I seem to recall reading about something labeled "lovers grafitti" used
to figure out greek and roman vernacular and handwriting (as opposed to
standardized carvers marks). I always assume that "lovers grafitti" was
a polite way of saying things like "Joe H. + Maggie R. 4-Eva" (or
things slightly more vulgar) which would make it quite close to Taki's
methods.

Incidentally being from NY, Taki183 was something of a legend in my
house. I remember clearly next-to-the-phone scratch pads filled with
various interpretations of "Taki183" Which i guess means he got his
point across and it is to be regarded as a viable means of
communication and not a "dragging down" of the list at all.

On Monday, August 4, 2003, at 05:37 PM, Nicholas Bodley wrote:

> On Sat, 19 Jul 2003 22:38:11 -0000, Shreyas Sampat <laopooh@...>
> wrote:
>
>> I've been wondering lately about the usage of personal marks
> like signatures in other cultures and writing systems. I'm
> aware of the Chinese usage of seal stamps and, more recently,
> archaic naming glyph variants... what other naming-specific
> writing customs and personal-identification customs exist in
> the writing systems of the world?
>>
>
> My apologies for a delayed reply. While the matter is surely
> not something regarded highly, the recent fad for "making one's
> mark" with spray paint on a publicly-visible surface is one
> such instance. I lived in NY City from '63 to '86, and stared
> at countless "marks", often overlaid several layers deep inside
> subway trains. (The NYCTA finally solved the problem by ruling that no
> train
> would leave the terminal for a new run unless all "marks" were
> eradicated. They actually did that, afaik. The prospective
> mark-maker know that his disfigurement would last only one
> trip.)
>
> My conclusion was that each individual tried to outdo his
> predecessors in being more illegible than they were.
>
> Although the idea is crude, the comparison between these
> mark/graffiti-makers and dogs marking their territories is
> modestly surprising. Both carry containers of liquid,
> applied without contacting the surface. The liquid used
> by each species is best perceived by the keenest sense
> of that species.
>
> My apologies for temporarily dragging down Qalam.
> "Boasting" marks made by stonecutters are more dignified.
>
> The Taki 183 Story
> ==================
>
> Before some date I have forgotten, but which is probably
> the early 1970s, NY City did not have any significant amount of
> spray-painted graffiti; graffiti were not prominent,
> I'm just about certain.
>
> = = =
>
> One might go up to The Cloisters by bus or subway, or else
> walk in other public places, and be puzzled by a small,
> neat, noticeable but unobtrusive marking, almost like some
> sort of public-utility marking. It was plainly meant not to
> disfigure, just to be seen. I recall one instance being at
> about chest height, just inside the edge of a pedestrian
> underpass arch as one walked from the last transit stop to The
> Cloisters.
>
> It was lettered neatly by hand in a block-capital sans-serif
> face, maybe 3 inches/8 cm high or so, and said, "TAKI 183".
> It appeared to be written with either a broad-tip felt marker
> or possibly even a brush. Color was black.
>
> After several months or more, maybe a year or two, quite a few
> New Yorkers were wondering what on earth "TAKI 183" meant. Well,
> an enterprising and presumably persistent New York Times reporter
> found out after some investigation. He located and interviewed
> the creator, and kept his identity secret.
>
> He was a decent teen-age lad who felt compelled to write his
> nickname (I'll spare the pertinent nationality for now; those
> of this fine and ancient culture will probably recognize it
> instantly). He also wanted to indicate that he lived on
> 183rd St. He didn't want to disfigure, just be noticed.
>
> Well, the NY Times didn't have much of importance, otherwise,
> to put on the first page of the second section, so they
> placed the story at the top of the page, (as I recall) full
> width, and with a specimen photo.
>
> Well, The "Street People" might not generally read The Times,
> but they did recognize this as High Endorsement, and one
> might think it was only a matter of hours (actually, a
> few weeks, I think) before nicknames and street numbers
> became epidemic.
>
> As time went on, street numbers were forgotten, and the whole
> mess became the illegibility contest I mentioned earlier.
>
> = = =
>
> Some NYC subway-car "airbrush" art (not the usual "marks") was
> done by talented people; a number of years ago, a German firm
> published a book of some of the best work.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Nicholas Bodley
> slumming temporarily
> "Osmosis was not a god of Ancient Egypt." -- Michael Goldfarb
> --
> Waltham, Mass. |@| Using M2, the Opera browser's
> revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/
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