SJK 171, aka Steve the Greek (born c.1957) is a New York City
graffiti artist who was active during the late 1960s and 1970s.[2] A native of
Washington Heights, he was a founding member of
United Graffiti Artists, one of the first professional graffiti collectives.[3]
History
SJK 171 attended the
High School of Art and Design along with a number of other early graffiti artists,[4] including
Tracy 168 and Al Diaz, co-creator of
SAMO, and began writing in 1968 under the name SJK 171. His work was the first triple outline, large colorful letters to appear on the 1 Line of the New York City Transit System.[citation needed] Some sources have recognized him as a graffiti pioneer[5][6] and also for originating the "squiggly lines" style of outlining graffiti.[7][better source needed]
In early 1971, he began to use the "swiggly radiant energy lines" later popularized by
Keith Haring.[7] SJK 171 is also credited with pioneering the use of arrows in
graffiti writing around this same time.[7] In 1972, he was hired by the
Joffrey Ballet to paint his designs, live, in the stage production of
Twyla Tharp's ballet
Deuce Coupe, along with other graffiti artists, including
Stay High 149.[8]
1973: A collaborative mural bearing SJK 171's tag, along with those of
PHASE 2 and a dozen other early graffiti artists, was the main attraction at a gallery show of graffiti art at Razor Gallery in
SoHo.[10] SJK 171 was also one of several graffiti writers featured in the backdrop design for the Joffery Ballet's production of Deuce Coupe.[11]
^
abcGastman, Roger (2015). Wall Writers Graffiti In Its Innocence (1st ed.). Berkeley, California: Gingko Press Inc. p. 121,122, 137,141,142.
ISBN978-1-58423-601-6.
^Corcoran, Sean; McCormick, Carlo (2013). City as canvas : New York City graffiti from the Martin Wong collection. Wong, Martin,, Corcoran, Sean, 1974-, McCormick, Carlo,, Museum of the City of New York. New York, NY.
ISBN978-0-8478-3986-5.
OCLC857194047.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
Further reading
Chandès, Hervé. Born in the Streets, Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, 2006,
ISBN978-0-500-97695-1.
Gastman, Roger. The History of American Graffiti, HarperCollins, 2011,
ISBN978-0-06-169878-1.
Deitch, Jeffrey. Art in The Streets, Rizzoli International Publications, 2011,
ISBN978-0-8478-3648-2.
Gastman, Roger. Wall Writers: Graffiti in Its Innocence, Gingko Press, 2015,
ISBN978-1584236016.