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Is graffiti just an annoying, intrusive act of urban insurgence and the signing of gang territory?

Not exactly, as this revealing and exciting documentary shows us.

It may mar our urban landscapes; it may be an act of vandalism; but it certainly is at art form in the hands of many -- and it clearly has motivations worth understanding.

Filmmaker Jonathan Reiss offers a multilingual look at the evolution of graffiti in a documentary that begins by examining ancient rock paintings, and traces the trend straight through to the works of Picasso and 1970s-era New York City hip-hop culture. Shot on five continents using guerilla filmmaking techniques, Bomb It aims to give viewers a newfound appreciation of graffiti culture by exploring the origins of street art and interviewing the artists about their tactics and motivations.

-- Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

An online reviewer:

Director Jon Reiss and producer Tracy Wares take us on a world tour of graffiti in "Bomb It". The film is more supportive of graffiti art than against it, but it does interview individuals who make it their mission to rid neighborhoods of graffiti as well as graffiti artists on 4 continents. There is an undercurrent that questions who should decide what we look at in public spaces, a provocative question but not really the focus of the film. "Bomb It" covers a lot of ground in the history and scope of graffiti art, but to good effect, as we are able to see that graffiti artists are not all alike. Graffiti has evolved over time, and its purpose is different in different cultures and sub-cultures....

The DVD (Docurama 2008): There are 3 featurettes and a feature commentary. In "Behind the Scenes" (14 min), director Jon Reiss talks about the genesis of the project, filming in different nations, assembling the film, and some themes. "Extended Time Lapse Sequences" (15 min) are 3 sequences, 5 minutes each in England, Brazil, and Japan, where we can watch the artwork being created in accelerated time. There are also "Extended Interviews" (26 min). The audio commentary by director Jon Reiss and producer Tracy Wares is constant and informative. They talk about what they did and did not include in the film, their intentions, and more details on who and what we are seeing.

More:

Samantha Skinazi of culturenow.com did a nice little review of Bomb It - here it is:

Jon Reiss’ global graffiti documentary hard hits a vital contemporary nerve. Where is the public space? Who owns it? And why do advertisers have the right to control our visual landscape with images that are often vulgar and disturbing? A consumer culture (that we all very readily accept) tells us that money buys these rights of control and access. Bomb It challenges this. The film suggests that there is nothing natural, neutral, or normal about this relationship. I’m not saying this is a Socialist film; it’s a beautifully shot and edited documentary that asks us to re-think the borders of public space and art. Interviews with graffiti artists and writers from Los Angeles, New York, Sao Paulo, Paris, Barcelona, London, Capetown, and Tokyo re-situate graffiti outside the prison gates and inside a riveting dialogue about how we as humans negotiate a place for ourselves in controlled environments. Chaz Bojorquez, Cornbread, Revs, Os Gemeos, KRS One, Blek Le Rat, and Shepard Fairey deconstruct commonplace notions that graffiti is thoughtless and ugly and always gang-related. The film gives graffiti back its history and philosophical and social virility as an outsider art movement. The international perspective reveals graffiti culture as something innately human, dating back to the earliest days in caves - a mixed drive to say: “Hello world, I’m here,” and to use art as a weapon to fight and express the alienation and ugliness of modern cities.


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