The Art of Racing

Culture

Stumbled across this really attractive line work over the weekend. Reminds us of what is often overlooked about the popularity of classic race bikes: their simplicity.

Illustrator Gianmarco Magnini evokes the raw, purposefulness of a racing classic in the lines and the duotone that he uses in his designs, which are available as collectible prints through his site.

There is a really strong graphic history of bike culture and in motor racing in general. And it’s not surprising. ‘Go faster stripes’ are essentially dynamic graphic art that have evolved to reflect the power and the glory of moving with mechanical speed.

Stick them on an underpowered family runabout and they’ll look stupid. But combine go faster stripes with stripped-down, purposeful design and you’ve got a classic racer.

German writer Sven Voelker recently published a very interesting book on the subject. A cool graphic paint job is as much about intimidating the opposition and inspiring the racing team to victory as it is about pure aesthetics.

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