Robbie Conal - Guerilla Postering

For those who are not familiar with Robbie Conal, he's a guerilla artist (and from the tips he gives on his website, quite the pro at it, too!) Originally from NYC, Conal always had a love for art and had a reputation for causing trouble and being escorted out of art museums and public libraries. An undergraduate student of San Francisco State University and graduate student of Stanford University, Conal used his education, social concerns and personality to begin making images that expressed his interest in "politics, power and the abuses of both."

He felt that art institutions were frequently unreceptive to this point of view, and therefore took it upon himself to being guerilla postering all over Los Angeles, where he now lives.

On his website he gives great advice about guerilla postering, titled "Guerilla Etiquette and Postering Techniques." Here, he very succinctly states what he finds to be the purpose of guerilla art:

"A surprise for people on their way to work in the morning. Critical ideas where people least expect them. To tickle the general public into thinking along with us about issues we think are important to the health of American democracy, the Constitution, our First Amendment rights, and the future of Hip-Hop Nation."

I especially appreciate the fact that in his advice for people who want to pursue guerilla postering that they do NOT cause trouble with/for the police. He explains that they are only doing their job and that it really behooves the artist to be compliant and not cause a ruckus.

Here are some examples of his work:

One point he makes that struck me particularly because this is the goal of my thesis:

"Empowerment: To take direct cooperative action on an issue that concerns us. For the general public who feel they have no avenues of resistance to the dominant power structure, no community support system, no ability to change their situation. To change apathy and cynicism to optimism."


For my first blog entry which describes the purpose of my blog, please click here.