SK7

The Sofa King’s signature, a large “Cool S” followed by a K and a backwards “7” with a tail, is the most easily identifiable among his work. The letters are depicted in bold and colourful caricatures, with the S being a figure eight with a pointy head on each end. Above the Sofa King’s “S” is a crown, signifying authority. His signature is an expression of the artist’s power and authority over the city, and it represents his place in the graffiti subculture. This style was used by the artist in the late-1970s and 1980s, though the letters have been rearranged to form different words and phrases. The Sofa King’s signature is also one of the most common motifs in graffiti history, appearing on the Sofa King’s most famous work, the Vandal Squad Wall, located on the corner of Houston and Allen streets in the Lower East Side. The Sofa King was one of the top graffiti artists of the 1980s, whose work was seen throughout the New York City area and the United States. The artist’s name first rose to prominence in the early-1980s with the creation of the Vandal Squad, a graffiti crew that got its name from the New York City Transit Authority’s anti-graffiti Vandal Squad. The Sofa King created the Vandal Squad’s signature “Vandal Squad” name and logo, which became one of the most recognized street graffiti pieces in New York City.