Monogram Tagging

TAKI 183 is a Greek immigrant who rose to prominence by repeating his personal monogram all over NYC. Dimitraki, who never revealed his full name, was a messenger whose work sent him all over the city. He sprayed his tag wherever he went, and soon gained recognition mostly due to the sheer number of locations he hit.

In 1971, the New York Times wrote an article about him before his identity was known, which may have served as a cultural tipping point for graffiti tags in NYC. Hundreds of competitors joined the monogram tagging game. Whoever gets the most tags wins, and bonus points for tagging something on another tagger’s turf.

Package delivery was the perfect cover. Not only are delivery boys a normal site all over the city, but also a package can make the perfect visual shield when writing your name on private property. The type style is clearly defined by necessity. Taki needed to be able to write his name without looking at what he was doing, so a simple consistent style was necessary: all caps, sans-serif, and as few strokes as possible.

The competitive graffiti game exploded, and soon evolved in style. Taki had little interest in the wild colourful evolution that would come in the mid to late ‘70s. He continued to make his mark on the city and maintained his fame until he grew up, left the city, and started a family. He gave an interview in 1989, but never revealed his full name, and he has been out of the game ever since.