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This article is a record of two interviews conducted with Los Angeles based artist, Robbie Conal, in 1988 and 1990. In the mid-eighties, Conal attracted widespread public attention by taking his art out of the galleries and onto the streets. Conal reproduced as posters his portrait paintings of public figures embroiled in controversies popularized by the media. Enlisting the help of local activist and, or, artist groups in several American cities, he pasted these posters all over the urban public space. The portraits are accompanied by captions in bold-text that deliver a twist to the images. These are often puns like FALSE PROFIT for Jim and Tammy Baker, or double-meanings like CONTRA-DICTION for Ronald Reagan. This combination of veiled text and familiar visage in an inexpensive poster medium displayed in the public sphere, achieves one of Conalšs objectives: to develop a differentiated and diversified audience for his work.
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