Robbie Conal
2000 Presidential Election Posters by Robbie Conal
Note that both candidates get equal treatment
There is an article in the Los Angeles Times today about painter and guerilla poster artist Robbie Conal. The story by Irene Lacher coincides with No Kicking, No Spitting, a Conal retrospective at Track 16 in Santa Monica, CA. Conal’s work has been critiquing politicians and media elite since the eighties; poster campaigns of his groteseque portraits have appeared on city streets (and in galleries) all over the country. With so many artists weighing in on politics these days, it’s interesting to look back at Conal’s prolific oeuvre.
Below is the short version of the 1992 documentary Post No Bills by Clay Walker and Maryanne Dissard. The documentary “foregrounds the tension between Conal’s creative process and the lures of a desperate notoriety achieved through catering to the newsmedia’s craving for controversy in his journey to benefit financially from the dual life of his work.”
In stark contrast to past works, a recent poster from Conal actually reads as an endorsement instead of critique! Can Obama be the first politician to dodge the wrath of Robbie Conal? I’d like to think it’s possible but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Those hideous Conal wrinkles have never looked so benign.