The guerilla art of Robbie Conal

"It was in 1986 that Los Angelenos first awoke to find an unnattering poster of Ronald Reagan and three cronies staring from hundreds of traffic-light switching boxes at intersections across the city. Bearing the slogan 'Men With No Lips, the poster marked the first of a series of nonsanctioned portraitures that would, over the next decade, mysteriously appear in cities across the country..."

Bad news: it's 2020, and there's even worse men and women running the country. Good news: at least as of 2016, the grandfather of guerilla art was still at it. Better yet, he, with supporters, hit 6 cities in 6 states in 14 days to publicly voice their distaste of Trump ... in 2016? Don't worry. While his website might be a bit stagnant, he's active on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

"But this is like graffiti! Illicit messaging in public spaces!" you might say, if you're something of a square who doesn't realize saying public spaces should only be plastered with permitted corporate messaging is undermining the whole idea of "public space." Colin Berry reminds us of the history of this sort of "counter-infotainment" messaging:

"MWNL also reawakened for many the centuries-old art form of political postering, an avenue for editorial comment borne of citizen participation and used historically to reflect political feeling." The need to find new outlets for free speech is all the more apparent in the wake of the 2010 Citizens United decision, giving an increased voice to corporations (and labor unions, who aren't currently in the same fiscal weight class as corporations).