BAR2

BAR2 JOE BAR TEAM Volume 1, Vents d'Ouest, 1990 Original plate no. 41, pre-published in Moto Journal in 1989-1990. The phylacteries in boxes 2 and 9 were made on supports affixed to the original. Signed. India ink and white gouache on paper 33 × 39.2 cm (12.99 × 15.43 in.) The biker spirit... This term goes back a long way, and refers to the great solidarity that used to prevail among bikers. This was because, until the late 1970s, motorcycles - especially European ones - were not always very reliable, and it was not uncommon to come across a biker on the side of the road tinkering with his machine. But fortunately for him, the biker spirit was alive and well! And if, by chance, one of his fellow bikers happened to be passing by, the unfortunate biker could count on the newcomer's help. And sometimes at his own expense, as shown here. "Biker spirit was a major component of motorcycling folklore at the time. And it was imperative to find a gag around this spirit. And, if possible, make fun of it a little. Because I'm a bad person. To do this, the Good Samaritans who went to the aid of a stranded motorcyclist had to be zealous and stupid enough not to help him, but to make the situation much worse. I like this gag. All the more so as it allowed me to caricature my friend Pierre Vedel, a biker through and through, whose singular face and impetuous, old-school personality made him the perfect candidate to play the broken-down biker. In fact, he played the role so well that I couldn't resist bringing him back into the fold ten years later, in Volume 5.