Juan Carlos Argüello (23 September 1965 - 1 July 1995), known as Muelle , was a Spanish

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

artist from Campamento,

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Career

Around 1980, during the '' Movida Madrileña'', Argüello started reproducing the

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

he had designed on walls and public spaces of

. It consisted of the word ''Muelle'' (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for "

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

"), or an R with an enclosing circle ( ®) and a line in the shape of a coiled spring ending in an arrowhead. At first, he used an ink marker and later spraypainted his signature extensively around Madrid (and to a lesser extent, in other Spanish localities). In the eighties, he improved his technique, using several colours in a technique labelled ''relleno'', wider borders known as ''grosor'', and 3-D effects.

Influence

His innovative style, along with the profusion of his tags, made his work popular. Many other Madrilenian youths, known as ''flecheros'' created their tags inspired by Muelle's, often ending strokes with arrowheads (''flechas''). The ''flechero'' scene developed at a time of cultural isolation, its practitioners being largely unaware of graffiti in the New York style. The spread of

hip-hop culture Hip-hop culture is an art movement that emerged in New York City, in the borough of The Bronx; Primarily within the black community. Hip Hop as an art form and culture has been heavily influenced by both male and female artists. It is charac ...

in Spain in the late 1980s introduced the new graffiti styles developed in the

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. But, variations in Muelle's work basically kept his original design. Argüello appeared on Spanish

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and in

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

Death

Argüello died of liver cancer on 1 July 1995 at the age of 29. His obituary appeared in ''

El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...

''.

Legacy

In 2022, the Spanish graffiti brand Montana Colors released a special edition aerosol can featuring Muelle's tag alongside a short documentary about him. At the behest of local

PSOE The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...

politicians a tag of Argüello‘s in La Latina, threatened with obliteration by building renovations, was officially protected by the

Government of the Community of Madrid The Government of the Community of Madrid (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Gobierno de la Comunidad de Madrid'') is the collegiate body charged with the executive and administration (government), administrative functions of the autonomous community o ...

in 2024.

References

External links