlan (November 2017). Neves, Pedro Soares (ed.). "Cultural heritage and the ficto-critical method: The ballad of Utah and Ether". Street Art and Urban Creativity. 3 (1). VisualCOM Scientific Publications: 106–109. doi:10.25765/sauc.v3i1.71. eISSN 2183-9956. ISSN 2183-3869. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- ^ "Mysterious graffiti in the streets of Sofia, Bulgaria". Newsflare. 27 February 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ "Soviet Blocks: Icarus X Errorflict". thegrifters.org. The Grifters Journal.
- ^ Pehlivanova, Daniela (27 February 2024). "Мистериозни графити се появиха върху фасадите на блокове в София". Nova News (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ "Metro system lockdown project" (Podcast). 72. Toy Division. 16 September 2021. Event occurs at 22:05. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ MacDowall, Lachlan (2018). Reed, Martyn (ed.). "From Peterhof Station to Crescenzago: Agit-Trains and Grifter's Code" (PDF). Nuart Journal. 1 (1). Stavanger, Norway: 39–42. ISSN 2535-549X. OCLC 1402370638. Retrieved 5 May 2024.