Interview - Cyfn PC - Bombing Science

By Melissa Brand

I had a chance to chat with Chicago writer CYFN PC.

Let’s get it started by talking about where you’re from. I know you’re all over Chicago now, but did you grow up here? How do you feel the scene has changed?

I grew up on the Northside of Chicago and I’ve been writing since I was 11 or 12. Graffiti was everywhere when I was a kid. On the lines, on the busses and on the streets. Everyone I hung around had a name, even if they didn’t technically write. Dudes I skated with and people in the neighborhood, etc. Pre-buff Chicago was a magical time. I wish I would have taken more pictures. I honestly never thought they would clean it to the degree they did in the late 90s early 2000s. The city was sterile like a hospital and anything that was done would last like a day. It was depressing. I do feel now though with street art being popular, it has been easier to get walls in certain neighborhoods which has been a good thing I guess.

I kind of fell out of graffiti at around 23-years-old. I was mostly like a tagger/bomber dude back then but I was always drawing pieces in my notebook since forever and busting tags here and there. I took like a 7-year break from graffiti. Most of the dudes I started with, quit in their early twenties because back then most people started out really young and once you got older and had to work, it definitely changed how active you were. Again, back then people started a lot younger some never stopped but a lot of people did.

Piecing was like unfinished business for me. It was the one thing that I never did with it, that I knew I was capable of doing. Back then I was always taught that before you can get on a production wall, you had to have dope tags, throwies, straight letters and be a well-rounded writer. I always told myself if I ever got back into it, I would get into piecing. I wanted to be able to push myself artistically and I knew doing that would keep me interested.

Outside of Chicago, what’s your favorite place to paint? Have you been out of the country or have any plans to be?

I would like to travel again to Europe. Perhaps go to Lisbon, Athens or Rome or maybe even go to Rio de Janeiro. I hear good things.

I always wonder how you guys come up with your names. Tell me about that and did you always write Cyfn?

I’ve written a ton of different names in my graffiti career, probably more than 25. A few stuck out in the time I’ve been writing. I hate my name honestly, but it just stuck with me. Most good graffiti names have vowels to balance out the other letters so it sits better and has a flow of 4 to 5 letters. Sometimes common names do this best. Once in a while I’ll see a cool name I haven’t seen or thought of before that breaks this mold and that’s what keeps graffiti interesting to me. I’m constantly looking at other people’s styles and my favorites change monthly.

Growing up I used to see Orfn from CAB crew and Flyn from CAR crew’s stuff here and there. These were 90’s Chicago writers. I liked those letter combinations and the sound as well. You’re trying to find yourself and what fits and that takes time and experimentation. We pick these names when we’re so young, I always wish I would have thought of it more but I seem to make it work, but I definitely would like to experiment with other letters and side names in the future.

How long have you been with PC? Are/were you a member of any other crews?

I think I’ve been in PC for about 3 or 4 years now. We painted together for about year or two prior to me joining. As a collective, we feed off each other stylistically. It’s more than just a crew for me it’s like a second family.

When I was about 11 or 12, I was friends with a kid at church that wrote Febel and my parents wanted me to hang out with him because they saw we had common interests. He kind of introduced me to like “real graffiti.” He showed me the lines and took me all over the city bombing stations and buses.

My very first crew was TFD which stood for Too Fucken Dope. We had a circle “2” as a shorthand for the crew. Most crews had their own circle with letter at that time. I don’t know if that’s just a Chicago thing or not. They used to have crew meetings at Independence Park. Anything before that time though was me drawing wack b-boy characters in my notebook and tagging in alleys. I was a super toy but was good at drawing cartoons which I think helped me out a bit.

I was also a member of a crew in the 90s called TMS. Trains must suffer, transit must suffer. We had a bunch of different spell-out names. It was a crew based off the red-line, but we also had people in every part of the city from all different walks of life, race and economic class. Graffiti transcends those boundaries and I find that very unique.

Plus, I was in a bunch of other short lived crews. Too many to mention at this point honestly.

Do you feel your style has evolved over the years?

Yeah, at least I hope so. I feel that sort of thing takes time because if you start to be influenced by too many different styles and try to emulate them, your style becomes stiff and is not true to oneself. I think the happy accidents as you evolve combined though time, eventually become your own style that’s specific to you and that takes a while, it’s a process.

I always find it fascinating to hear what writers do in their spare time. Do they always paint? Do they deliver the mail? Without giving away your privacy, can you share what you do and how does graffiti fit in with the rest of your lifestyle.

I’ve been an artist my whole life, even before graffiti. I work in naming, branding and identity now, which relates a lot back to graffiti considering having your name and style is one of the most important things. Graffiti is also about inventing and reinventing oneself through the letters you choose.

When you take the language away from those letters, you are left with shapes. The most successful of names are ones that sound good when spoken and look cool when written. The visual semiotics and how the shapes of the letters interact with the sound of the word, definitely have a big impact subconsciously and consciously on the person that views it.

Design right now is a transitional thing for me. It holds my interest for now, but that could change in the future. I’ll always be creating in some way shape or form though. Art is therapeutic for me.

I was also a bicycle messenger for a long time before going to school in the late 90’s. That and design are really some of the only jobs I’ve ever had. I come from more of a working class family, so going to school and all that, was never really in the cards for me. But years later that’s how it ended up working out and I’m ok with it so far.

I just think in America, the idea of getting into massive amounts of debt in order to succeed or go from blue-collar to white-collar is joke. And that’s not even with the promise of a career, just the chance of one. Education should be free but the banks and the government make too much money from it. That shouldn’t be the definition of success. Our country has its priorities fucked up and is just concerned with turning people into followers and brainwash them to consume and buy products.

Older people always have opinions for the younger generations. From clothing to music – to who they hang with – to even graff. Don’t do this.. Don’t do that.. They even say shit like “you don’t know nothing about that…” As someone on the sidelines, I’ve seen it heavy in the graff scene. Do you see that a lot and how do you feel it affects the culture? Any words of advice for the younger kids trying to make it?

My advice would be to know your history and who came before you. Growing up, I personally always loved hearing the stories from people or from what I read in books.

So, knowing your history I feel is very important to one’s development. Know who and what came before you. And to always have a good handstyle and proportionate letters that have style. Too much newer graffiti nowadays are super heavy on the effects, but if you take away that from the letters, they can’t stand on their own because the framework is not stable. I was always taught that you had to learn to tag before you can do straight letters and pieces, etc.

Who are some of your influences and why?

Too many count and they change monthly. I keep up to date and pay attention though.

When I first started looking at graffiti, it was through my dad’s 35mm film camera (I know, ancient). How do you feel the internet and everyone having smartphones and cameras has affected the scene?

I think it’s good and bad. The internet has affected how people sample styles and all the supplies, tips and tricks are there for you. No secrets or information being handed down. Styles are not specific to a certain region from where you live because we are exposed to information instantly and shit gets sampled from across the globe. Before, if you traveled and saw a certain style it was either through a graff magazine, or handed down from a crew/individual or actually living in that area.

Funny, I remember just keeping my caps in nail polish remover and now I waste caps like no one’s business. Graffiti has definitely turned into an industry much like skateboarding and I think that will continue to be so in the future. There’s even commercialization of graffiti since we have a spray can as a product now. But I’m amazed at how far it continues to develop since when I first started.

To be honest, I would rather stay current and embrace technology and what is has to offer, than complain and talk about how things used to be back in the day, lol. Because I feel like I hear that so much and that’s no excuse to not be current. You are either moving ahead or staying stagnant!

Thank you for taking the time to chat with me, Cyfn!

You’re welcome and thank you for the interview.