Prior to Robbie Conal’s mass movement against Arnold
Schwarzenegger’s political ascendancy last year, the local
artist and world-famous bodybuilder already shared a past history.
The Rose Cafe in Santa Monica ““ where Schwarzenegger used to
frequent en route to the gym ““ once sold Conal’s
posters.
“They stopped carrying them because Arnold didn’t
like them,” said the New York City-bred, self-characterized
art brat. “He’s kind of a paradigm example of what
I’m afraid of and what’s happening to
democracy.”
Conal had his chance to strike back during the recall election.
His mass-distributed posters and T-shirts depict Schwarzenegger in
a devilish light, complete with a toothy grin and red pupils. They
were distributed through Conal’s army of activist volunteers
all around Los Angeles.
UCLA students have the opportunity to see Conal’s
politically charged work at the Kerckhoff Art Gallery, on display
through Jan. 24. The Campus Events Commission will host a lecture
and Q&A with Conal on Thursday at 1 p.m., also at the Kerckhoff
Art Gallery.
Conal specializes in drawing, and his illustrations have
appeared in his satirical monthly column, “Art Burn,”
in LA Weekly for the past six years. He is also a professor at
USC’s fine arts department, proving that although
Conal’s work has become a staple of Los Angeles’
counterculture, his presence is anything but underground.
It’s only fitting ““ Conal says he uses his art to
provide “infotainment.” His graphic drawings are
immediately recognizable as they interpret leaders of the right and
left through penciled wrinkle lines and cartoonish expressions.
“It’s a satirical form of adversarial portraiture,
making fun of people who have way too much power over us and are
abusing it,” Conal said.
To mass distribute his message, Conal started his guerrilla
postering movement and with the help of local volunteers has filled
the streets of major cities with his non-sanctioned works.
Volunteers know their actions could be construed by law enforcement
as a minor form of civil disobedience, but it’s a small
violation for the cause.
“Robbie asks people to put them on public places like
traffic boxes and freeway overpasses, and stuff that doesn’t
cost individuals money,” said Annie Wang, a third-year
student and speakers director for UCLA’s Campus Events
Commission.
Conal has had a life-long interest in art. After being a
stone-cold hippie in the 1960s and getting
“psychadelicized” as an undergraduate at San Francisco
State University, Conal received his MFA from Stanford, where he
studied abstract expressionism.
But it was the Ronald Reagan election that enraged Conal and led
him to combine his political views with his artistic vision.
“I found myself making these nasty little black and white
portraits of ugly, old white men in suits and ties, with their
mouths firmly shut” he said. “I realized that they were
metaphors for my concerns about what they were doing to our country
without telling the American people. And you know, that sounds kind
of familiar doesn’t it? It’s still
(happening).”
While Conal is clearly left-wing, he doesn’t shy away from
criticizing both sides in his politically charged posters. Bill
Clinton and other democrats have been subjects of his satirical
pen, and Wang said this was why she asked him to come to UCLA.
“UCLA needs more political awareness,” she said.
“We are really trapped in a bubble, and I thought it would be
cool to bring in people who are politically influenced and
spreading the word about politics, rebellion and revolution in a
way that attracts young people.
Conal was quick to notice the necessity for young people to help
ignite change. Though he says his target age group is 14-25, he
notices this generation seems more enterprising than when he was a
student in the ’60s.
“Things are a little different now. Kids are on a
different part of the planet,” he said. “They’re
much more concerned about making a livelihood and not as cosmic, I
guess.”
In spite of this prevalent attitude, Conal hopes the posters
will not only entertain students, but inform them of what he sees
as the somber reality of politics.
“Its a way of delivering a serious message,” he
said. “My posters and this kind of humor are a satirical
form, and you know, you can’t have satire without tragedy.
(Our political situation) is a tragic situation, and the only way
to wrap your head around it is to make a joke about it.”