TBD Notes The single thing you must know

BORF still has a lot of growing up to do. District residents may remember the then-17-year-old John Tsombikos's graffiti campaign in 2004, when he plastered the smiling visage of his friend Bobby Fisher, as well as wry messages about his own notoriety ("Bush hates BORF"), on any blank surface he could find. For that, he served jail time, performed community service, was on probation, and left the country for several years to figure out his next step. Now BORF is back, but he appears mostly unchanged. While he's not tagging on the street anymore, he's still angry: About the sociocultural forces that he believes led his friend to commit suicide, about capitalism, about authority. Most of the work in "Potty Trained at Gunpoint" is a way for Tsombikos to thumb his nose at the police and charge thousands of dollars for it, as in his series of watercolor replicas of his court documents. There's nothing wrong with that - street art is, by its nature, anti-authoritarian - but Tsombikos could comment on something broader than his own run-in with the law, with whom he continues to flirt. One series in the show depicts Tsombikos shoplifting from grocery stores, and another displays possibly-stolen surveillance cameras on placards, like hunting trophies. Tsombikos' best work has nothing to do with his crimes or punishment: It's his travel that has the potential to change him. He spent time in Europe for years after completing his sentence, and "Content," a watercolor of the x-rayed contents of his suitcase, convey the force of authority without the cheekiness of a teen who just got busted. – Maura Judkis

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