Guerilla artist and USC art professor Robbie Conal gave a presentation to a packed Stivelman Theater about his art, politics, and upbringing.

Conal is best known for his left-wing political posters with grotesque images of politicians with one liners such as “READ MY APOCALIPS” and “A BOMBIN’ NATION” he and his team of guerilla posterers put on telephone boxes, street lights and construction scaffolds around Los Angeles.

Conal grew up in New York and as a child spent weekends and after school at the many museums around the city. “I got an art education without even knowing it,” Conal said of his childhood.

High school students make up about 25% of Conal’s postering team. He takes a special interest in recruiting high school students because “(They) are socially conscious when not sleeping in class.” Conal said. He also said that students are interested in the world but not too cynical, and high school students are “incredibly judgmental.” The average age of a member of the guerilla postering team is 23.

The scandals of the Reagan Administration inspired Conal to start putting posters all over the city. The way he saw it, the Reagan Administration was committing high crimes against humanity and he was breaking a municipal code with his posters. Conal made the decision to put his posters around the city and not in art galleries because not enough people would see them.

Students were shown Conal’s poster in response to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. The poster shows President Bush drowning in a flooded New Orleans cemetery with the phrase, “PATRIOT INACTION.” Conal wanted the poster to show Bush losing to nature.

During the 2004 election, Conal teamed up with street artists Shepherd Fairy and Mear One to create a series of anti-Bush posters to be posted around Los Angeles at the same time.

Conal came to Uni to recruit students to USC’s Fine Arts program. After his presentation, students received USC pamphlets and stickers and posters made by Conal, who visits 15 to 20 high schools during the fall semester.