Computer animation major Galileo Gonzalez does not shy away from infamy.

In fact, he welcomes it.

“It’s fun—why try to please anybody?”

Aside from his debut at last month’s Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk, the 21-year-old artist’s previous claim to fame involves a white poster board, a couple black Sharpie markers and an angry mob.

The combination landed Gonzalez an appearance on television and a spot in a slide show still featured on a renowned newspaper’s website.

‘In tonight’s broadcast…’

Art instructor Hagop Najarian sat down to watch the nightly news and was amazed to spot a familiar face.

“My wife said, ‘hey, that looks like one of your students,'” Najarian recalls.

Standing outside of Bell City Hall on the morning of July 21 was Gonzalez, with a poster of a demonized caricature of former Mayor Oscar Hernandez.

Najarian was immediately star struck.

“Later, I saw [footage] played back and he was standing there with his poster art—I think he used a picture on his Facebook profile—but I saw it and I said, ‘Oh, son of a gun, there he is!'”

That morning, armed with permanent markers and a couple sheets of poster board, Gonzalez set off on a mission.

The objective: to humiliate Bell city council members involved in a tax-dollar-embezzlement scheme, and spread the word of the injustice that claimed Gonzalez and his family as casualties when they were forced to move out of his hometown due to rising property taxes.

The image of the scowling Salvadoran-American gripping the sides of a poster board and raising the drawing over his head was powerful enough to catch the eye of a photographer on scene that day for the Los Angeles Times.

More than three months after Gonzalez’ television appearance, photographs of the artist and his work are still available on the LA Times website.

His unique drawing style also caught the attention of other activists who soon followed in his footsteps.

Sticking it to ‘The Man’

Gonzalez’ first poster featured a large, black-and-white, horned image of Hernandez holding a sack of money and asking, “How do you think I remodeled my store?”

“It was a reference because he actually did remodel his (grocery) store—like, big time—and added a taco stand. Seriously, he did add a taco stand,” Gonzalez says, raising his eyebrows.

Upon arriving to the first protest with the satirical portrayal, Gonzalez was approached by other participants requesting he sketch similar images on their signs.

Fueled by anger toward the accused and empathy for their victims, Gonzalez set to work on the grassy lawn.

“People actually bought me Sharpies and some poster paper, so I drew a few little quick caricatures and then a few slogans here and there.”

Generous trendsetter

Gonzalez’ drawings not only struck a nerve, but also set a trend.

While other protestors had arrived with signs and newspaper clippings, the aspiring cartoonist is proud to say he was the only one to hoist a large-scale illustration, even though it was not for long.

“Apparently people really liked it, because when I went to the next council meeting, there were just all these posters, all these caricatures of [city council members] all over the place.”

When he received word that there would be other opportunities to protest, Gonzalez, a full-time student working part-time, realized he would not be able to attend all future demonstrations.

His plan of action quickly turned into one of reaction.

“I gave a poster to anybody I saw because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to go to all the meetings, so I thought, ‘Hey, I’m here spreading the message, I might as well let the people keep spreading the message.'”

Sign no evil

Although he dedicates less than an hour to pen his satirical creations, Gonzalez refuses to make time to sign any of his boards, saying he is not out to make a name for himself during a protest, but to join the crowd in making a statement.

“When you realized that your city council actually betrayed you and forced you to basically move, the last thing you think about when drawing these posters is signing them.

“I’m just there to protest—I’m there because I’m pissed.”

The self-proclaimed progressive leftist will continue to incorporate his ideas into his work, but says he will never be completely comfortable in the limelight of political infamy.

“I’m not an extremist. I don’t like radicals.”