TAKI 183
Encyclopedia
TAKI 183 was one of the most influential graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
writers in its history. His "tag" was short for Demetaki, a Greek alternative for his birth-name Demetrius, and the number 183 came from his address on 183rd Street in Washington Heights
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
. He worked as a foot messenger in New York City and would write his nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
around the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
streets that he frequented during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
On July 21, 1971, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
ran an article about him on the front page of its inside section, titled "Taki 183" Spawns Pen Pals. TAKI 183 spurred competitive vandalism in NYC as his tag was mimicked by hundreds of youth across the five boroughs. The kids who got their names up the most and developed signature tags became known in their communities. Graffiti became a way for many young kids to try to get attention and the attention TAKI 183 received spurred this on.
Although TAKI 183 was the first to be showcased in a major publication it is said that Julio 204
Julio 204
JULIO 204 was one of the first graffiti writers in New York City.Julio was a Puerto Rican who lived on 204th street and was a member of the "Savage Skulls" gang. He started writing his nickname in his neighborhood as early as 1968. His tags were never seen by Taki 183, who took the form directly...
began writing his tag in NYC first. However Julio did not write outside his own neighborhood and this is arguably the reason why he never received the media-attention TAKI did.
TAKI was last known to be the owner of a foreign car repair shop. In an interview with the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
of April 9, 1989, he talked about his retirement as a graffiti vandal: "As soon as I got into something more productive in my life, I stopped. Eventually I got into business, got married, bought a house, had a kid. Didn't buy a station wagon, but I grew up, you could say that."
The graffiti tag in the 1985 film Turk 182
Turk 182
Turk 182! is a 1985 film starring Timothy Hutton, Robert Urich, Kim Cattrall, Robert Culp and Peter Boyle. It is also one of the first movies to receive a PG-13 rating.-Film synopsis:...
was inspired by TAKI 183.
In May 2009, the official TAKI 183 website was launched. The site includes photos of his work, images of his friends and contemporaries, his true story and official TAKI 183 limited-edition screenprints.
Further reading
- "The Faith of Graffiti", Mervyn Kurlansky, Jon Naar, Norman Mailer. Praeger Publishers, 1974. ISBN 0275716100
- "Style: Writing from the Underground. (R)evolutions of Aerosol Linguistics", Stampa Alternativa in Association with IGTimes. ISBN 88-7226-318-2.
- "Subway Art.", Chalfant, Henry and Cooper, Martha. New York, New York: Henry Holt & Co, publisher. ISBN 0-8050-0678-8, 198 4, 1995.
- "Freight Train Graffiti", Roger Gastman, Ian Sattler, Darin Rowland. Harry N Abrams Inc, 2006. ISBN 9780810992498
- "The Birth of Graffiti", Jon Naar. Prestel, 2007. ISBN 978-3-7913-3796-8
- "TAKI 183" in Hip Hop Culture, Emmett G. Price, III. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2006, p. 187. ISBN 1-85109-867-4. Also see pp. 30–31, 48, 106.