Chi diavolo è Billy Argel? Non è la prima volta che parlo di questo grande artista che ho avuto l'onore di avere tra i primi lettori dell'Inazuma Cafè. Ora il nostro cafè ha più lettori e il blog è anche in lingua inglese, ho pensato che sia una buona occasione per postare ancora un po' di opere di Billy ricordare la sua storia. (l'articolo originale in italiano è qui).
Billy Argel is perhaps one of the most important leaders of the graphic art in Brasil. Before it became common among artists and skaters, Billy Argel began his activity in the mid-eighties, creating and printing high-impact images for skateboard paintings. Reading rare magazines imported from America, and, at times, Europe, Argel learned the art of graphics and brought it to levels unknown in Brazil. His main feature was the use of multiple colors in his works on boards, when mainstream painters use at least two colours. The artworks created by Billy Argel are now very popular and sought after by collectors. In the nineties, the industry of skateboarding, which flourished in the past decade, faced the economic crisis. Because of the diminished economic interest, the culture of skateboard riders practically disappeared. In those years, Billy, disappointed and disgusted by what was happening, suspended its activity. But when the graphic art market had some recovery at the beginning of this millennium, Argel dove headfirst back on stage. I find his work on skate and surfboards beautiful, and they would be awesome as well if applied in bike paintings. Not for nothing his impressive fonts are very popular in the graphics of these years. Who knows how many people use them without even knowing they are spellings of author. In the eighties, Argel was also guitarist in a rock band hardcore / crossover called Lobotomia, fairly well known in Brazil during those years. I don’t know much about it, as I listen more chill out, a lot of radio, and I still die for Pink Floyd and Genesis... However, in this respect, my source is the web and I didn’t double checked. So if you want to know more you should perform additional searches. Recenly Billy Argel designs also avant-garde fashion, but this matter is likely to be less interesting for bikers… In case, just follow the Billy Argel art at billyargel.blogspot.com
Sources: Billy Argel's frames; Juxtapox Magazine; Wikipedia