The History of Tagging – From New York Subways to Street Art Today

The writing form that we now generally know as tagging has it’s roots in cites such as New York and Philadelphia. Described as the practice of writing your name or pseudonym in public places. It emerged in the late 1960s and would become an epidemic of sorts. Rapidly filling urban surfaces and ultimately evolving into what we now know as graffiti.

Impact of Urban Decay

At that time in history many American cities were grappling with economic decline. There were racial tensions and a lot of social upheaval. Investment in urban environments was virtually non-existent. Some parts of big urban conurbations had been simply left to decay. Abandoned buildings were a regular sight and maintenance of public spaces and transportation was low due to regular budget cuts. It led to a decay that would provide both the physical space and the socio-economic backdrop for tagging to flourish.

Reclaiming Space

Young people, particularly from marginalised communities, saw tagging as a way to reclaim space. Each tag seemed to declare the writer’s presence and importance in a world that often overlooked them. It was as if every scrawled name was silently shouting, “Look at me. I exist. I am part of this city too”. For many, tagging would provide not only a form of expression but also a sense of identity and belonging.

Cornbread

One of the earliest pioneers of this movement was Darryl “Cornbread” McCray in Philadelphia. He often refers to himself as the “grandfather of graffiti” and in many ways he might be right. First starting to write his name on the walls of his reform school in 1965. He would really start to be noticed when in 1967 he decided to write his name everywhere in his neighbourhood. At one stage even going so far as to tag an elephant at the Philadelphia Zoo. His activities began to be noticed and others would start to follow suit.

Cornbread talks to Mass Appeal

TAKI 183

Within a similar time frame in New York, TAKI 183 took up the mantle. Scrawling his nickname across the city his prolific nature would again be noticed. His tag ‘TAKI 183‘ was a mixture of his nickname (short for Demetrius) and the street number where he lived. The street number was added out of acknowledgment of another earlier tagger called Julio 204 who had done the same. Soon the activity would spread and this idea of ‘Nickname’ plus ‘Street Number’ became a popular psuedonym.

An interview with TAKI 183

Early Simplicity

Reflecting on those beginnings TAKI 183 notes that early tagging was basic and not particularly unique. Though it was in some ways this simplicity that made certain tags stand out. The allure of anonymity also playing a crucial role in tagging’s popularity. Many embraced the idea of being an anonymous celebrity. Known by their tag but unrecognised in person.

TAKI 183 Spawns Pen Pals

TAKI 183 himself found a semblance of fame when the New York Times wrote an article about him in 1971. That article was titled ‘TAKI 183 Spawns Pen Pals‘ and is often cited as one of the catalysts that fuelled an interest in tagging across New York. The article is also one of the first mainstream cultural references to graffiti and associating it with tagging. Although it’s likely the term would have been in use before it’s publication, most taggers really knew themselves as wall writers. The act of ‘writing’ taking prominence because that’s the activity that was undertaken. The term ‘writer’ as a descriptor would maintain in the sub-culture and still does today.

Smaller World

By 1971-72, just a few years after Cornbread and TAKI 183 began their activity, Philadelphia already “looked like a war zone” according to Cornbread. In New York meanwhile the subway system was rapidly overtaken by tags. According to TAKI 183 it was instrumental in propagating tagging across the city because the trains visited so many different neighbourhoods. This was a key factor in helping to create a “smaller world” for wall writers. It ensured that their tags would find a much wider audience.

Rapid Growth

The rapid spread of tagging was facilitated by several other factors. The competitive nature of the subculture meant that once one person started, others quickly followed. Writers would try to outdo each other in terms of visibility and then eventually in terms of style. As Cornbread noted, “If Cornbread can do it, so can I, and I can do it better than him”. This attitude helped to fuel what would become an exponential growth.

Evolution of Style

Over time what started as simple signatures quickly evolved into a complex art form. Writers competed for visibility, developing more intricate forms to stand out on the streets. This competition bred creativity, pushing the boundaries of letter design and technique. It evolved into what we know today as graffiti and became intertwined with the burgeoning hip-hop culture. A connection to music and dance that further cemented tagging’s place in urban culture.

