Without TAKI 183, we probably wouldn’t have graffiti as we know it. He was the first tagger to leave his own neighborhood, and the New York Times article about him spawned an epidemic of tagging. Eventually, those tags became graffiti, but TAKI disappeared, only being occassionaly spotted in graffiti documentaries. He essentially gave up on tagging when he go too old for it.
But now the legendary TAKI 183 is back. His first ever commercial works have just gone for sale on his new website, taki183.net, and it looks like he is trying to get back into the graffiti scene.
This is not some guy taking the piss like Tox was with his prints. It might be a guy trying to cash in on his fame, but who cares? TAKI 183 is a legend and he has every right. I’ve bought one of these prints, because I think they are extremely important to the history of graffiti.
So essentially, today is a good day, an awesome day, for graffiti and street art.
Via I Love Graffiti