History of "Tagger" Graffiti

This history of Tagger graffiti is brief and differs from other forms of graffiti. It began in the summer of 1970 when a Manhattan youth began writing his name and street number onto ice cream trucks in the neighborhood.

"Taki183", first graffiti artist

"Taki183" worked as a messenger and began writing his name everywhere in 1971. A New York Times reporter tracked him down and wrote an article on him. Kids impressed by the New York Times article began to compete for the fame of "Taki183". They were throwin' up their tags frequently, and in as many hard-to-reach places as possible. As space filled up, styles were developed to make a "Tag" stand out from the rest."Tag, Tagger" was adopted to identify writers. (Tuff Artist Group)

Through the "Hip Hop" culture, films, videos, and books, tagger graffiti spread to Los Angeles.