Throw Ups

The art form continued to evolve. Around 1972-73 tags grew into “throw-ups” a quick, more stylised piece allowing a writer to make a bolder, more visible statement. With speed still being of the essence this would retain a simple style and composition but enhance visibility. As the concept of the throw up developed so did other styles such as bubble letters. Featuring smooth, curved outlines they would give letters a rounded appearance. One of the debates in the early graffiti world is who came up with these innovations first. In the case of bubble letters early writers such as Phase Two, Jester & Comet are often credited with their invention.

Kings of Graffiti

As form began to develop, artists started to compete more in order to be seen. Writers who got their name up as much as possible might be described by their peers as ‘Kings’. According to Blade, one of the early pioneering graffiti artists, the concept of “kings” in graffiti was based on the recognition of one’s name being widely seen throughout the city. Being a king meant your work was prevalent and respected. Blade in particular become known for his large scale pieces and prolific effort. It’s been claimed that Blade alone painted an astonishing 5000 train cars.

Masterpiece

It would be around 1974-75 that there would be an emergence into more full-scale masterpieces or “pieces”. The subway system and inter-city rail network was the key catalyst in this growth. It once again was all about been seen and going bigger and better. Styles would evolve further and characters would start to be introduced. Lady Pink, one of the earliest female writers talks about seeing these trains at the age of 15 and being influenced by them. Crediting them with her own introduction into the world of art.

Wild Style

Perhaps the most famous from of lettering is ‘Wild Style’. Emerging as a result of the collective efforts of graffiti writers during the mid-1970’s. The term is often credited to Tracy 168. He used it to describe a way of writing graffiti that was intentionally difficult to read. Something that might be characterised by the use of interlocking letters and arrows. Writers such as Phase 2 then started to pioneer many of the intricate techniques that define the style.

Competitive Nature

It was in part the competitive nature of graffiti culture that drove artists to do more and more. Outdoing each other to create increasingly complex and stylised lettering. Resulting in elaborate, often illegible designs characteristic of Wild Style. Key figures like Dondi, Zephyr, and Lee Quinones helped to popularise and refine the style further. Eventually the 1983 movie ‘Wild Style‘ and Lee’s starring role in it would further cement it’s place. It went a long way to making the term famous and popularising it world wide.

Global Spread

Graffiti’s spread around the Globe would really start to emerge in the early to mid 1980’s. Films like Wild Style and Style Wars would help. The publication of the book Subway Art was another major factor and a hugely influential one. Graffiti also started to be used by musicians. Blondie’s ‘Rapture‘ and Malcolm McLaren’s Buffalo Gals both featured graffiti in their videos. The Clash would do a tour with New York graffiti writer Futura 2000 and even produced a song about graffiti with him.

Cultural Mirrors

These were cultural mirrors that allowed the rest of the World to see what was happening in the cities of the North Eastern States. Places like London and Bristol in the UK would have different responses dependent on their own local subcultures. 3D, an artist from Bristol, claimed that as soon as Subway Art hit London “Everybody wanted to become a graffiti writer”. Feeling that all of a sudden the London writers were imitating the American style of writing and losing their individuality.

Turbo Charged

The truth is that cities like London and Bristol were already developing their own distinct cultures. Though these were perhaps more centred on political and band graffiti and posters. Those cultural imports from the States really acted as a galvanising factor and turbo charged local scenes. Nudging them to head in a particular direction. The time from the early to mid 1980’s is really what could be seen as the tipping point. The time in which graffiti culture tipped from local phenomenon to a global one.

Legacy of the Tag

The legacy of tagging is a mixed one. Many will associate the tag with pure vandalism and it’s easy to see why. However its emergence in the late 60’s to early 70’s was a response to something wider that was going on. Namely the urban decay and social challenges that America in the same time period was experiencing. Of course it’s also clearly not the first time that someone has ever wrote their name on a wall. Rather, it’s just the first time that someone did so with such frequency that it would become a part of the urban fabric.

From Tagging to Street Art

Ultimately what happened in those early days in places such as New York and Philadelphia has led to what we know as Street Art today. What began as a way for urban youth to gain self recognition has evolved over time into a fully fledged art form. However despite its wider evolution the original root of the tag still remains. That of simply writing your name in a public place. So it’s evolved but it’s also stayed the same.