Franklin High School last month held its first Aerosol Art Competition. Never heard of aerosol art? Well, that’s because most people call it tagging or graffiti. The competition at the Highland Park campus was designed to allow students to express themselves but also reduce tagging and vandalism that strikes the school almost daily. Each aerosol artist signed a pledge promising not to “damage other art work or private property in my community” and obey the laws.
Sounds good, but will it reduce tagging on campus? Probably not, Franklin High principal Luis Lopez told the EGP News.
“Usually those that participate [in these events] are kids that are artistic and creative. We don’t attract the vandals … I have thought about exploring different possibilities that offer the same thing, but there’s no tangible data that says it works. It has been done at other schools but there’s no real decrease in graffiti.”
So, what does Lopez do to fight tagging and graffiti on campus? His answer: paint it out.
Photo by Amayzun via Flickr
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