Muelle was a trademark signature and design by Juan Carlos Argüello, Spanish graffiti tag pioneer (circa 1966-1995).

Around 1980, during the Madrilene cultural Movida, Argüello started reproducir the logo he had designed in walls and public spaces of Madrid. It consisted on the word Muelle (Spanish for spring), an R with an enclosing circle (®) and a line in the shape of a coil spring ended in an arrow head. He first used an ink marker, and later spraypainted his signature extensively around Madrid (and to a lesser extent, also in other Spanish localities). In the eighties, he improved his technics, using several colours, wider borders, and 3-D effects.

His style, along with the profusion of his tags made his work popular. Many other Madrilene youths created their own tags, inspired by Muelle's, often ending strokes with arrow heads. The spread of hip hop culture in Spain in the late 1980's introduced the new graffiti styles developed in the United States, but variations in Muelle's work kept basically his original design. Argüello appeared in Spanish television and newspapers.

External link

• Photographs at Madrid Old School Graffiti (http://www.iespana.es/madridoldschool/Muelle/fotos.htm), an aficionado's web.